Dear Congress, Libraries are important!

Why are libraries so essential? To touch on every aspect of libraries’ importance, we’d be here all day. In short, libraries are business-building, job-creating, workforce-preparing engines of the U.S. economy, and America needs them to thrive. That’s why it is so necessary to advocate for federal library funding as Congress prepares the 2018 fiscal year budget.

Today, Baker & Taylor, along with a handful of other American businesses, unveiled the Corporate Committee for Library Investment, an ad hoc group of companies conceived by Gale, a Cengage company, and the American Library Association. Their goal? To educate Congress and other federal policymakers about the tremendous value of libraries for all kinds of American businesses and taxpayers in an effort to maximize federal library funding.

Now more than ever, America’s public libraries are reaching deep into all facets of the communities they serve offering patrons vital services that are having a profound impact on their lives.
— David Cully, President, Baker & Taylor

To start, the CCLI delivered a letter signed by businesses of all sizes today to all members of Senate that outlines the importance of libraries and asks senators to urge their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to save library funding—$186.6 million under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and $27 million for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program (IAL), to be exact.

Baker & Taylor has long been committed to supporting communities through literacy. Without libraries, we can’t do that.

To learn more about the CCLI’s mission to save federal library funding, visit their website at www.fundlibraries.com.

American Library Association (ALA) Video Round Table Notable Videos List

The American Library Association (ALA) Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee has compiled its 2017 list of Notable Videos for Adults, a list of 15 outstanding films released on video within the past two years and suitable for all libraries serving adults. Its purpose is to call attention to recent video releases that make a significant contribution to the world of video. The list is compiled for use by librarians and the general adult populace.

The Notable Videos for Adults Committee selected these outstanding titles from among 67 nominees for this year’s list of Notable Videos for Adults. The availability of closed captions (CC) and/or subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH) is preferred; inclusion and exclusion of the same is indicated below.


Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

(2016) 120 minutes; Firelight Films. DVD. PBS. CC & SDH.

An historical overview of the rise and fall of a radical social movement that sought to empower African Americans and change the capitalist system.


Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare)

(2016) 114 minutes. Sternal Entertainment. DVD. Kino Lorber. Subtitles.

Desperate African and Middle Eastern refugees arrive by boat to the Italian island of Lampedusa and residents respond.

Spare Parts Author Visits with Librarians at ALA

 

Spare Parts author, Joshua Davis, recently joined B&T at our booth at ALA to meet with librarians and sign copies of his book and the recently released DVD (out via Lionsgate Home Entertainment).

In the film, George Lopez leads a winning cast in this inspiring movie based on an amazing true story. When four wildly different Hispanic high schoolers team up to enter a robotics competition against the nation’s top universities, no one believes they have a chance—no one but Fredi (Lopez), their new substitute teacher. As Fredi challenges his students to be the best they can be, they show him the power of never giving up, in this unforgettable tale that shines with heart, humor, and hope.

Mr Davis  is a writer, film producer and co-founder of Epic Magazine. He's currently a contributing editor at Wired magazine. In 2003, he reported from Iraq for the magazine. He's also written about genetically modified cocaine in Colombia, attempts to engineer the apocalypse in Jerusalem, and the 2007 cyberwar between Estonia and Russia.  Davis' first book, The Underdog, was published by Random House in 2005. It chronicles Davis' entry into unusual competitions around the world, including the World Armwrestling Championship in Gdynia, Poland; the US Sumo Open in Los Angeles; the World Sauna Championship in Heinol, Finland; and the Golden Shrimp, a backwards running competition in Poviglio, Italy.

Spare Parts, Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream was published in 2014 by MacMillian.