A LAMA

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The Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) are pleased to announce that Arabian Public Library in Scottsdale, Ariz., designed by richärd + bauer, was selected as Best of Competition in the Library Interior Design Competition. The biennial awards honor excellence in library interior design, incorporating aesthetics, design creativity, function and satisfaction of the client's objectives. The Best of Competition was selected from among nine winners and two honorable mentions awarded from 100 projects submitted from throughout North America. Winners were honored at the ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards Reception during the American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Contract magazine, the publishing partner for the competition. ?The Library Interiors Awards honor tremendous public design that truly impacts families and communities,? stated Cheryl Durst, Hon. IIDA, LEED AP, executive vice president and CEO of IIDA. ?IIDA is proud to partner with the American Library Association on this important competition.? Category awards were presented in the following areas: Academic Libraries: 30,000 sq. ft. and smaller Project: Brown University Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center ? Providence, R.I. Firm: Architecture Research Office (ARO) ? New York Academic Libraries: Over 30,000 sq. ft. Project: University of California, Hastings College of Law Library ? San Francisco Firm: SmithGroup ? San Francisco Public Libraries: 30,000 sq. ft. and smaller Project: Arabian Public Library ? Scottsdale, Ariz. Firm: richard + bauer ? Phoenix, Ariz. Honorable Mention awarded to: Project: Durham County Regional Library, North Branch ? Durham, N.C. Firm: The Freelon Group Architects ? Durham, N.C. Public Libraries: Over 30,000 sq. ft. Project: Ramsey County Library ? Maplewood, Minn. Firm: HGA Architects and Engineers ? Milwaukee Single Space Project: Evanston Public Library Teen Room, The Loft ? Evanston, Ill. Firms: Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney Architects, Ltd. and architectureisfun, Inc. ? Chicago Innovation in Sustainable Design Project: University of Toronto Mississauga, Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Center ? Toronto Firm: Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners ? Toronto Outstanding Historic Renovation Project (historic restoration) Project: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, New York Public Library ? New York Firm: Davis Brody Bond Aedas ? New York Outstanding Historic Renovation Project (adaptive re-use) Project: Rhode Island School of Design, Fleet Library ? Providence, R.I. Firm: Office dA, Inc. ? Boston "On the Boards" Project: Prescott Valley Public Library ? Prescott Valley, Ariz. Firm: richard + bauer ? Phoenix Honorable Mention awarded to: Project: Phoenix Public Library, Harmon Branch ? Phoenix Firm: richard + bauer ? Phoenix The distinguished panel of judges for the competition included: Joseph Rondinelli, associate IIDA, senior associate, Shepley Bulfinch, Boston; Steven McCollom, IIDA, AIA associate partner, Gary Lee Partners, San Francisco; Drew Harrington, director of library services at the University of Portland; and Kathryn Page, principal with Page and Moris, San Francisco. Jennifer Busch, editorial director of Contract Magazine, served as facilitator for the judging, which took place in April 2008. The mission of the Library Administration and Management Association (www.ala.org/lama) is to encourage and nurture current and future library leaders, and to develop and promote outstanding leadership and management practices. LAMA is a division of the American Library Association. The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information. The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) works to enhance quality of life through excellence in interior design and to advance interior design through knowledge, value and community. IIDA is a professional networking and educational association of 13,000 Members in nine specialty Forums in 30 Chapters around the world. Additional information is available on IIDA?s website www.iida.org.

As of September 1, LAMA will become the Library Leadership and Management Association and will start using its new logo, modified from its current one. The new name, adopted by the division?s membership in the spring with a 90% approval rating, emphasizes the association?s role in developing present and future library leaders.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE SEEKS CANDIDATES The ALA 2009 Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees to run on the 2009 spring ballot for the offices of ALA President-elect and Councilor-at-large. The Nominating Committee will select two candidates to run for President-elect and no fewer than 50 candidates for the 33 at-large Council seats to be filled in the 2009 spring election. The President-elect will serve a three-year term: as President-elect in 2009-2010, as President in 2010-2011, and as Immediate Past President in 2011-2012. The Councilors-at-large will serve three-year terms, beginning after the 2009 ALA Annual Conference and ending at the adjournment of the 2012 Annual Conference. The ALA President and Councilors also serve in corresponding roles in the ALA-Allied Professional Association [ALA-APA]. Individuals considering ALA-APA office are encouraged to consult with their employer regarding any restrictions regarding lobbying activities or service on the governing body of a 501(c)6 organization. Members who wish to make nominations should submit the following information: nominee name; present position; institution; address; telephone; fax; and e-mail address. Self-nominations are encouraged. All potential nominees must complete the Potential Candidate Biographical Form available at https://cs.ala.org/potentialcandidates/ The database will be available June 2, 2008. Nominations and forms must be received no later than September 1, 2008. Nominations may be sent to any member of the 2009 Nominating Committee. Committee members are: Susan S. DiMattia, Chair, Consultant, DiMattia Associates, Stamford, CT, sdimattia@optonline.net; Rose T. Dawson, Acting Director, Alexandria (VA) Library, rdawson@alexandria.lib.vaus; Timothy P. Grimes, Manager, Community Relations and Marketing, Ann Arbor (MI) District Library, grimest@aadl.org; Susan Hildreth, State Librarian, California State Library, Sacramento, shhildreth@comcast.net; Corinne M. Hill, Collection Development Manager, Denton (TX) Public Library; cmhill@cityofdenton.com; Pamela Spencer Holley. Writer, Consultant, Hallwood, VA; pamsholley@aol.com; Jo Ellen Priest Misakian, Interim Dean/School of Education, Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, CA; jmisakian@fresno.edu; Daniel O. O'Connor, Professor, Rutgers University School of Communication Information & Library Studies, New Brunswick, NJ; oconnor@scils.rutgers.edu; and Thomas C. Wilson, Associate Dean, Library Technology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, tcwilson@ua.edu. To encourage diversity and leadership development, the Committee will refrain from nominating any current Councilors for election to another term. However, the Committee encourages all current Councilors who wish to continue their service to the Association to file as petition candidates. Petitions will be available from Lois Ann Gregory-Wood, Council Secretariat, ALA, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611, Email: lgregory@ala.org, or during the 2008 Annual Conference or 2009 Midwinter Meeting. Petitions require 25 signatures for names to be included on the 2009 ballot.

A first draft of the LAMA FY09 strategic initiatives plan has been placed on the LAMA wiki. President Bede Mitchell is asking for member review and comment. The commitments listed in the plan are ALL tentative. Any and all may be modified or deleted, and additions may be proposed. Please post any comments you may have by June 6. All suggestions will be taken under advisement, and a revised document will be prepared for discussion at our ALA Annual Board meetings. We will vote on a final plan at the Tuesday Board meeting, thus allowing sections and committees to discuss the plan face-to-face during conference. Directions for leaving comments are on the wiki. Eric C. Shoaf LA&M Associate Editor

I met a great man yesterday. My old friends from my Paris days, founders of the France-Burma Aid Association, invited me to breakfast at the Harvard Faculty Club, to meet their mentor Sulak Sivaraksa, one of the grand old men of Buddhism. This brilliant and accomplished activist -- an original disciple of the highly esteemed late Thai master Ajaan Buddhadasa -- is still, at the age of 73,

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates interview on D

NYTimes on dabbawallas:
?There is a service called FedEx that is similar to ours ? but they don?t deliver lunch,? said one dabbawalla, Dhondu Kondaji Chowdhury.

From: Pani puri - Perfection in food design

Slide 10: Is totally User Centered, with the numerous fillings and spices, it can be customized to any users taste
Slide 11: (panipuri) Is faster than any fast food anywhere in the world. It can be served in less than 3 seconds. Its built on Pluck and Palate technology ?
Slide 12: (panipuri) Supports plugins and extensions, add 3rd party flavors and ingredients to Easily morph your panipuri into sevpuri, bhel puri, ragda puri and more?
Slide 13: (panipuri) can be served Asynchronously while serving multiple users
Slide 14: All these factors make it a World 2.0 product ?

From: All Things Distributed: Working Backwards

The Working Backwards product definition process is all about is fleshing out the concept and achieving clarity of thought about what we will ultimately go off and build. It typically has four steps:
1. Start by writing the Press Release. Nail it. The press release describes in a simple way what the product does and why it exists - what are the features and benefits. It needs to be very clear and to the point. Writing a press release up front clarifies how the world will see the product - not just how we think about it internally.
2. Write a Frequently Asked Questions document. Here's where we add meat to the skeleton provided by the press release. It includes questions that came up when we wrote the press release. You would include questions that other folks asked when you shared the press release and you include questions that define what the product is good for. You put yourself in the shoes of someone using the product and consider all the questions you would have.
3. Define the customer experience. Describe in precise detail the customer experience for the different things a customer might do with the product. For products with a user interface, we would build mock ups of each screen that the customer uses. For web services, we write use cases, including code snippets, which describe ways you can imagine people using the product. The goal here is to tell stories of how a customer is solving their problems using the product.
4. Write the User Manual. The user manual is what a customer will use to really find out about what the product is and how they will use it. The user manual typically has three sections, concepts, how-to, and reference, which between them tell the customer everything they need to know to use the product. For products with more than one kind of user, we write more than one user manual.