Be sure to read your copy of American Libraries this month! Paul Signorelli and I wrote a piece titled “Are You Following Me?” about learning and leadership in libraries. Anyone involved in training should read this–more importantly slip a copy under your manager’s door!

If you are not an ALA member you can access full text of American Libraries. You’ll just need to install the ebrary plugin.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the article as well as where you see training sitting at the library table.

The weekly e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, is now available to anyone who wants to sign up for it, not just ALA members. The sign-up form, as well as the FAQ, is at http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aldirect/aldirect.cfm.

Additionally, login is no longer required to view the current issue of the American Libraries print magazine online (in PDF format), or to view the archives, which date back to the January 2003 issue. Go directly to http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/alonlineebrary/alonlineebrary.cfm

First-time viewers will need to install the ebrary reader to view issues. To download, go to http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ala/Download.

Firefox 3 users installing the reader for the first time will need a workaround, http://www.ebrary.com/kb/users/ff3install.jsp, to make the ebrary reader work with their browser.

American Libraries has launched its own blog, AL Inside Scoop.

Editor-in-chief Leonard Kniffel offers an insider’s view of goings-on at ALA headquarters and what hot topics ALA staffers are talking about in the hallways, saying, “I want to shorten the lag between what’s new at headquarters and when we tell you about it, between what’s hot on the ALA Council’s electronic list and when you hear about it.”

Associate Editor Greg Landgraf offers his perspective from “the lower floors” of what many see as the ALA ivory tower.

I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to say!