Cronkite, Janice | American Libraries Magazine

Janice B. Cronkhite, 87, head librarian at Weller Public Library in Waitsburg, Washington, until her 2012 retirement, died March 26. She also served as a librarian at Walla Walla (Wash.) Public Library and Lewiston (Idaho) City Library.

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“Public libraries nationwide are reaching a breaking point as a result of mounting pressures to censor collections, increased intimidation against library staff, and disruptions to library operations, according to a September 1 report by PEN America. Out of Circulation: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries examines the fallout from book bans, canceled story hours, harassment of librarians, funding cuts, and the undoing of libraries’ independent governance. Taken together, the report argues, these actions threaten ‘the very existence of public libraries’ as a cornerstone of democracy.”

PEN America, Sept. 1
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Hana Lee Goldin writes: “More than half a billion people around the world now listen to podcasts, across more than 4 million shows. Buried in that catalog is a kind of source material that barely existed a generation ago: experts talking about their own work, at length and in their own words. The clearest proof that podcasts already work as sources is how often we quote them. Each repetition runs on memory alone. So the archive is already in use as a source, just without a way back to the moment.”

Card Catalog, Sept. 1
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Leah Weinryb-Grohsgal writes: “As the steward of over 200 petabytes of data, the Library of Congress (LC) has spent decades building infrastructure and services to preserve and provide access to digital materials. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer enticing possibilities for maintaining, delivering, and analyzing some of the nation’s most influential research and treasured cultural and historical artifacts. Yet the use of these technologies requires extensive evaluation and monitoring before implementation. In 2025, LC introduced its AI Sandbox for Staff to do just that. The most recent cohort of the Library’s AI Sandbox for Staff supported over a dozen small-scale experiments.”

Library of Congress: The Signal, Aug. 31
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Tess Vrbin writes: “Saline County, Arkansas, agreed this week to pay $275,000 to Patty Hector, the former library director who was fired in October 2023 after speaking against local conservatives’ push to limit children’s access to books. County Judge Matt Brumley’s firing power came from an ordinance approved by the all-Republican quorum court, which previously urged Hector to move books with ‘sexual content or imagery’ out of children’s reach. The books in question pertained to LGBTQ+ topics, sex education, and systemic racism, which Saline County conservatives called ‘indoctrination’ and inappropriate for children.”

Arkansas Advocate, Aug. 27; Oct. 9, 2023; Aug. 21, 2023; Apr. 17, 2023
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ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services awarded 2026 Spectrum Scholarships to 60 exceptional students pursuing graduate degrees in library and information studies. Since 1997, ALA has awarded more than 1,600 Spectrum Scholarships. A committee of jurors selected this year’s Spectrum Scholars based on their commitment to community building, leadership potential, and planned contributions to making social justice part of everybody’s everyday work in library and information science.

Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Aug. 27
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ALA’s Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) officially reunited on September 1, bringing together members, resources, and expertise supporting library services for children and teens under one division. The reunification process has been underway for more than a year, guided by input and collaboration from ALSC and YALSA members, boards, committees, and staff. Work will continue throughout the coming year to shape the identity, governance, programs, and priorities of the reunified division.

Association for Library Service to Children, Aug. 26
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Zoë McLaughlin writes: “The goals for our sensory room were to provide a place for library visitors to find stress relief, relax and work through emotions, and use items related to different sensory experiences. To get this project going, we needed a combination of administrative buy-in, funding, and direction. We specifically have left it unlocked and without a reservation system, with the idea being that you won’t be able to predict when you’ll need a moment to regroup and therefore won’t be able to make a reservation ahead of time. We’ve seen a lot of use just walking by and noting whether or not the door is closed. The feedback left by visitors has been nice to receive.”

ACRLog, Aug. 28

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