Van Wert, Sandra | American Libraries Magazine

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Sandra Van Wert, 64, former director of Homer (Mich.) Public Library from 1994 to 2010, died November 22.

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Ginelle Baskin and Kim Godwin write: “Academic librarians have long supported teaching and learning, but involvement in open educational resources (OER) initiatives has opened new pathways for leading and supporting faculty development and created opportunities for librarians to collaborate on projects that promote course redesign, instructional innovation, and reflective teaching. In this article, we share how an academic librarian and faculty member have successfully collaborated to lead OER programming at our institution and offer practical takeaways for others in similar roles.”

College and Research Libraries News, vol. 87, no. 8, Sept.
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Lonna Vines writes: “Libraries across the country are navigating heightened immigration enforcement activity while trying to support community members and staff. Library leaders may face difficult decisions about how to respond to enforcement activity, address harassment, communicate with their communities, and protect patrons and employees, often with limited information about what other libraries are experiencing. Better data can help. The Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and Displaced Persons Subcommittee of the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services Advisory Committee has launched the Incidents Against Immigrants in Libraries reporting form.”

Public Libraries Online, Sept. 8
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Stacy Gilbert writes: “When we try to force an entire year’s worth of procedures into a single lesson, we lose the room, exhaust ourselves, and miss the mark. My ultimate goal for orientation can be summed up in one phrase: for students to want to come back and know how to. If you’re refining your plan this season, here are 7 common orientation traps that librarians fall into and tips for avoiding them.”

Knowledge Quest, Sept. 3
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Alejandro Marquez writes: “Like many of my library colleagues, I’ve found this year has felt … heavy. Working in a higher education environment, particularly now, can feel like wading through a relentless stream of depressing news, budget cuts, censorship concerns, and strategic crises. It’s not a dramatic, explosive kind of heaviness, but an endless stream of bad things, each one subtly eroding the foundations of what I believed was a stable and valued profession. For a little while, it felt like real progress was happening. Now, it feels like libraries are stuck.”

Choice 360: Toward Inclusive Excellence, Sept. 1
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Brett Bonfield writes: “Because of its financial deficit, ALA needs stability. Therefore, in April, ALA’s Endowment Trustees updated the target allocation for the Association’s investment portfolio, reducing our holdings of stocks and increasing our holdings of bonds. As a result, we are sacrificing some projected returns to limit projected risk. If stocks boom as they have in the past few years, ALA’s portfolio will not increase as much as it would have. On the other hand, if stocks crash, ALA’s portfolio will not take as big a hit as it would have.”

American Libraries Online, Sept. 3
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Dan Montgomery writes: “With a fresh school year underway, it’s the perfect time to lift up professionals who not only boost student learning and achievement but also help to make their schools welcoming, magical places of endless opportunity. I’m talking, of course, about school librarians and library support staff. School librarians work hard to turn their classroom—the library—into the well-loved hub and heart of the school. It’s a tall order, but they are up to the task.”

American Libraries column, Fall
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Reema Saleh writes: “Since fall 2024, each school day at Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, has started the same way: Roughly 2,100 students line up to place their phones in gray and green Yondr pouches as they enter the building. There’s been one unexpected outcome of the school’s effort to limit phone use on campus: More students are spending time in the library, where they’re browsing the collection or hanging out during free periods, says teacher-librarian Paige Battle.”

American Libraries Trend, Fall

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