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Moving Forward on Finances

By Peter Hepburn | January 2, 2025

For one, I’m proud of finishing the work started under my predecessor, Maggie Farrell, on the financial piece of the American Library Association (ALA) Operating Agreement, which governs the relationship between ALA and its membership divisions. I’m also pleased with the progress made in improving communication within the Association on finances. I am not, however, … Continue reading Moving Forward on Finances →

A Storied History

By Reanna Esmail | January 2, 2025

The Library: A Fragile History By Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen The global history recounted in this six-part title demonstrates the role information access plays in societies, with the final two sections focusing on the US and the West. Although its length may seem overwhelming, this is a straightforward read whose clear message that … Continue reading A Storied History →

Latest Library Links

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M Roberts writes: “August 4 marked one year in my role at Vanderbilt. The time has flown by! One of my goals for the summer was to reflect on my first year as a librarian and to plan for the second year based on what I’d learned. Although I haven’t had as much time for that reflection as I’d hoped, for my final post as a First-Year Academic Librarian blogger, I wanted to share a few lessons learned that I’m planning to build on during the upcoming year.”

ACRLog, Aug. 10
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Lauren Quinlan writes: “Between 1893 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie gave away $60 million of his fortune to fund 1,689 public libraries across the country. These ‘Carnegie libraries’ became cultural centers in towns big and small and were instrumental in constructing the blueprint of small-town America as we know it today. These towns were often so proud of these monuments of culture that they distributed postcards celebrating the new library. Many of these postcards, along with thousands of other postcards of libraries around the world, are housed at the ALA Archives.”

ALA150, Aug. 11
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Jeff Lang writes: “For too many of us, conversations about accessibility in scholarly communication begin and end with alt text. While text descriptions are an important accommodation, they represent just one element of a much broader challenge: ensuring that research can be understood by the widest possible audience. The goal is not simply to make content available, but to communicate ideas effectively across different abilities, contexts, and modes of engagement. This is the foundation of open science and a core tenet of universities, funders, scholarly societies and many others.”

Katina, Aug. 4
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Austyn Szempruch writes: “With Florida’s homestead exemption amendment appearing poised to be voted into law in November, the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners are looking to be proactive in making the cuts necessary for staying under budget. The tentative 2027 budget was set to shutter West Hernando Library to save upwards of $500,000. Due in large part to more than a thousand emails, and the fervent opposition of more than 30 residents at the county’s special budget meeting August 6, the board unanimously voted 4–0 for a budget that included keeping the popular local library.”

Hernando (Fla.) Sun, Aug. 7
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Lauren Busser writes: “Designing a new website is about more than just aesthetics. It’s also a time to consider what is and isn’t currently working for your audience. Analytics can help you make some suggestions, but engaging your audience in the design process can help uncover aspects of your website that you’ve never considered. Over the last two years, I have been engaging the community at Fairfield (Conn.) University to aid in redesigning the DiMenna-Nyselius Library website. These are a few exercises we conducted that got us talking about ways to make meaningful change.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Aug. 10
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Betsy Gomez writes: “ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released two reports providing additional detailed insights from 2025, the year with the highest level of library censorship ever documented in the US. The reports are derived from additional analysis of the 2025 data that was announced during this year’s National Library Week. One report focuses on censorship activities that took place at public libraries, and the other examines censorship at school libraries. Each report includes an overview of significant changes and trends, data on threats to intellectual freedom at public libraries or schools, and details on the censorship of books.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, Aug. 5
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Comic-Con International announced the winners of the 38th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards July 24. Topping this year’s winners is Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC) by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez, which won Best Limited Series and Best Penciller/Inker and shared the prizes for Best Cover Artist (Rodriguez) and Best Lettering for Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The only other title with multiple wins was This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare), by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux, which received awards for Best Publication for Teens and Best Writer.

San Diego Comic-Con International, July 24

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