From lockdown to pop-up: Reimagining reference in a changed world

Pop-up library cart at Lansing Community College Emily Villanueva and Romany Craig write: “This article outlines the development and implementation of a pop-up reference service at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta) Library as an innovative response to declining reference interactions. This initiative was designed to connect with students who were unaware of the resources available at the library. Findings suggest that pop-up reference services play an important role in library outreach, providing individualized experiences that students desire while eliciting reference questions that otherwise would not have been asked.”

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“Given the increasing threat US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) poses to immigrant and refugee communities across the United States, Toward Inclusive Excellence is returning to the topic of how best to support these communities on college and university campuses. Our September 2 webinar brought together three academic librarians to share the steps and protocols they have employed on their campuses, along with suggestions for how academic librarians can respond to this moment.” The Public Library Association hosted a similar webinar in February, but this webinar specifically focuses on the academic library community.

Choice: Toward Inclusive Excellence, Sept. 2, American Libraries feature, Summer
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ALA’s Nominating Committee is seeking nominees for the positions of ALA president-elect, executive board member, and councilor-at-large in the 2027 spring election. The president-elect will serve a three-year term as president-elect in 2027–2028, president in 2028–2029, and immediate past president in 2029–2030. The committee will select no fewer than 18 candidates for the 12 at-large council seats. Councilors-at-large and executive board members will serve three-year terms beginning in 2027. For more information or to nominate a candidate, visit the ALA Election website. The nomination deadline is October 31.

ALA Governance Office, Sept. 10
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Amy Hardin writes: “Library renovations can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re juggling tight budgets, big community expectations, and a building that’s showing its age. The good news is you don’t have to choose between ‘do nothing’ and ‘tear it down.’ Most successful library upgrades live somewhere in the middle: a smart, phased plan that protects your long-term vision while making meaningful improvements right now. Here are a few practical ways to think about approaching a library renovation.”

American Libraries Online, Sept. 15
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Violet Fox writes: “In March 2025, I wrote about anticipatory obedience at the Library of Congress (LC), describing how LC fast tracked changes to the Library of Congress Subject Headings relating to the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali. When Trump issued an executive order on August 27 directing federal agencies to change Lake Ontario to Lake America, catalogers around the world waited to see how LC would handle the changes. On September 3, LC scheduled a proposal to change the subject heading, and on September 11, the change was approved. The speed with which this happened is astounding.”

ACRLog, Sept. 12; Mar. 28, 2025
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In the 15 years since Fayetteville (N.Y.) Free Library opened the first recognized public library makerspace, similar creative hubs have spread to libraries throughout the country. In our By the Numbers feature, learn more makerspace facts, including details about DC Public Library’s Dance Studio, how University of Utah’s Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library used its makerspace to contribute to pandemic relief, and how Paul Smith Elementary School in Franklin, New Hampshire, taught students to make pillows perfect to lounge on while reading.

American Libraries Trend, Fall
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Ann Medaille writes: “With the advent of new technologies and rapid social and economic shifts, library workers’ jobs are being transformed. Compared with a decade ago, library workers now spend more time consulting on complex research tools, teaching digital literacy classes, supporting virtual learning environments, helping users troubleshoot devices, and codesigning projects with community partners. The pace at which library staffers are called upon to learn new skills is accelerating, and workers may struggle to keep up. While corporations may embrace upskilling to stay competitive, libraries will have to support upskilling to remain relevant.”

American Libraries feature, Fall
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Nicky Martin and Tracee Haupt Fugate write: “Preserving a website is complicated. Even a simple webpage can depend on dozens of images, videos, scripts, style sheets, and other resources scattered across the web. If some of those pieces are missed, the archived version may look or behave differently than the original. That is why quality assurance (QA) is an important part of web archiving.” They report on a project to evaluate an automated QA tool for website archiving.

Library of Congress: The Signal, Sept. 8

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