Oprah’s book club becomes a podcast | American Libraries Magazine

Laura Zornosa writes: “Oprah Winfrey has taken her popular book club virtual: The talk show host is bringing Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson to Apple Books as an ebook and audiobook—and to Apple Podcasts, discussing with Wilkerson ‘how society needs a new way to talk about racism.’ The new podcast spans eight parts, one for each ‘pillar of caste.’ Tuesday’s premiere episode delves into the background behind the book, and upcoming episodes will be released for free on Apple Podcasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Los Angeles Times, Sept. 8

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Nathalie op de Beeck writes: “At a time when media consolidation is decimating local news organizations, journalist and civic strategist Terry Parris Jr. believes that libraries—and specifically, library patrons—may offer a solution. In 2024, Parris founded the Library Newsroom Project to combat the small-town media deserts he saw arising across the country. Now, he’s bringing LNP pilots to Miami-Dade Public Library, the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair (N.J.) State University, and Boston Public Library, with additional sites in development.”

Publishers Weekly, Oct. 2
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Becky Siegel Spratford writes: “Every year as big book award nominees are announced, people have opinions and complaints. This year everything came to a public head when New York Times opinion writer Bret Stephens wrote ‘The Literary World’s DEI Checklist’ about the National Book Award nominees. With all disrespect to his faulty logic, juries tend to be made of previous nominees and winners. Women, people of color, and queer people have slowly been added to those ranks, and when their turn comes up to be a juror, they bring their perspective and reading preferences with them.”

RA For All, Oct. 7
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Elissa Malespina writes: “On October 9, Moms for Liberty announced a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered program that the organization says monitors school board agendas across more than 13,000 districts nationwide. The tool reportedly checks agendas every 12 hours, flagging issues involving curriculum, diversity and equity policies, gender identity, and other topics. The goal is to alert members before school boards vote so they have time to respond. What concerns me is not that someone is reading school board agendas, but who is operating this technology, what the organization has already done in public education, and how AI could expand those efforts.”

The AI School Librarian, Oct. 13
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ALA and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies have opened registration for National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) 2027. Hundreds of library advocates from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C., February 24–25, 2027, to make the case for federal support of libraries of all types. The event will open with an afternoon briefing on February 24 that includes education, advocacy training, and networking activities, followed by a day of meetings with federal legislators on February 25. The deadline to register is November 25, and capacity is limited.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Oct. 7
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Gena Parsons-Diamond writes: “The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has published The State of US Academic Libraries: Findings from the ACRL 2025 Annual Survey. The annual Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey gathers critical information about academic library staff, expenditures, collections, circulation, and information services. The data helps staffers and administrators evaluate library performance over time and make peer comparisons. It can also help articulate the value of academic libraries and their impact on higher education, demonstrating the core services libraries provide and the resources needed to support institutional missions.

ACRL Insider, Oct. 13
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Eliminating E-Rate would have serious negative effects on the US economy, according to a new economic study released October 8 by the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, ALA, and coalition partners. The analysis, conducted for SHLB by independent economic consulting firm The Brattle Group, estimates that removing roughly $2.6 billion in annual E-Rate support would reduce annual real GDP by about $4.2 billion, or about $1.60 in lost economic activity for every $1 of support removed.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Oct. 9
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Steve Tetrault writes: “Despite what too many adults continue to believe, students are not very good with technology. For the most part, their use and understanding of technology is surface-level. Their technological inabilities are compounded by the fact that many of the productivity tools adults use on a regular basis are not regularly used by students. Email? Why would they, when they have texting? Printing, and/or understanding file types? They carry a display screen on their person—no need to deal with files or printing. So the kids aren’t alright when it comes to ‘basic’ tech use.”

Knowledge Quest, Oct. 7

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