Latest Library Links
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The American Library Association announced the 13 public libraries selected to receive a total of $1.3 million to bolster their library entrepreneurship centers. Established as part of a Google.org initiative to create opportunity for all, Libraries Build Business will enable libraries across the country to increase the number of business creators they serve from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds. -
The Donald G. Davis Article Award is presented by the ALA Library History Round Table every even-numbered year to recognize the best article written in English in the field of US and Canadian library history. The 2020 winner is Laura E. Helton for “On Decimals, Catalogs, and Racial Imaginaries of Reading,” PMLA 134, no. 1 (2019): 99-120. -
Richard Byrne writes: “I’ve been revisiting some of my favorite books this summer. Doing that has reminded me of some ideas that I’ve shared in the past and also sparked some new ideas. One of those ideas is using multimedia creation tools to create alternatives to traditional book reports. Here’s a handful of ideas for alternatives to traditional book report projects.” -
Siobhan Reardon, president and director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, resigned July 23. In late June and early July, the Concerned Black Workers of the Free Library of Philadelphia published open letters decrying library administration and calling for Reardon’s resignation. In solidarity with library employees, at least six prominent authors canceled planned events at the library. -
Join the ALA Copyright, Legislation, Education, and Advocacy Network (CLEAN) for a free CopyTalk webinar at 2 p.m. Eastern on August 6. The webinar, “The Road to Mordor: Educating Faculty on Copyright, Fair Use, and Licensing,” focuses on reaching faculty and students through Copyright LibGuides. Jessica Lee, electronic resources and serials librarian at Valdosta State University, will present information on how she developed the first copyright and fair use resources for her institution. -
The Association of College and Research Libraries invites its committees, sections, interest groups, and individual members to submit program proposals for the 2021 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Program proposals will be submitted via a centralized submission site for all ALA divisions, round tables, committees, and offices. Proposals are due September 30.
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Though originating in the fields of health and social services, trauma-informed care is a framework that holds great promise for application to library work. Rebecca Tolley’s new book A Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Services, published by ALA Editions, puts these ideas into the library context. Empathetic service, positive patron encounters, and a more trusting workplace are only a few of the benefits that this approach offers. -
The American Association of School Librarians has released a document demonstrating the school librarian’s critical role in meeting the needs of learners in a constantly changing learning environment. “School Librarian Role in Pandemic Learning Conditions” is available as a standalone chart or together with supplemental resources. -
Return on investment measures how much value an organization, project, or service has generated for each monetary unit invested in it. This approach originates in the economics, and libraries have adopted (and adapted) this method to measure their own value and impact. ROI studies and reports from libraries across the globe have indicated impressive returns, detailed in a new report from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. -
With everything from New Yorker covers to New York Times–bestselling graphic novels under his belt, cartoonist and illustrator Adrian Tomine has had a more than successful career. But his newest autobiographical book, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist (Drawn & Quarterly, July), traces a lifetime of humiliations: disastrous book signings, rude reviews, a meal ruined by diners at an adjacent table viciously dissecting his latest work. We spoke with him about COVID, craving loneliness, and libraries. -
Aliya Chaudhry writes: “On the day the Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, Pennsylvania, was supposed to unveil a superhero-themed escape room, the library had to close its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. With no physical location to work with, librarian Sydney Krawiec started to devise an alternative: a digital escape room created in Google Forms.” -
Porter Anderson writes: “On the heels of its second-quarter report on the American book market, which we covered here on Monday, the NPD Group on July 21 has released new data showing that ebook unit sales in April rose by nearly a third over the previous month, a new indication of how consumers reached for digital retail under the constraints of COVID-19 mitigation efforts.”
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