16h
Rachel Bachman writes: “After enough time reading to children, you begin to notice certain patterns. Not necessarily in what books they enjoy, but in how they enjoy them. Some children want to hear the same story a hundred times. Others have very strong opinions about the second page. Some listen with rapt attention, while others appear to be conducting an entirely unrelated investigation of the ceiling tiles. Which brings me to my entirely unscientific attempt at classification. After years of reading picture books to children, I have concluded that there are several distinct species of storytime attendee.”
20h
Lish McBride writes: “It’s the spooky season, the time for tricks and treats, and today I bring you whimsy that has a little of both. Horror is the salty to whimsy’s sweet, each one bringing out hidden nuances and subtle flavors you might not catch otherwise. They also make a pretty good team. Studies show that horror can act as a safe space to process trauma in multiple ways. While horror helps you process, humor is there to help you cope. They combine to make a powerful psychological tool, a one-two punch in the gut of trauma!”
Reactor, Oct. 26
1d
Emily Long writes: “If you’ve opted in to Google’s ‘Personal Intelligence’ feature in the hopes of receiving more tailored AI responses from Gemini, there’s a good chance that more of your data than you realize is being used for targeted advertising. In a recent privacy policy update, Google quietly added an exception to how it handles information from Drive, Gmail, and Photos to personalize the ads you see—but there’s a way to opt out.”
Lifehacker, Oct. 27
2d
Madison Dearnaley writes: “A strategic plan should be rooted in your current school context and school’s strategic direction. It should also be true to good library practice. Start by gathering evidence of your school context. You might use your school’s strategic plan, website, vision and mission statements, or even meet with leadership to get them to articulate to you the school’s strategic direction. Write this all down, and highlight the key terms and frequently occurring words and themes.”
Madison’s Library, Oct. 22
2d
Olivia Rae Heerman writes: “About a year ago, I noticed a shift in my storytimes. Something was off. I felt less excited to walk out, welcome, and lead participants with energy and joy. I drifted into thinking about other parts of my day while singing my favorite songs. I was more frustrated by grown-ups having side conversations and more overstimulated by upset children. It was burnout. I needed, and my community needed, a storytime reset—a redesign.”
ALSC Blog, Oct. 21
2d
Jylisa Kenyon, Ramirose Attebury, and Jeremy Kenyon write: “Many academic libraries continue to deal with a large footprint of print serials, even years after ongoing print subscriptions are canceled. This case study documents how a research library planned for and implemented its own large-scale print serials withdrawal project. By highlighting prior weeding projects, as well as the technical details and workflow processes from the most recent project—including the use of scoring metrics to facilitate data analysis and decision making—this study provides practical steps that other libraries can investigate before taking on their own large-scale weeding projects.”
Library Resources and Technical Services, vol. 70, no. 4, Oct.
3d
Alejandro Marquez writes: “Organizational toxicity isn’t just about bad bosses or a difficult colleagues. It’s a systemic issue, encompassing behaviors, norms, and values that create a harmful and damaging environment for employees. It’s characterized by a lack of psychological safety, where people fear speaking up, taking risks, or simply being themselves. It can be subtle and it doesn’t always manifest as overt hostility, but it steadily erodes trust, motivation, and well-being. Some common signs are constant comparison, moving goalposts, and vague expectations, all of which are hallmarks of a toxic environment.”
Choice: Toward Inclusive Excellence, Oct. 20
