2h
Natu Tweh writes: “Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1134 into law. Beginning January 1, it will limit how local governments can spend public money on certain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale is among many organizations in South Florida taking evasive action after finding themselves in the crosshairs of the bill. It means they have already planned to cancel or change some county-supported events, such as their annual Kwanzaa celebration.”
WLRN-FM (Miami), Oct. 30
17h
Hana Lee Goldin writes: “On October 22, the UK government launched Be Ready, a campaign asking households to prepare for three days of disruption. The campaign’s website names cyberattacks alongside severe weather as emergencies that can disrupt everyday services. Be Ready’s checklist includes copies of key documents, important phone numbers, and an FM radio alongside food and water. Those items are a great start, but information needs a kit of its own. In an emergency, we need to know whose warnings to trust and how to check an alarming claim when official sites go dark.”
Card Catalog, Oct. 28
20h
Katie Burkholder writes: “Lavonnia Moore, former branch manager of Pierce County (Ga.) Public Library, filed a lawsuit against the library system after she was fired for allowing a child to include the book When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff in a ‘Color Our World’ reading display in June 2025. The book includes a transgender character. Unbeknownst to Moore until her termination,” the book sparked a campaign by the Alliance for Faith and Family….
Rough Draft Atlanta, Oct. 30; July 5, 2025
24h
Holly Miller and Nancy Garmer write: “Academic libraries are often organized into discrete departments that have little to no interaction. This article describes how one mid-sized library with 30 librarians and professional staffers used cross-functional teams to encourage personnel to interact in new ways and cultivate new skills. The teams helped develop leadership and project management skills in team members who were not currently in library leadership roles. This approach accomplished essential infrastructure projects while growing employees’ competencies and fostering ownership and engagement within the library.”
Library Leadership and Management, vol. 39, no. 3, Oct. 29
1d
Janice Chuang writes: “Public library storytimes are more than just a fun time for children; beneath the read-alouds, songs, fingerplays, bubbles, and movement activities are abundant opportunities to support children’s literacy learning. One way to do this is by incorporating the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), an educational theory by Lev Vygotsky, into storytime planning and design. With a little bit of foreplanning, we can structure literacy experiences to align with children’s developmental levels. This article provides an introduction and practical tips for storytime providers on how to intentionally scaffold learning during picture book reading in storytime using the ZPD.”
Public Libraries Online, Nov. 2
2d
“Last spring, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) subcommittee of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Value of Academic Libraries Committee shared a survey to check the temperature of DEI at our institutions and within our units. The two questions we posed were: What does equity mean to you or your library? What is the status of DEI programs and initiatives at your institution? Based on your anonymous responses, we identified a few trends and common challenges, which we hope can strengthen our unity towards addressing these challenges.”
ACRL Insider, Oct. 30
2d
Byron Tate writes: “A proposal to cut funding to Saline County (Ark.) Library by a third was narrowly defeated on November 3. Saline County Quorum Court voted in May to place a measure on the ballot, giving voters the opportunity to cut the library’s tax base of 1.7 mills to 1.1 mills, which would have amounted to a loss of $1.7 million. The attempt to reduce the funding has its roots in a disagreement that Saline County Judge Matt Brumley and Republicans on the Quorum Court” had over library content with former Executive Director Patty Hector.
Arkansas Times, Nov. 4, May 18; Arkansas Advocate, Aug. 27
