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Peyton Gast writes: “A new 4,000-square-foot pollinator garden opened Thursday at the Phoenix (Ore.) branch of Jackson County Library District, giving the community a green space inspired by residents’ hopes for recovery after the 2020 Almeda Fire. The garden wraps around the library, with greenery near the entrance, colorful flowers in the back and tall trees shading pathways through the space. Library leaders say the project grew out of community listening sessions held after the fire, which destroyed much of Phoenix. Residents expressed a desire to restore some of the plants, wildlife and natural spaces lost in the disaster.”
OPB, Aug. 23
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The PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation will present a two-episode series, “Beyond Books,” that celebrates the surprising, essential, and evolving role of public libraries. In the series, three young adults travel across the country in a green RV visiting libraries in California, New Mexico, Missouri, and Illinois, and meet with library professionals leading innovative rural libraries, specialized archives, and large urban systems. Roadtrip Nation: “Beyond Books” will air on PBS starting September 1, and stream on the PBS app and PBS.org.
KQED-TV (San Francisco), Aug. 21
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Anne James writes: “Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday he will push state lawmakers to strip a full letter grade from any school district’s state accountability rating if it keeps library books he considers inappropriate, an escalation that comes about a year after a separate state law already gave Texas parents new power over what their children can check out. Patrick said nearly 2,200 titles are on what he calls a ‘dirty book list,’ [compiled by Christian advocacy group Recover America] and he claimed many of them are still sitting on public school library shelves across Texas.”
KHOU-TV (Houston), Aug. 20
