2018 Presidential Citations

Students at a teacher’s college in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, learn about the Darakht-e Danesh Library.

Four libraries have been awarded the 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects. Presented by the International Relations Round Table (IRRT), the awards recognize services and projects that draw attention to the potential for library services to create positive change, demonstrate sustainability, and provide a model for others. The winners are:

Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Canada
La Biblioteca Móvil, Guatemala
Suzhou Library, China
Inner Mongolia Library, China

The recipients were selected by a team of IRRT members in consultation with then–ALA President Jim Neal, who recognized them at the 2018 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans during the IRRT International Librarians Reception on June 25.

The ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library projects began as an initiative of 2007–2008 ALA President Loriene Roy. IRRT is an ALA round table with a mission to develop the interests of librarians in activities and problems in the field of international library relations.

Darakht-e Danesh Library
Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Canada
The Darakht-e Danesh Library (DDL), launched in 2014 by the nonprofit Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, is an online repository of open access resources in English and local Afghan languages for Afghan educators, teacher trainers, literacy workers, and anyone working to support literacy and education in Afghanistan. DDL is currently being used in 300 schools across Afghanistan. The project is being recognized for:

creating a sustainable model of collaboration between a nongovernmental organization, librarians, volunteers, and teachers that can be replicated by other libraries
providing visibility to the project through its website
participating in the Open Education Global Conferences
raising the educational and literacy level of Afghan youth and adults

Salvador Isaías Sisay Tuch, coordinator of programs for La Biblioteca Móvil, poses with children served by the traveling library.

La Puerta Abierta Library and Learning Center
La Biblioteca Móvil, Guatemala
La Biblioteca Móvil (The Traveling Library) created La Puerta Abierta (The Open Door) Library and Learning Center as an outreach project in which a traveling librarian visits eight middle and high schools and a community center for the elderly in the Santiago Atitlán area of Sololá, Guatemala, on a weekly basis. The project is being recognized for:

promoting excitement about reading to children in areas with limited resources
offering a variety of books with longer loan periods and weekly classroom interactions with a librarian
providing training to teachers on how to incorporate literacy education into their curricula

A librarian (center) with students at Suzhou Library.

Little Migratory Birds Project
Suzhou Library, China
The Little Migratory Birds project, implemented in 2010 by Suzhou Library in cooperation with the town of Tongjing, aims to help the children of migrant workers living in the area by creating a positive environment where they can read, learn, and enjoy a sense of shared community. The project is being recognized for:

serving as a model for Chinese public libraries to expand services to populations with social and economic disadvantages
understanding the special needs of migrant children and their families and sustaining a project that serves a dynamic population
working strategically with community centers to develop educational and cultural programs

Installation of a digital service station in Inner Mongolia.

Digital Culture Enters Mongolian Yurts
Inner Mongolia Library, China
Inner Mongolia Library’s Digital Culture Enters Mongolian Yurts project was implemented in 2012 to help farmers and herdsmen in Inner Mongolia access the internet. The library built a network of digital service stations that connects people in remote areas to Wi-Fi using a three-tier relay system. The project is being recognized for:

providing online services to different generations, including young people eager to learn and use skills to improve themselves and their families
inspiring others and serving as a model for innovative digital services in China •

Latest Library Links

9h

Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
15h

ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
16h

In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
1d

Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
1d

Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
2d

Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15
2d

Megan Bennett writes: “Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet access. American Libraries spoke with Sloan before her closing session at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, about her new book, her journey in stand-up comedy, and her memories of libraries.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 17