Digital Strategies for Librarians

Librarian's Library by Anna Gooding-Call

A librarian’s library should evolve along with the tools of our trade. The following books will help you stay current on digital trends that affect all aspects of the profession.

Your Technology Outreach Adventure: Tools for Human-Centered Problem Solving
By Erin Berman
This title will guide professionals in exploring computer-focused library programming. While it provides good examples of tech programs that benefit from outreach, the bulk of the book deals with group planning and design. These are often applicable to any program series or project where planning happens in committee. Conference planners and professionals staging library-wide events may find its insights particularly useful. In addition to well-outlined brainstorming strategies, Berman details methods for transforming plans into effective programs while maintaining a spirit of cooperation among organizers. ALA Editions, 2019. 208 p. $54.99. PBK. 978-0-8389-1778-7. (Also available as an ebook.)

Information Literacy and Libraries in the Age of Fake News
By Denise E. Agosto, editor
This collection of essays does an outstanding job presenting multiple philosophies, strategies, and viewpoints on the problem of digital disinformation. Unlike the titular fake news, these short pieces are uniformly researched, well sourced, and invested with extensive bibliographies. Several stand in stark contrast to their subject as pieces that argue a point well without skirting facts. Topics range from strategies to help patrons develop critical-thinking skills to the history of yellow journalism. The bibliographies for each essay contain a wealth of further reading and possible foundations for thesis and research papers. Libraries Unlimited, 2018. 184 p. $65. PBK. 978- 1-4408-6418-6. (Also available as an ebook.)

Power Searching the Internet: The Librarian’s Quick Guide
By Nicole Hennig
Centered firmly on the practical, Power Searching compresses valuable information into a slim volume on the use of popular platforms like Twitter and especially Google as search resources. A particularly good resource for librarians who educate patrons about search habits, it reveals new sides to services that many people already know about. Its weakness is that it’s a physical book in a digital world. Some of its advice, such as that about Google+, is already out of date. Even so, its pointers are professionally valuable, clearly conveyed, and worth its price. Libraries Unlimited, 2018. 103 p. $35. PBK. 978-1-4408-6697-5. (Also available as an ebook.)

New Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know: A LITA Guide
By Kenneth J. Varnum
Varnum’s 2014 Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know gets a follow-up in this collection of essays about emerging technologies. While professionals comfortable with the “internet of things” and HTML5 will feel right at home, the book is a worthwhile look into the near future. It is solutions-oriented and positive when it addresses problems like privacy and link rot. Each well-cited essay includes a bibliography, and a thorough index completes the entire work. Like its predecessor, this book is likely to be relevant for about five years, during which time it will be extremely useful. Highly recommended. ALA Editions, 2019. 304 p. $70. PBK. 978-0-8389-1782-4. (Also available as an ebook.)

Power Up Your Read-Alouds: Building Reading Excitement through Technology
By Andrea Paganelli
It’s safe to say that many librarians still aren’t completely aware of transmedia, the digitally integrated storytelling strategy that makes books and storytimes interactive. This book represents a valuable self-education opportunity for any programming librarian, regardless of specialty. It even provides sample program-ready storytime plans. Despite its tech focus, much of this book’s advice for tailoring storytimes to specific audiences could apply to a traditional, nondigital storytime. All in all, a strong choice for a brand-new children’s librarian or LIS student. Libraries Unlimited, 2019. 150 p. $45. PBK. 978-1-4408-6520-6. (Also available as an ebook.)

Tech-Savvy Reading Promotion: A Toolbox for Librarians and Other Educators
By Nancy J. Keane
Stuffed with helpful advice on online tools, this title focuses on empowering librarians to locate and create digital media. The plethora of (mostly free or freemium) resources encompasses every format from infographics to virtual reality. Bulleted sublists help break down usage instructions into comprehensible chunks. Divided by category, the book explains each media type’s definition and potential usage. However, handholding is minimal; it’s meant for librarians who are already social-media aware. Any title about web pages is vulnerable to link death, and this one is no exception. For now, enjoy this indispensable work, and look for future updates. Libraries Unlimited, 2019. 166 p. $50. PBK. 978-1-4408-6850-4. (Also available as an ebook.)

Latest Library Links

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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Ashley Cosby Fowlkes writes: “In February 2023, Warren County (Ky.) Public Library (WCPL) began working with LifeWorks at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, a residential community for neurodiverse young adults that focuses on independent living and job readiness. By May, WCPL opened a satellite location at LifeWorks—making it the state’s first public library branch dedicated to serving neurodiverse patrons. The satellite is designed to be a sensory-sensitive environment, enabling individuals with autism, ADHD, or other learning differences—who can become overstimulated in crowded public areas—to concentrate on their studies, read a book, or browse digital library resources.”

American Libraries Trend, Mar./Apr.