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May 21, 2024 350 × 250 Working for Well-Being

Oak Park (Ill.) Public Library (OPPL) staffers Jenna Friebel (left) and Stephen Jackson pose with a therapy dog. OPPL brings in dogs quarterly as part of a plan to boost staff wellness. Photo: OPPL

Oak Park (Ill.) Public Library (OPPL) staffers Jenna Friebel (left) and Stephen Jackson pose with a therapy dog. OPPL brings in dogs quarterly as part of a plan to boost staff wellness.

Latest Library Links

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Jennifer Schuessler writes: “Today, figures like [Arturo Alfonso] Schomburg and the historian and activist W.E.B. Du Bois (another collector and compiler of Black books) are hailed as the founders of the 20th-century Black intellectual tradition. But increasingly, scholars are also uncovering the important role of the women who often ran the libraries [such as New York Public Library’s 135^th Street Branch, now known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture], where they built collections and—just as important—communities of readers. Many were among the first Black women to attend library school.”

New York Times, June 19
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Ruby Helyer writes: “Despite being expensive and having difficult-to-cancel long-term subscription plans, Adobe has monopolized the creative design industry. I curated the perfect list of free alternatives to all of Adobe’s major creative software apps, so you can pursue your creativity without paying a penny.” Included in the list are alternatives to Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects, Premiere Pro, InDesign, Adobe Express, and Acrobat.

MakeUseOf, June 21
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Meghan Phillips writes: “In recent discussions at conferences and within local networks, a recurring topic has been the restructuring of library departments. Whether you are a middle manager or the person being managed, it is difficult to transition. In a large system, different departments can have vastly different managers and managing styles. In my experience, I was the one being moved to a new department. Although the major aspects of my job and job description remained the same, it was impossible for my working style not to change. Here are some tips that I found useful.”

Public Libraries Online, June 19
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“The Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is aware that Midwest Tape/Hoopla plans to offer an audience or content filtering system to librarians and library workers. OIF has reached out to Midwest Tape to discuss our concerns about the proposal. While we appreciate that Midwest Tape has clarified that the Universal Content Ratings System is not intended to apply additional public-facing ratings to library materials and will not be public or available to library users, we have ongoing concerns about utilizing ratings and categories that resemble morality-based labels and filtering systems.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, June 24; Book Riot, June 20
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Matthew Weirick Johnson writes: “In the past four decades, we’ve come a long way in recognizing the prevalence of burnout among librarians. However, library leaders need to activate this recognition to develop meaningful solutions. As we move past proving that librarians are burning out, we need to consider causes and responses, looking beyond individual actions and self-care. We need to examine the professional, organizational, and occupational causes of burnout, including those that are unique to librarianship, libraries, and library workers, and determine practical approaches for library workers and leaders to identify and ameliorate them.”

Association of College and Research Libraries Keeping Up With…, June
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Claire Savage writes: “Idaho librarian June Meissner was closing up for the day at the downtown Boise Public Library when a man approached her asking for help. As an information services librarian, answering patrons’ questions is part of Meissner’s day-to-day work, and serving the community is one of her favorite parts of the job. But when the man got close enough, ‘he took a swing at me and tried to punch me in the head,’ said Meissner, a transgender woman. ‘I blocked it, and he started yelling slurs and suggesting that he was going to come back and kill me.’”

Associated Press, June 22
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Philip Kennicott writes: “The Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library [in Washington, DC] used to be a dark space, its tall windows covered to prevent damage to the rare books and documents on display there. Today, the light floods in, illuminating the Great Hall’s intricate wood paneling, the ornate plaster ceiling and the two curious seals—an eagle for the US and the coat of arms of Elizabeth I—above the doors. After a more than four-year renovation and expansion, the Folger is a building transformed, better able to serve its core mission of scholarship, but with greatly expanded public access.”

Washington Post, June 21

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