All posts by Megan Bennett

Caelin Ross, performing arts librarian at Arizona State University Library in Tempe, poses with items from its Theatre for Youth and Community Collection.

Bookend: Curtains Up

“You can learn so much … from plays written for, with, and by youth,” says Ross, performing arts librarian at Arizona State University (ASU) Library in Tempe, noting that young imaginations allow for more “interesting and experimental” presentations. Ross oversees ASU’s Theatre for Youth and Community Collection. Founded in 1979, the university says it is … Continue reading Bookend: Curtains Up

A young patron at Joeten-Kiyu Public Library in Susupe, Northern Mariana Islands plays in the library's new Sensory Corner

Libraries Transforming Communities, One Year Later

During the first round of funding, 240 small and rural libraries, located within towns with populations of under 25,000 people, received awards of $10,000 or $20,000 to improve the accessibility of their facilities, services, and programs. American Libraries spoke with five libraries that participated in the program’s inaugural year about their projects’ impact on those … Continue reading Libraries Transforming Communities, One Year Later

Headshot of Ana Ndumu

Serving New Neighbors

With immigrants making up 13.8% of our population, the US is more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than ever before. But for many library workers, staying abreast of the fraught immigration policy landscape is challenging. Laws shift rapidly, with initiatives introduced or eliminated according to political agendas. For instance, library workers may be interested in … Continue reading Serving New Neighbors

Headshot of Librarian's Library columnist Rachel Rosenberg

Improving Inclusivity

The Inclusive Organization: Real Solutions, Impactful Change, and Meaningful Diversity By Netta Jenkins Jenkins, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) executive, has worked with organizations of all sizes. Here she draws on her lived experiences and years of accumulated knowledge to suggest actionable ways that employees can improve their workplaces. The book shows readers how … Continue reading Improving Inclusivity

Librarian Corinne Wolfson wearing several buttons from Harvard University's political button collection, surrounded by a collage of buttons reading, "Wearing buttons is not enough," "Teddy is good enough for me (alongside a photo of Teddy Roosevelt), McKinley and protection, Draft beer not people, It's a man's world unless women vote, Boycott non-union lettuce, Proudly for Brooke - a creative Republican, Viva LBJ, Rocky has never lost an election, and an illustration of black and white hands cradling a dove of peace.

Bookend: Put a Pin in It

From the iconic to the incendiary, political messages like these have emblazoned buttons and pins since the start of US elections. Since 2012, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (HKS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been archiving political buttons. The collection now includes thousands of items spanning a century’s worth of campaigns and causes. “Pre-internet, this … Continue reading Bookend: Put a Pin in It

Cover image for 2024 Library Design Showcase

2024 Library Design Showcase

From Brutal to beautiful Toronto Public Library, York Woods branch The York Woods renovation and addition retains the original 1970 brutalist library and connected theater while enhancing them with a new 2,000-square-foot glass entrance pavilion, topped with a timber roof to create a welcoming entryway. The interior retains the original structure but now incorporates exposed … Continue reading 2024 Library Design Showcase

New English Canaan (1637) by Thomas Morton

Censorship Throughout the Centuries

OIF, which began collecting data about censorship attempts in US libraries in 1990—and started observing Banned Books Week in 1982—was formed in 1967 to provide tangible support to library workers as they sought to uphold the intellectual freedom tenets of the Library Bill of Rights and ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement. As high-profile battles with … Continue reading Censorship Throughout the Centuries

Ted Quiballo, instructional technologies librarian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, shows interns for World Relief Chicagoland’s youth summer program how to use a 3D scanner.

Makerspace and Sense of Place

For nearly a decade, Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, and the Chicago office of the national nonprofit World Relief have worked together to offer free summer programming for families who are refugees or seeking asylum. In 2021, after the US military withdrew its final troops from Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghan families fled … Continue reading Makerspace and Sense of Place

A 1981 concert flier for Dr. Cool and Cold Crush Brothers, archived in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library

By the Numbers: Music Libraries and Collections

1,000 Number of event fliers in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library (CUL) in Ithaca, New York. These handmade fliers, made between 1976 and 1984, advertise early live performances by genre trail­blazers like Grandmaster Flash and the Cold Crush Brothers. To date, CUL has digitized about half of these fliers. 1,900 Number of items … Continue reading By the Numbers: Music Libraries and Collections