Author Archive: Amy Carlton

Newsmaker: Misty Copeland

By Amy Carlton | February 1, 2018

Copeland is author of Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (Simon and Schuster, 2014); Firebird (Putnam, 2014), with illustrator Christopher Myers, which won the 2015 Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator Award; and Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Grateful You (Grand Central Life and Style, 2017). She spoke with … Continue reading Newsmaker: Misty Copeland →

Newsmaker: Dolly Parton

By Amy Carlton | January 2, 2018

There are so many ways to promote reading and literacy. How did you decide to set up Imagination Library this way so that children get free books in the mail that they can keep? It started out with a simple dream, and a very personal one, 22 years ago. My father was a brilliant man, … Continue reading Newsmaker: Dolly Parton →

Newsmaker: Emil Ferris

By Amy Carlton | November 1, 2017

You worked on this story for several years while recovering from West Nile virus, getting a master’s at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and raising your daughter. Then this nearly 400-page book comes out, and cartoonist Art Spiegelman is calling you “one of the most important comics artists of our time.” How … Continue reading Newsmaker: Emil Ferris →

Librarians Go to Juvie

By Amy Carlton | June 27, 2017

In Monday’s session “Librarians Go to Juvie,” Susan Warner, head of youth services at Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL), explained that 85% of juveniles involved with the court system are functionally low-literate, and involvement with the court system dramatically increases the high school dropout rate. In addition, 70% of all incarcerated adults cannot read at a … Continue reading Librarians Go to Juvie →

Council III: Memorials and Tributes

By Amy Carlton | June 27, 2017

Memorials were read for Eric Moon (M#10), Marija J. Sanderling (M#11), Robert Henry “Bob” Rohlf (M#12), Dorothy Evans (M#13), Joy L. Lowe (M#14), Pauline Manaka (oral acknowledgment), and Amanda Rudd (oral acknowledgment). Tributes were offered for Harry Bruce (T#2), Keith Michael Fiels (T#3), and the 20th Anniversary of Victory in the Communications Decency Act Case … Continue reading Council III: Memorials and Tributes →

Katie McLain (left), reference assistant, and Amanda Civitello, marketing and communications manager, Waukegan (Ill.) Public Library.

Fighting Sexual Harassment in the Library

By Amy Carlton | June 27, 2017

That’s when she decided to say something. In the session “It’s Not Just ‘Part of the Job’: Breaking the Silence on Sexual Harassment in the Library,” McLain and her colleague Amanda Civitello, marketing and communications manager at WPL, defined sexual harassment, identified the behaviors associated with it, discussed how libraries can empower staff, and offered … Continue reading Fighting Sexual Harassment in the Library →

Funny Books for Funny Girls

By Amy Carlton | June 27, 2017

November asked panelists first to weigh in on why funny books are important, and why we should take them seriously. As Williams-Garcia explained, “Humor gets us through dark times, like when someone cracks an inappropriate joke that lets us keep going.” Humor can also be subversive. When people object to what younger kids are reading, … Continue reading Funny Books for Funny Girls →

Council II: Tribute to Keith Michael Fiels

By Amy Carlton | June 26, 2017

Councilor Vivian Bourdeaux, chair of the Council Election Tellers Committee, reported on the election of new representatives to the Committee on Committees (COC) and the Planning and Budget Assembly (PBA) (CD#12.3). Elected to 2017–2018 COC are Ismail Abdullahi, Roberto Carlos Delgadillo, Martin L. Garnar, and Eboni Henri. Elected to the PBA as chapter councilors for … Continue reading Council II: Tribute to Keith Michael Fiels →

Council I Tackles Climate Change

By Amy Carlton | June 25, 2017

The minutes from the ALA Midwinter Meeting (CD#2.1) were adopted. ALA President-Elect Jim Neal presented the nominations for the ALA Committee on Committees (COC) (CD#12): Ismail Abdullahi, Lauren Comito, Roberto Carlos Delgadillo, Martin L. Garnar, Mel Gooch, Eboni Henri, Jenna Nemec-Loise, and Kimberly Anne Patton. Neal then presented nominations for the 2017–2018 Planning and Budget … Continue reading Council I Tackles Climate Change →

Graphic Novel Friday Forum

By Amy Carlton | June 24, 2017

The sessions were hosted by Pop Culture Classroom, the Children’s Book Council, and the French Comics Association (FCA). Yang, a MacArthur fellow and graphic novelist who also taught high-school computer science, used to tell his students that he also drew comics because he thought it would make him cool. It did not. But it did … Continue reading Graphic Novel Friday Forum →

Newsmaker: Roxane Gay

By Amy Carlton | May 1, 2017

You have published work in so many formats: novels, books of essays and short stories, a comic book (Marvel’s Black Panther: World of Wakanda, with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey), plus an upcoming memoir and a screenplay. What are the different challenges and rewards of working in each medium? Storytelling is storytelling, I have learned, … Continue reading Newsmaker: Roxane Gay →

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden delivers the closing address at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference in Baltimore on March 25, 2017.

ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden

By Amy Carlton | March 27, 2017

Social justice and information literacy The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has declared that information literacy is a human right. If it’s a human right, what does this look like in practice? That question fueled the Social Justice and Information project discussed in “What’s Social Justice Got to Do with Information Literacy?” a … Continue reading ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden →

Latest Library Links

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Elisa Shoenberger writes: “These days, it seems that humor and murder mysteries go together like cookies and milk. With films like Knives Out and See How They Run and television shows like Only Murders in the Building, it seems that murder mysteries with a lot of humor are fashionable right now. Plus, we’re going to get the film adaptation of Richard Osman’s delightful The Thursday Murder Club later this year. I’ve put together a list of recently published humorous murder mystery books.”

Book Riot, Feb. 17
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Pranay Parab writes: “Google’s recent foray into artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t going to stop anytime soon. While you can hide Google Workspace’s Gemini buttons and prompts for now, you can’t actually stop the company from continuing to build its apps around a technology that revolves around getting its hands on as much data as possible. I rely on Google Docs for collaboration, but the company’s AI push has got me looking for alternatives, even if Google currently denies using your data to train its models. On that note, these are the best AI-free, encrypted alternatives to Google Docs.”

Lifehacker, Feb. 13
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Elizabeth Coen and Mary Manning write: “In the winter of 2023, we reimagined the curricular design of an undergraduate survey course called American Drama. We wanted students to think deeply about the nature of representation in American theatre, and whose voices are traditionally privileged in play anthologies and theatrical productions and whose voices are not. We also wanted students to examine these privileges and gaps through primary and secondary source research—through group discovery and ‘play’ in the archives and in the stacks.”

TPS Collective, Feb. 14
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Suzan Karabakal writes: “As a UX research and design student at the School of Information, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to conduct user research on Library Search, the University of Michigan Library’s discovery layer, last summer. My goal was to uncover how novice users approach Library Search features and functions, and to identify design opportunities to improve student experiences. After conducting interviews with librarians in the Learning and Teaching division, student employees who provide ‘Ask a Librarian’ services, and undergraduate students, I compiled a list of five key findings and five key design recommendations.”

University of Michigan Library, Feb. 13
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María Evelia Emerson writes: “Diversity audits, like much of librarianship, are not a simple box to check off once complete. Collections, as well as other programs and services, need to be consistently revisited in order to stay abreast of current trends and make sure that libraries strive to be as inclusive as possible. Although this requires time (something few librarians have an abundance of), without consistent check-ins, reviews, and feedback, collections and services are at risk of catering to a specific group of people, without taking into account the variety and differences of experiences and needs that make up our society.”

Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Jan.
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ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services will host “Libraries Respond: Racial Healing and Transforming Communities through Mental Health Practices,” a virtual panel discussion, on February 25 at 3 p.m. Central. The 90-minute event will feature mental health professional Grace Le sharing her expertise on how mental health can impact our individual journeys towards racial healing, and a moderated panel of ALA leaders sharing perspectives and experiences on collective community healing towards racial equity and our roles in our library spaces. Register to receive the Zoom link.

ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and outreach Services
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Michelle Reed and Tova Gaster write: “Neo-Censorship in US Libraries: An Investigation into Digital Content Suppression, a new Library Futures report, dives into an underreported area of library censorship—database bans that restrict youth access to ebooks, research resources, and other digital content. While bans on beloved print books are often more visible, challenges to databases and digital collections risk restricting children from viewing a wide range of content—from breast cancer awareness to resources for identifying and reporting sexual abuse.”

Library Futures, Feb. 13

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