Author Archive: Austin Persinger

Patron Xander Dianen returns a wagon to Summers County (W.Va.) Public Library.

An Uphill Battle

By Austin Persinger | May 2, 2022

At the core of library work are stories. We listen to our patrons’ stories when we perform a reference interview, readers’ advisory, or a community needs assessment. We interpret these stories to supply our users with the best information and resources to fit their situation. Often, this is simple, but other times this requires close … Continue reading An Uphill Battle →

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Andrea Olson writes: “A former library board member has been convicted of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds and sentenced to prison. Amanda Baker, former board member and treasurer of Clark County (Idaho) Library, was charged in August with felony grand theft after she admitted to stealing about $50,000. However, after further investigation, that number was discovered to be over $200,000.” Baker negotiated a plea agreement in March, and was sentenced June 26 to between 15 months and 10 years in prison. She will also make full restitution of $226,384.59 over 10 years.”

East Idaho News, June 27
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Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to library communities, and a partnership between ALA and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative addresses that challenge. A working group, comprising leaders from many ALA sectors working on sustainability, has created resources for library workers, including the National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries and an implementation guide. Sustainability was reconfirmed as an ALA core value in January 2024, and the working group is developing resources to accelerate the work.

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, July 1
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Robin Camille Davis writes: “A decade ago, user experience practitioners were regularly creating something called personas, detailed, fictional user profiles intended to represent the characteristics and needs of real users. It was a widely accepted convention, including in libraries, and it purported to help center the design process on people. But recently, personas have fallen out of favor. Rather than creating a bio and choosing a name and a photo, UX practitioners now often leave out these details and create realistic archetypes. These focus on needs, goals, behaviors, and tasks.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, July 1
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Andrew Lapin writes: “The superintendent of Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas recently agreed within minutes to a conservative group’s demands to remove 676 books, including some seminal texts about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Conservative activists, led by a local pastor and outspoken Israel advocate, pushed the district, Mission CISD, to excise books mostly about gender, sexuality and race. Five minutes after receiving the demands, [Superindendent Carol] Perez agreed to them.” [Perez has since separated from the district, apparently over a contract dispute and not connected to the book removals.]

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 26; Progress Times, June 13, May 28
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Dani Carmack and Jessica Quarles write: “Are staffers at your university aware of the library’s services? At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott in Arizona, we discovered that many faculty members were hesitant to enter what they perceived as student-only library spaces. This made us realize: We weren’t marketing our resources and services to a core population, a group that is essential to helping us advocate for the library on campus and beyond. But first, staffers had to understand what we offered.”

American Libraries column, June
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) introduced a new website with specialized tools and resources designed for library and museum professionals to engage diverse communities in developing critical information literacy skills June 27 at the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. InformationLiteracy.gov is one product of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which directed IMLS to explore ways to improve information literacy within communities. It focuses on disseminating training and technical assistance resources for professionals in libraries, museums, zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, arboretums, nature and science centers, archives, and other community-serving institutions.

IMLS, June 27
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Ed Finkel writes: “Last year, when states were introducing a raft of legislation that would effectively take books off the shelves, librarians at Harris County (Tex.) Public Library (HCPL) knew they wanted to take a stand. Texas House Bill 900, which would have restricted materials in school libraries and required vendors to assign book ratings based on so-called appropriateness before selling them to schools, had been signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June. On September 19, the same day H.B. 900 was temporarily blocked [in US District Court], Harris County Commissioners Court passed a resolution declaring HCPL a book sanctuary.”

American Libraries feature, June

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