Author Archive: Carrie Smith

Karen Fisher, professor at University of Washington School of Information.

The Trauma of Library Work

By Carrie Smith | January 22, 2022

Fisher is now the principal investigator for “Trauma in the Library: Symptoms of PTSD Among Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care,” an Institute of Museum and Library Services–funded study of the effects of workplace trauma exposure on library workers. She and Lauren Alexa Gambrill, research manager of the study, presented their preliminary findings during … Continue reading The Trauma of Library Work →

Clio screenshot of "Ghosts of Progress" tour showing map and areas of interest.

In Your Neighborhood

By Carrie Smith | November 1, 2021

Clio User: Jennifer Sanders-Tutt, local history librarian at St. Joseph (Mo.) Public Library What is Clio? Clio is a local history platform made by historians that allows you to create entries for points of interest and link them together into tours. It’s web- and app-based, and anyone can open a free account. How do you … Continue reading In Your Neighborhood →

Neatline allowed Illinois Institute of Technology Libraries to create an interactive campus building timeline.

On the Map

By Carrie Smith | September 1, 2021

Neatline User: Adam Strohm, director of University Archives and Special Collections, Paul V. Galvin Library, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago What is Neatline? Neatline is an open source suite of plug-ins that adds geotemporal functionality to Omeka exhibits and allows users to situate exhibit items in space and time. Its SIMILE add-on provides an interactive … Continue reading On the Map →

Accessible not just discoverable; Lauren Geiger and Emily D. Harrison

Planning for Accessibility

By Carrie Smith | June 27, 2021

Harrison and Lauren Geiger, metadata librarian at MSU Libraries, shared their experiences in improving accessibility in the university’s digital archives and special collections at the on-demand session “Accessible, Not Just Discoverable: Ensuring Accessibility in Digital Collections,” part of the American Library Association’s 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual. Users encounter the four principles of accessibility … Continue reading Planning for Accessibility →

What's in a name: LGBTQ+ and Latinx perspectives on access

What’s in a Naming Term?

By Carrie Smith | June 26, 2021

Access language—subject headings, naming terms, and search terms—reflect the values, priorities, and assumptions of their creators, and often demean or pathologize marginalized groups. The complexity of solving these issues—if they are solvable—was explored in “What’s in a name?: LGBTQ+ and Latinx perspectives on access terminology—challenges and solutions,” on Saturday, June 26, as part of the … Continue reading What’s in a Naming Term? →

Lean on Community, Learn from Robots

By Carrie Smith | June 26, 2021

Ewing spoke to K. C. Boyd, school librarian in District of Columbia Public Schools, about her new middle-grade book on Friday, June 25 as part of the American Library Association’s 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual, addressing themes of community, emotional learning, and life’s transitions. Ewing believes we form our identities as readers as young … Continue reading Lean on Community, Learn from Robots →

Headshots of three speakers from the “Smooth Transitions: Developing Information Literacy in the In-Between Places" panel

Information in the In-Between Spaces

By Carrie Smith | June 26, 2021

As manager of knowledge services for a special library that is also open to the public, Zoe Magierek found herself in “a really in-between place.” Forefront, an association for Illinois grant makers and nonprofits, has a library that provides services to nonprofit professionals and volunteers. Magierek has found herself helping patrons learn skills from saving … Continue reading Information in the In-Between Spaces →

Headshots of four speakers from the “Sustainable Choices in Library Prizes and Promotional Materials” panel at ALA 2021 Annual Conference

Green Swag and Memorable Experiences

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2021

At the panel “Sustainable Choices in Library Prizes and Promotional Materials” on June 25 at the American Library Association’s 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual, four librarians shared how they’ve balanced sustainable practices while still rewarding engagement. “I feel pretty bad about handing out a lot of plastic stuff to kids that I know is … Continue reading Green Swag and Memorable Experiences →

Gracey Gordon, Liz M. McChesney, Vicky Perez, Aldo Vasquez

Priming the STEM Pipeline

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2021

The STEM career pipeline is “leaky,” often leaving behind students of color and those in poverty. For this reason, the Urban Libraries Council—with funding from IMLS—launched Partners for Middle School STEM in 2018. This grant funded programs at 11 libraries to develop models for building strong STEM community partnerships for middle school children. Durham County … Continue reading Priming the STEM Pipeline →

Alicia Serratos poses in front of a seed library holding a box of seeds.

Newsmaker: Alicia Serratos

By Carrie Smith | June 1, 2021

Serratos started her first seed library in 2014 at her elementary school in Mission Viejo, California, after learning about healthy eating, gardening, and sustainability. Through Three Sisters Seed Box, she has now helped place seed libraries in all 50 states and has filled requests from as far away as India. American Libraries talked with Serratos … Continue reading Newsmaker: Alicia Serratos →

Two toddlers and an adult play with Everbright, an interactive light wall with many multicolored round dials. The smallest child faces the camera smiling.

Low-Vision Accessibility

By Carrie Smith | June 1, 2021

Everbright User: Kate Simpson, Central Library children’s department manager at San Antonio Public Library What is Everbright? Everbright is an interactive light wall. It has knobs all over, and each knob changes color as you turn it. You can create images or patterns by setting the dials to various color shades, and you can program … Continue reading Low-Vision Accessibility →

Monique Sugimoto, librarian and archivist for Palos Verdes Library District's Local History Center, points out over the coast. Photo: Erik Jay

Bookend: History Rolls On

By Carrie Smith | May 3, 2021

Monique Sugimoto, an avid bicycle commuter—and archivist and librarian for Palos Verdes Library District’s (PVLD) Local History Center—enjoys pairing her expertise in the region’s past with her rides to work. “I’d give myself these little tours and thought it would be cool if we did an introduction to the peninsula.” Thus, Pedal PV—a series of … Continue reading Bookend: History Rolls On →

Latest Library Links

10h

Sallyann Price writes: “Actor and comedian Molly Shannon is perhaps best known for the larger-than-life characters she created over six seasons as a Saturday Night Live cast member. She talked about the vulnerability that forged those characters—and the real-life personalities that populate her forthcoming memoir Hello, Molly! (Ecco, April)—at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference on January 23 in conversation with author Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. ‘I have so much respect for what you do and for writers in general,’ Shannon told Sweeney. ‘I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, ever. Way harder than performing.’ “

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 23
11h

Sanhita SinhaRoy writes: “How do you address low morale at your organization? What can you do to foster more diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in recruitment and retention? In her 15-minute ShopTalk session, “3 Reasons Your DEI Programs Are Not Working,” Elaina Norlin presented research and anecdotes from consulting on DEI issues to attendees of ALA’s LibLearnX virtual conference on January 23. Norlin, author of The Six-Step Guide to Library Worker Engagement (ALA Editions, 2021) and professional development and DEI program coordinator for the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, said that recent studies show 92% of DEI trainings fail on multiple levels and can create more harm than good.”
12h

The American Library Association has selected The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (Little, Brown and Company) by Tom Lin as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (Random House) by Hanif Abdurraqib as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The selections were announced during ALA’s inaugural LibLearnX conference January 23 at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards virtual event. “Congratulations to both medalists for gifting readers with essential antidotes to the polarizing challenges we continue to face,” said Terry Hong, chair of the selection committee for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence.”

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 23
14h

Terra Dankowski writes: “If you’ve ever wondered if your library should be doing more to support independent and self-published authors—such as holding book festivals featuring their work or including more of their titles on your shelves—Tejas Desai and Kacper Jarecki of Queens (N.Y.) Public Library (QPL) think the answer is yes. At ‘Supporting Indie Authors,’ an educational session at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference on January 22, Desai and Jarecki discussed how libraries can be a lifeline for independent and self-published authors and their readers—especially those who live in the communities they serve. ‘We’re firmly committed to the idea that everyone has a story,’ said Desai, assistant manager and supervising librarian at QPL’s Cambria Heights branch.”

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 22
16h

Carrie Smith writes: “As attention on trauma-informed care for library patrons grew, Karen Fisher, professor at University of Washington School of Information, began to wonder whether equal attention should be turned toward library workers. ‘We had a long list, pages and pages of incidents that we had been gathering from the media, all the types of stresses coming into library workplaces,’ said Fisher during the January 22 session ‘Trauma in the Library’ at ALA’s LibLearnX virtual conference. ‘We really wanted to turn it more inward and ask, What is the impact on staff?'”

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 22
18h

Chase Ollis writes: “The American Library Association (ALA) presented its annual I Love My Librarian Awards in a livestreamed ceremony at the inaugural LibLearnX event on January 22. The awards honor 10 librarians per year for outstanding service. This year’s recipients include three academic librarians, three school librarians, and four public librarians, including one prison librarian. ‘These 10 honorees are inspiring examples of what is possible in our profession,’ said ALA President Patricia ‘Patty’ M. Wong during the ceremony’s opening remarks. ‘Their stories are a testament to the profound leadership, compassion, and expertise of our nation’s librarians.’ “

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 22, Jan. 10
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Sanhita SinhaRoy writes: “As US demographics change and as the push to become a more inclusive and equitable society grows, libraries must follow suit. That was the message at ‘Advancing Race and Social Equity in Library Communications,’ a January 22 session at ALA’s LibLearnX virtual conference. Three members of Prince George’s County (Md.) Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) discussed the library’s ongoing antiracism and social equity work, how that work is reflected in its communications, and how it has strengthened the library’s role in the local and statewide community.”

AL: The Scoop, Jan. 22

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