Author Archive: Carrie Smith

Monroe (Maine) Community Library used the Diverse BookFinder Collection Analysis Tool to update its children’s picture book collection.

Building Diverse Collections

June 1, 2023

Diverse BookFinder Collection Analysis Tool User: Andrea Stark, director at Monroe (Maine) Community Library What is the Diverse BookFinder Collection Analysis Tool (DBF CAT)? How does it work? Diverse BookFinder is a comprehensive database of children’s picture books featuring characters who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. It is continually updated and includes books published … Continue reading Building Diverse Collections


RAR-Atlanta leaders (left to right) Sarah Cruz, Hannah Griggs (center), and Devin Cowens (right)

Riders’ Advisory

September 1, 2022

Founded in 2017, RAR’s goal has been to make cycling more accessible for riders who are femme, transgender, women, nonbinary, Black, Indigenous, and people of color. The RAR-ATL Gear Library—which has a searchable online catalog with photos—is the work of Cruz, Hannah Griggs (center), and Devin Cowens (right). The trio has devoted dozens of hours … Continue reading Riders’ Advisory


Experia USA’s interactive game floor projects images that react to movement and play.

Good Vibrations

September 1, 2022

Experia USA Interactive Game Floor User: Deborah Long, assistant director, Louisville (Ohio) Public Library What is the Experia USA interactive game floor? The game floor uses a computer with a motion sensor and a projector to display educational and sensory games on a foam mat. The motion sensor allows the software to react to the … Continue reading Good Vibrations


David Vinjamuri talks about ethnographic design in libraries

Avoid the Cookie-Cutter Library

June 30, 2022

At “Ethnographic Design: Creating Culturally Centered Library Spaces,” Huberty and David Vinjamuri, adjunct associate professor of marketing at New York University, discussed how they apply ethnographic design in new libraries and remodeling projects. They were joined by community librarian Julie Retherford from Chetco Community Public Library in Brookings, Oregon, who shared her experiences from a … Continue reading Avoid the Cookie-Cutter Library


Martha Alvarado Anderson, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and head of digital services department at University of Arkansas

We Can’t Ignore AI

June 26, 2022

Chu and Rieh, alongside other collaborators, developed a one-week professional development workshop designed to bring library workers up to speed on AI through collaborative learning and a clear-eyed look at the technology’s shortcomings. At the June 25 session “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Libraries: From Training to Innovation,” Chu and Rieh discussed some of the takeaways … Continue reading We Can’t Ignore AI


Timothy Vollmer and Melissa Adler

Access and Care

June 25, 2022

In the session “From Censorship to Digitization: Bringing Sensitive Collections to Light” at the American Library Association’s 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 25, presenters explored historical contexts and forward-looking digital projects and how they affect marginalized communities. “What’s happening in people’s lives is happening in our collections,” said Melissa Alder, assistant professor of … Continue reading Access and Care



Gale Digital Scholar Lab allows users to do text analysis without writing code.

Digging Deeper

May 2, 2022

Gale Digital  Scholar Lab User: Hillary Richardson, coordinator of undergraduate research and information literacy at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus What is Gale Digital Scholar Lab? It’s a way for us to engage with some of Gale’s digital primary collections through text analysis tools. How do you use Gale Digital Scholar Lab? I teach … Continue reading Digging Deeper


Launchpad

Devices on the Go

March 1, 2022

Launchpad User: Rebecca Colbert, head of collection and bibliographic services, Las Vegas–Clark County (Nev.) Library District What are Launchpads? Launchpads are tablets with preloaded educational apps and games, produced by Playaway. They enable digital learning without the need for Wi-Fi or internet access. Each tablet is for a different educational level and subject area, such … Continue reading Devices on the Go


Mariko Tamaki

Wrapped in a Mystery

January 25, 2022

Tamaki discussed her new novel, Cold (Roaring Brook Press, February), at the American Library Association’s (ALA) LibLearnX virtual conference on January 24. She said that as she read and researched the genre, she discovered that the mystery format “plays really well into the things that I’m interested in writing about,” she said in conversation with … Continue reading Wrapped in a Mystery


Sarah Evans, Lacy Molina, and Lance Simpson

Reconnecting over the Airwaves

January 24, 2022

In “Raise Up Radio: Connecting Families, Libraries, and Radio for Educational Equity,” a January 23 session at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX virtual conference, Evans and Simpson, along with Lacy Molina, a UNT student and project assistant, shared details about the early stages of the Raise Up Radio project. The initiative aims to address some … Continue reading Reconnecting over the Airwaves


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

The Trauma of Library Work

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