Author Archive: Carrie Smith

Newsmaker: Mariko Tamaki

By Carrie Smith | May 2, 2022

Your new book, Cold, is about two teenagers: the ghost of a boy and a girl who wants to solve his murder. What drew you to writing your first murder mystery? I’ve always loved reading mysteries, but the element of suspense wasn’t something I had ever focused on in prose. After a few years of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Mariko Tamaki →

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

Digging Deeper

By Carrie Smith | 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 →

Devices on the Go

By Carrie Smith | 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 →

Wrapped in a Mystery

By Carrie Smith | 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

By Carrie Smith | 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

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 →

Latest Library Links

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Nimisha Bhat writes: “I’m always telling prospective library school students that the best part of my job is learning something new every day. Every time I have a research consultation with a student, they teach me something new while I determine the best way to connect them with the information they need. This is something I have been trying to remind myself of since I started a new tenure-track library position earlier this year. Like many librarians, what I lack in theoretical learning I’ve made up for in experiential learning as a practitioner.”

ACRLog, Nov. 27
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All known surviving pages of the rough draft of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species have been published online by the National University of Singapore (NUS). On the 164th anniversary of its publication, NUS published three recently rediscovered pages from Darwin’s draft. The draft pages make it possible to see in detail how Darwin originally composed and revised many of his arguments and expressions. The drafts also contain many sentences that didn’t make the final cut, offering fascinating insights into Darwin’s thinking as he composed the book that quite literally changed the world.

National University of Singapore, Nov. 24
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Stephen Shedletzky writes: “When people are afraid that something bad will happen to them because of their decision to speak up, in most cases, they won’t do it. And can we really blame them? This is, seemingly, leadership’s failure to foster the type of culture that encourages and rewards people for speaking up. So, how do you foster a speak-up culture? It starts with resisting the urge to manipulate employees—and ends with making it safe and worthwhile for them to share their truth.”

Greater Good, Nov. 13
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Lisa Bintrim writes: “The number of program challenges reported to ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom has grown over the past 10 years from one or none each year to a peak of 69 challenges in 2019. Recognizing the need to prepare library staff for opposition to programs, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) tasked the School-Age Programs and Services (SAPS) committee with creating a toolbox focused on program challenges. On behalf of the SAPS committee, I’m excited to share the result of our work from the 2022–2023 term: The ALSC Toolkit for Program Challenges.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 25
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ALA has selected 50 participants for its 2024 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. ELs will take part in a virtual day-long session during the 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Nov. 27
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Stephi Smith writes: “Celia Hamilton wanted to identify further with her Chinese heritage. Her adoptive parents are not Chinese, and she says this left her feeling like she missed out on some aspects of her cultural background. To connect with that part of her identity, Hamilton crafted a traditional garment—inspired by the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e—as one of three teens selected for Carmel Clay (Ind.) Public Library (CCPL)’s teen artists-in-residence program. CCPL is one of a handful of libraries across the US that have created teen artist-in-residence programs with a goal of bolstering youth interest in the arts.”

American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.
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Carrie Russell writes: “Why do librarians and teachers—the very professionals who specialize in information literacy, equitable access to information, and the advancement of learning—have so many anxieties and misconceptions about copyright? Many of us harbor an unfounded fear of copyright litigation. ‘Better safe than sorry’ is a frequent assertion. But that attitude can keep users and creators of copyright-protected content from engaging in personal and educational activities that are unlikely to infringe copyright law. That excess caution is, consequently, contrary to the values of librarianship, teaching, and the goals of copyright.”

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