Author Archive: Crystal Carrazco

Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 2

By Crystal Carrazco | January 27, 2019

Me entering #ALAMW19 for the first time pic.twitter.com/Y3cJpb4iSR — Kelly Knox (@kelly_knox) January 26, 2019 We started the day with listening to the amazing Sylvia Acevedo. “Libraries change lives. I know you do; you changed mine.” -Sylvia Acevedo #alamw19 😍😭😍😭😍😭 pic.twitter.com/HWRgPRKsYh — Abby Johnson (@abbylibrarian) January 26, 2019 The exhibits were open for a full … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 2 →

Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 1

By Crystal Carrazco | January 26, 2019

While it’s the first day, some people are still flying in and Find The Librarian is still being played by some folks. I love flying to ALA conferences because I can identify all the different species of librarians at 100 paces and so it’s great for my field journal #alamw19 — Beth DeBold (@eliza_audacis) January … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 1 →

Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 0

By Crystal Carrazco | January 25, 2019

First, we are excited for those of you who are joining us for your first ALA conference! #alamw19 So excited for my first ALA conference! Ready to learn, share and create something amazing! — Jenna James (@SoulSearchingJJ) January 25, 2019 Before you left the house, you had to make sure you packed the essentials. … Continue reading Midwinter 2019 Top 10 Tweets—Day 0 →

Top Ten Tweets–Monday (Day 4)

By Crystal Carrazco | February 13, 2018

The morning began with the Youth Media Awards, which left everyone in the crowd cheering and crying over the winners and honorees. It’s happening! They’re taking photos and making calls RIGHT NOW!! #alamw18 #alayma — Abby Johnson (@abbylibrarian) February 12, 2018 https://twitter.com/sujeilugo/status/963202854495268864 It was awesome to get to present the YALSA Excellence in Nonfication award … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets–Monday (Day 4) →

Top Ten Tweets–Sunday (Day 3)

By Crystal Carrazco | February 12, 2018

It began with Junot Diaz’s amazing speech and Q&A. Thanks to Junot for his inspiring words for librarians of color! – and for attending the @reformanational fundraiser last night. 🇩🇴 #alamw18 pic.twitter.com/9Eba9PPmMH — Madeline Peña (@madelinepena) February 11, 2018 Afterwards, a few lucky folks got a picture with him! https://twitter.com/JoChenCham/status/962822448528875520 In the Networking Uncommons, people … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets–Sunday (Day 3) →

Top Ten Tweets–Saturday (Day 2)

By Crystal Carrazco | February 11, 2018

Saturday brought some snow to #alamw18. (Kelly, in our defense, the weather forecast is always wrong.) https://twitter.com/kellyblanchat/status/962541874618642432 It also brought great sessions. “Every student deserves to go to a school with a school librarian” @MrSchuReads #alamw18 #MISchoolLibrary #MichiganLiteracy pic.twitter.com/lso6JYWaZH — Kathy Lester (@LibraryL) February 10, 2018 Including our auditorium speakers, Dave Eggers and Elizabeth Acevedo. … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets–Saturday (Day 2) →

Top 10 Tweets–Friday (Day 1)

By Crystal Carrazco | February 10, 2018

When you see the hotel has prepared for librarians: It's almost as if there are a bunch of librarians here. #alamw18 #librarylife pic.twitter.com/81Xj8epuNE — Ariel Factor Birdoff (she/they)✡️📚🏳️‍🌈BLM ACAB (@Madam_Pince) February 9, 2018 But then you remember… Conference life is so different from regular life… #alamw18 — Lessa Nani Pelayo-Lozada (@Lessa4Libraries) February 10, 2018 If … Continue reading Top 10 Tweets–Friday (Day 1) →

Top 10 Tweets—Thursday (Day 0)

By Crystal Carrazco | February 9, 2018

“Twas the night before #alamw18” sounds like the perfect beginning to an old fable. Well. It wouldn’t be the night before #alamw18 without one of these. #mollyandminerva pic.twitter.com/wPZ7SIFOfi — Alison (@thealisonjane) February 9, 2018 Packing is one of the biggest hurdles. Would someone PLEASE make me go pack??? #alamw18 — Writing as I Go (@WritingAsIGo) … Continue reading Top 10 Tweets—Thursday (Day 0) →

Top Ten Tweets — Tuesday (Day 5)

By Crystal Carrazco | June 28, 2017

We kick off the day with waiting in a long line to see Hillary Clinton, which totally made everyone leave inspired. "When I got that library card, it felt like I had been handed a passport to the world." @HillaryClinton #alaac17 pic.twitter.com/Xr8fUw2MuV — Tom Bober (@CaptainLibrary) June 27, 2017 Hillary Clinton … Continue reading Top Ten Tweets — Tuesday (Day 5) →

Top 10 Tweets — Monday (Day 4)

By Crystal Carrazco | June 27, 2017

You get very inspired by every speaker at #alaac17. My last session at my first ALA conference is done. Lots of great ideas from sessions, vendors & friends. Was fantastic! #alaac17 — A. Fickert Paterek (@TrainingPassion) June 26, 2017 Especially from people like Rep. John Lewis. If @repjohnlewis can leave #ALAAC17 & … Continue reading Top 10 Tweets — Monday (Day 4) →

Top 10 Tweets — Sunday (Day 3)

By Crystal Carrazco | June 26, 2017

Even though it’s Sunday, it’s still difficult to navigate all of the events, sessions and exhibit floor. If you like solving mazes, #alaac17 is for you pic.twitter.com/k51ECLXo8q — Samantha Mairson (@SamanthaMairson) June 25, 2017 It’s difficult to not be inspired by Libraries Transform when walking around #alaac17. "Libraries transform!" she says, … Continue reading Top 10 Tweets — Sunday (Day 3) →

Top 10 Tweets — Saturday (Day 2)

By Crystal Carrazco | June 25, 2017

You wake up excited for day two and can’t wait for the day to begin! Headed to #alaac17 ! Can't wait to see you there! 💕 pic.twitter.com/UKqARANvIh — Corrina Allen (@corrinaaallen) June 24, 2017 Then you realize you’ve been making a big mistake—misspelling the hashtag. When you realize you have accidentally misspelled the #alaac17 hashtag … Continue reading Top 10 Tweets — Saturday (Day 2) →

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.”

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