“[Twitch is] where gamers are,” Brown said. “That’s where we really wanted to do some outreach.” She discussed the pros and cons of using Twitch, ideas for library programs that can be livestreamed, and how the popular platform enables libraries to reach new audiences at “Low Stress, High Mayhem: Using Twitch for Professional Development and … Continue reading Playing to the Crowd
He had double checked all of its recommendations except for one specific restaurant in Kyoto. “When we arrived, there was a laundromat where the restaurant was,” he said. In fact, after some research he discovered that there never was a restaurant there at all. Navigating misinformation and weighing ethical and privacy issues in artificial intelligence … Continue reading Using AI Responsibly
Goswami presented at “Be Prepared: Program Challenges at Your Public Library,” a January 21 session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore. He was joined by Amanda Sand Vazquez, director of Dubuque County (Iowa) Library District and president of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT), and Betsy Gomez, assistant director of … Continue reading Preparing for Pushback
“I wanted to inspire people with or without disabilities,” said Armstrong, who wrote the book about her experience as a person with Down syndrome. Armstrong, alongside her mother Cara, discussed I Am A Masterpiece! (Random House Books for Young Readers, January) and the importance of belonging during their January 21 featured speaker session at the … Continue reading ‘Do Say Hello’
“I’m very grateful that I was able to speak and tell the story of our family,” Trejo said. “This book, with every page, with every word, with every picture, just illustrates how family’s everything. If you have that—everything else could not be lined up correctly in life—but if you have that, you’re winning.” Trejo discussed … Continue reading ‘Family Is Everything’
The average collection date was 2002 and the average circulation rate was 461 books per month. Since Blaylock and FCHMS’s library media specialist, Khris Hutson, began making improvements last January, they have raised the collection date to 2008—and in fall 2023, they recorded 1,277 books circulated per month. This is one of the ways that … Continue reading Pivot! Pivot!
At “Bite-Sized Improvements: How to Make Small, Meaningful Changes to Library Space,” a January 20 session at the American Library Association’s 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore, library specialist Nanci DeLa Cruz Aguayo and user experience librarian Lauren Johnson shared how they took the process one step at a time. Aguayo and Johnson, both from Nevada … Continue reading Sizing Up Your Space
The American Library Association’s (ALA) LibLearnX conference will be held January 19–22, bringing collaborative learning activities, networking opportunities, celebrations, and author talks to the city of Baltimore. Designed for active learning, the conference will offer more than 100 educational programs in returning formats—Accelerators, Ideas Xchanges, Learning Labs, and ShopTalks—created by and for library workers. New this … Continue reading 2024 LibLearnX Preview
What is the inspiration behind your new book, Bride? Paranormal romance raised me. This book is very much an homage to Nalini Singh, J. R. Ward, Kresley Cole, and Christine Feehan. I read all their books when I was a teenager, and I love them so much. Most of their books have a nugget of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Ali Hazelwood
“I had heard that for years, and years, and years,” he said. When he got the chance to turn the series into audiobooks, he dived deep into such ideas and experimented with all the ways he could bring a graphic novel to life for listeners as an audio producer for the Lunch Lady series. At … Continue reading Making Audiobooks Special
That was the question presented by Rebecca Hass, programming and outreach manager at Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library, at “Building Joy-Centric Libraries,” a June 26 session held during the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Hass discussed the concepts of joy, how it can be worked into every interaction into … Continue reading Planting Seeds of Joy
At “Nurturing Writers Workshops in Prison,” a June 25 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, Fleenor shared the impact his writers’ workshop has had on his life as well as what his facility has gained from it: “An enduring writing community.” He was joined by moderator Moira Marquis, … Continue reading Fostering Self-Determination
