Author Archive: Diana Panuncial


Willie Mae Brown

Taking Care of Our Future

January 28, 2023

Brown spoke of her catalytic experience seeing Martin Luther King Jr. and the importance of telling one’s story at her keynote speaker session January 28 at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans.  Brown’s debut novel, My Selma (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January), recounts her experience growing up in Selma, Alabama, during … Continue reading Taking Care of Our Future


Tonya Ryals

Finding Your Allies

January 28, 2023

At “Building Strong Trustee Relationships during Book Challenges,” a January 28 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans, Tonya Ryals—director of MacDonald Public Library in New Baltimore, Michigan—shared tips on how library directors can create and maintain relationships with their trustees to form allyships when requests for book reconsiderations come … Continue reading Finding Your Allies


Molly Virello

Roll for Initiative

January 28, 2023

At “Critical Hit! Table Top Gaming in the Library,” a January 28 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans, Virello shared how to run a Dungeons & Dragons session for new players, including basic game terminology and what library workers should consider if they want to start their own program. A … Continue reading Roll for Initiative



Ihor Poshyvailo, founder of Maidan Museum in Kyiv, holds the ceramic cockerel that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

A Helping Hand

November 1, 2022

American Libraries spoke with three members of the library community who have rallied in support of Ukraine through efforts to preserve cultural information, raise funds for its libraries and affected population, and help its refugees settle in new places: Kristin Parker, lead curator and manager of the arts at Boston Public Library (BPL); Michael Dowling, … Continue reading A Helping Hand



Two young children in a library aisle

Two Is Better Than One

July 18, 2022

That connection between the school and the library was made possible through Zoobean’s tandems, a feature which enables schools and libraries to link their Beanstack accounts and better motivate students to read and explore their library. Through this feature, students can participate in Beanstack reading challenges from their local public library and their school at … Continue reading Two Is Better Than One


John Cho

Newsmaker: John Cho

July 14, 2022

Your book Troublemaker draws from your own experience. What inspired you to put those memories into a novel—especially one for young readers? I started reflecting on the ’92 riots-slash-uprisings because of the events of 2020 and the murder of George Floyd. We were stuck at home watching the news coverage of the Black Lives Matter … Continue reading Newsmaker: John Cho


Authors Maya Prasad (left) and Susan Azim Boyer speak at “Engaging Historically Underrepresented Young Adult Readers,” a June 27 session at the American Library Association's 2022 Annual Exhibition and Conference in Washington, D.C. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

Uplifting Underrepresented Readers

June 27, 2022

Torres and authors Susan Azim Boyer, Katryn Bury, and Maya Prasad shared their experiences growing up with a lack of positive depictions of themselves in books at “Engaging Historically Underrepresented Young Adult Readers,” a June 27 session at the American Library Association’s 2022 Annual Exhibition and Conference in Washington, D.C. The panel offered strategies for … Continue reading Uplifting Underrepresented Readers


Brooke Windsor⁠, teen services librarian at Stratford Public Library (SPL) in Ontario⁠, speaks at "Outside and Around Town: The Magic of Harry Potter and the Stratford Adventure” at the 2022 American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.

Embarking on a Quest

June 26, 2022

Windsor did so by developing a game that invited players to visit Stratford’s local businesses to complete challenges and ultimately win prizes. Harry Potter and the Stratford Adventure was a hit that more than 70 patrons participated in during its three-week run. Windsor detailed the framework of her game and how librarians could implement similar … Continue reading Embarking on a Quest


Jillian Rudes, school librarian at Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in New York, talks at "The Value of Manga in School Libraries" session on June 26.

The Magic of Manga

June 26, 2022

Ratica was joined by Ashley Hawkins, librarian at the Samuel J. Tilden Educational Campus in Brooklyn; Sara Smith, teacher librarian at Sanger Unified (Calif.) School District; Jillian Rudes, school librarian at Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in New York; and Julie Stivers, school librarian at Mount Vernon (N.C.) Middle School. The panel, held June 26 at … Continue reading The Magic of Manga