Author Archive: Greg Landgraf

Antonia Hylton speaks on the LLX Studio stage

Newsmaker: Antonia Hylton

February 12, 2024

Hylton spent years doing archival research and building relationships with former patients and staff members at Crownsville, one of the last segregated psychiatric hospitals with surviving records. During that time, she learned more about the history of the facility, which operated from 1911 to 2004, and of psychiatry more generally, particularly from the perspective of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Antonia Hylton


From left, Patchogue-Medford (N.Y.) Library's Community Engagement Librarian Emily Spizzirri, Head of Community Engagement Michelle Cayea, and Head of Promotions and Development Laura Accardi, at the "Learn Interactive Marketing with Augmented Reality" session at the 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore on January 21.

A Whopper of a Campaign

January 22, 2024

“We’re located on a busy Main Street in the heart of Patchogue village, with loads of vehicle and foot traffic, so we are seen,” said Karen McCahey, promotions library assistant. “But one of the challenges that’s ongoing is to get people in the front door.” McCahey, along with Community Engagement Librarian Emily Spizzirri, Head of … Continue reading A Whopper of a Campaign


Lorin M. Flores speaking at the 2024 LibLearnX Conference

Bite-Sized Professional Development

January 22, 2024

Flores described how she incorporated microcourses into professional development in “Reimagining an Instruction Librarian Retreat with Microcourses,” a January 21 ShopTalk session at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference in Baltimore on January 21. The retreat had traditionally been an intensive, day-long, off-campus affair. “The pandemic changed everything,” she said. “People were using Zoom, and … Continue reading Bite-Sized Professional Development


From left, Sherry Scheline, Eboni M. Henry, Emily Drabinski, and Nicole T. Bryan

In Celebration of Librarians

January 21, 2024

In her Main Stage Panel on January 21, titled “It’s All Happening at the Library!” Drabinski spoke with three other librarians about the ways their libraries serve as community connectors. Eboni M. Henry, school media specialist for District of Columbia Public Schools, said that finding out who makes up her library’s broad community is as … Continue reading In Celebration of Librarians


Antonia Hylton speaks on the LLX Studio stage

Breaking the Stigma

January 21, 2024

Over 11 years, Hylton built relationships with and interviewed former Crownsville patients and staff members and examined records at the Maryland State Archives. Her new book, Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum (Legacy Lit), to be released January 23, traces Crownsville’s nearly 100-year history. Milton Kent, journalism professor at Morgan State University … Continue reading Breaking the Stigma


Joe Young (left) and Jasmine Shumaker speak at the LibLearnX ShopTalk

Breaking Down Silos

January 20, 2024

Jasmine Shumaker, reference and instruction librarian, and Joe Lee, interlibrary loan specialist, both at University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, shared their experiences at “Steering the ‘Ship: Navigating a Cross-Departmental, Cross-Status Mentorship in an Academic Library,” a January 20 ShopTalk program at the American Library Association’s 2024 LibLearnX conference in … Continue reading Breaking Down Silos



Banned Books Week 2023: Let Freedom Read, featuring the Uncensored Library in Minecraft

Unbanned

October 3, 2023

Libraries and schools nationwide are working overtime to repel an unprecedented level of attacks on the freedom to read. Vigorous debate, advocacy, and coalition-building remain the backbone of the fight against book banning. But some libraries, groups, and individuals have recently taken innovative approaches to ensure information access for all. Books Unbanned is one of … Continue reading Unbanned



Vivienne Byrd, librarian and lead of the Full STEAM Ahead & Citizen Science Initiative at Los Angeles Public Library, speaks during the "Cloud Watching for NASA" session at the 2023 American Library Association Annual Conference June 26.

Watching Clouds for NASA

June 27, 2023

At the “Cloud Watching for NASA” session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, Jessica Taylor, atmospheric scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center demonstrated GLOBE Observer, a citizen science mobile app created by NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. She was one of three … Continue reading Watching Clouds for NASA



James Patterson.

James Patterson on Libraries, Librarians, and Book Bans

June 26, 2023

Patterson’s upcoming book, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading (Little, Brown, 2024), shares stories from dozens of librarians and booksellers. But he attended American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago largely in support of Amina Luqman-Dawson, whose Freewater won both the Newbery Medal and … Continue reading James Patterson on Libraries, Librarians, and Book Bans