Author Archive: Kara Pauley

From left: Joelle Pitts, Camille Chesley, Jami Schwarzwalder, Kelly Sattler, and Jeff Lacy

Gamification for Teens and College Students

By Kara Pauley | June 27, 2016

The panel included: moderator Breanne Kirsch, public services librarian at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg; Joelle Pitts, instructional design librarian at Kansas State University Library in Manhattan, Kansas; Camille Chesley, reference and instruction librarian at the University of Montevallo in Alabama; Jami Schwarzwalder, teen librarian at South Hill Pierce County (Wash.) Library; … Continue reading Gamification for Teens and College Students →

The “Write Stuff” panel, from left: Carl Harvey II, Mega Subramaniam, Nancy Everhart, Meg Featheringham, Deb Levitov, and RoseMary Honnold

What You Need to Know about Publishing Articles for School Libraries

By Kara Pauley | June 27, 2016

These editors started with the basics about their respective journals. School Library Connection publishes 10 issues per year, offers webinars, and utilizes reviewers. School Library Research is an open access journal that accepts submissions on a rolling basis. Its goal is to promote high quality, original research, and literature reviews. School Libraries Worldwide runs much … Continue reading What You Need to Know about Publishing Articles for School Libraries →

Evviva Weinraub, Michelle Frisque, Jenn Riley, Karen Estlund, Monique Sendze, Brandy McNeil

Question the Status Quo: Challenges for Women in Technology Leadership

By Kara Pauley | June 26, 2016

Evviva Weinraub of Northwestern University Library in Evanston, Illinois; Michelle Frisque of Chicago Public Library; Jenn Riley of McGill University Library in Montreal, Karen Estlund of Penn State University Library, Monique Sendze of Tulsa City-County Library, and Brandy McNeil of New York Public Library led a LITA panel on Sunday to discuss the challenges of being a woman in technology leadership.

Giving Tweens Ownership in Space and Programs

By Kara Pauley | June 26, 2016

She began by asking her audience, a room full of youth librarians, how they defined “tween.” Many replied that their tweens were between ages 8–12, and Kropp further explained that many libraries had teen sections that ranged from ages 7 to as high as 13. “It’s hard if you are in a rule-driven place where … Continue reading Giving Tweens Ownership in Space and Programs →

Marcela Peres, Lizzy Walker, and Ivy Noelle Weir

Valhalla: A Safe Space for Women Librarians Who Love Comics

By Kara Pauley | June 25, 2016

On Saturday, Marcela Peres from Lewiston (Maine) Public Library, Lizzy Walker from Wichita (Kans.) Public Library, and Ivy Noelle Weir of Kennett (Pa.) Public Library led a panel with moderator Eva Volin of Alameda (Calif.) Public Library to introduce other librarians to Valhalla, an online community for women who love comics and do comics-driven work in libraries and other organizations.

Supporting Early Literacy with Supercharged Storytimes

By Kara Pauley | June 24, 2016

Project VIEWS2 is a study that focuses on early childhood literacy. It’s a program that’s complementary to Every Child Ready to Read, although the trio strongly emphasized that VIEWS2 is a distinct program. VIEWS2 emphasizes intention and community, and can be used as a planning tool or guide for librarians to build from. “When you are intentional … Continue reading Supporting Early Literacy with Supercharged Storytimes →

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.”

Library Futures, Feb. 13

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