Author Archive: Megan Perrero

Lyndon B. Johnson. Photo: Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum

By the Numbers: Presidential Libraries

November 1, 2016

1939 Year the Presidential Library System began. Franklin D. Roosevelt donated his presidential and personal documents to the federal government. 643 Number of hours of recorded telephone conversations the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum has collected. The conversation topics range from the assassination of JFK to dealing with the USSR. 45 Number of meetings … Continue reading By the Numbers: Presidential Libraries


Newsmaker: Marley Dias

November 1, 2016

  How many books have you collected so far? I’ve collected 7,000 books and donated them to six different cities since November 2015. How did you start the campaign? In my 5th-grade class, I saw that books like Where the Red Fern Grows, the Shiloh series, and Crash all weren’t featuring black girls, and those … Continue reading Newsmaker: Marley Dias


BikeSmart bikes at Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio.

The Freewheelin’ Library

September 8, 2016

With help from kids in the community, SCDL started its BikeSmart program in June 2015. BikeSmart allows patrons to use their library cards to rent bicycles at one of six bike lending stations in Canton and Massillon. The program has returned for its second season, which will run until about November 15. The program is … Continue reading The Freewheelin’ Library


Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington in Seattle

By the Numbers: Library Architecture and Design

September 1, 2016

18 Number of terra-cotta figures—academic heroes such as Plato, Benjamin Franklin, and Galileo—guarding the façade of the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington in Seattle. 123,000 Square footage of the McAllen (Tex.) Public Library, built in a former Walmart store and the largest single-floor library in the US. 1895 Year that Boston Public Library … Continue reading By the Numbers: Library Architecture and Design


Five-year-old Katelyn poses with her new prosthetic limb, the “Unlimbited” design from the e-NABLE website. It was 3D printed by a group of volunteers at the Clear Lake City-County Freeman branch library in Harris County, Texas.

Printing for a Cause

August 9, 2016

Five-year-old Katelyn was born without a fully formed left hand. Her parents were on the search to find a prosthetic arm for her when they discovered the e-NABLE Community. E-NABLE is a team of people around the world who work to create free prosthetic limb design plans for the upper body by using 3D printing. … Continue reading Printing for a Cause


Fifth-grader Evan Sass asks NASA astronaut Jeff Williams a question via video chat while Denise Raleigh, Gail Borden Public Library's division chief of public relations and development, holds the microphone. The Elgin, Illinois, library was one of eight nationwide selected for the traveling exhibit, Discover Space: A Cosmic Journey. Photo: Jason Brown

Houston, We Have a Library Program

August 8, 2016

His appearance was part of Discover Space: A Cosmic Journey, a traveling exhibit that teaches library-goers about topics such as stars, planets, and gravity. The program was offered by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs Office in collaboration with the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and the Afterschool Alliance. … Continue reading Houston, We Have a Library Program


Barbara Prince and YuChieh Chien (standing, from left) assist students in writing their first-draft letters to famous Amys at the Garfield Park Lending Library in New Castle, Delaware.Photo: Sophia Hanson

Letters to (and From) Amy

July 27, 2016

Sophia Hanson, general manager of New Castle County Public Libraries, got the idea a few months back to start a letter-writing summer program for kids called “Letters to Amy,” inspired by Ezra Jack Keats’s 1968 picture book A Letter to Amy. Hanson decided to apply for a minigrant from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation—which offers … Continue reading Letters to (and From) Amy