Point: Jenny Paxson, readers’ advisory librarian, Webster (N.Y.) Public Library Does your library charge fines? We do charge fines at Webster Public Library. How are the collected funds used? We use the funds—$71,000 collected from fines annually—as part of our operating budget. Without them it would be difficult to run the library. Do fines discourage … Continue reading An Overdue Discussion
What made you want to work on this book? I have been passionate about the links between Wikipedia and libraries for a long time. I have been editing Wikipedia pages since 2005 and deeply engaged with its community since 2012. Because of my day job, I could see so many possibilities for librarians to connect … Continue reading A Conversation with Author Merrilee Proffitt
Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our profession. It’s open to librarians of any age who are new to the library profession and who have fewer than … Continue reading Emerging Leaders 2018
Islandborn is your first book for kids. What was its inspiration? There were multiple inspirations. A lot of it was being a writer with godchildren, nephews, and nieces always saying, “Hey, will you write us a story?” And knowing that I should write them a story, because when I was growing up a kid of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Junot Díaz
Twitty serves as honorary chair of Preservation Week, held April 22–28, which focuses this year on cooking and community archiving. American Libraries spoke with him about what can be learned about the past through food and about his work with Preservation Week. What drew you to food and its history? Going to living-history sites like Colonial … Continue reading Newsmaker: Michael W. Twitty
What made you want to write about this topic? We wanted to write it because we were both terrible at having difficult conversations. Catherine’s initial attempts led to people being angry and defensive. Or she chose to ignore problems, which made these situations worse. Ann had conversations but failed to address the real issues, so … Continue reading A Conversation with Authors Catherine Soehner and Ann Darling
“Good readers’ advisory relies on creating a personal connection, and what’s more personal than a tattoo?” says Alison Kastner, reader services librarian at Multnomah County (Oreg.) Library (MCL). MCL began a tattoo readers’ advisory program as an offshoot of a successful 2011 social media campaign, in which it asked Facebook users to tell the library things … Continue reading Inked RA
What was the inspiration behind The Public? I was inspired by a moving 2007 essay called “Written Off” by Chip Ward, now-retired assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library System, published in part in the Los Angeles Times (and in full at tomdispatch.com under the title, “What They Didn’t Teach Us in Library … Continue reading Newsmaker: Emilio Estevez
Junot Díaz, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Riverhead Books, 2007), and the upcoming kids’ picture book Islandborn (Dial Books, 2018), delivered a love letter to libraries when he addressed a capacity crowd as an Auditorium Speaker at the 2018 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver. The talk was boisterous and effusive with … Continue reading Junot Díaz Gets Real
Gretchen Caserotti, director of Meridian (Ida.) Library District, began by asking the standing-room-only crowd why libraries charge fines. Answers ranged from“It’s a revenue stream for the city” to “It’s a tool to teach responsibility to younger patrons.” She said there is little research to support these, according to “Removing Barriers to Access,” a Colorado State Library … Continue reading Imagining A Fine-Free Future
“Libraries carve out a special place for refugees in our community,” said Joseph Wismann-Horther, integration partnership supervisor for Colorado Refugee Services Program. He said there has been a mischaracterization of refugees in the US in the media and by elected officials since the 2016 election. Libraries can help combat these falsehoods, he noted. Wismann-Horther began … Continue reading A Welcome Place
What made you want to write this book? Being both a yoga teacher and a former children’s librarian, I have a unique understanding of how naturally yoga and storytime can fit together to provide children with opportunities for embodied play. I wrote this book to share how fun and simple it can be to use … Continue reading A Conversation with Author Katie Scherrer
