He spoke with American Libraries about his librarian mother, what he’s learned from playwriting, and his recent $2.5 million gift to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts campus at Lincoln Center, which will fund a new laboratory space. How did your mother become a school librarian? My mother had a great love … Continue reading Newsmaker: Harvey Fierstein
Sangwand’s monthly show on nonprofit internet station dublab features curated sets that often highlight albums from countries she has visited; she started her record collection while studying in Brazil in 2007. One of her favorite sets kicks off with “A Dream of Los Angeles with Clear Blue Skies” by the Life Force Trio—a quintessential local … Continue reading Bookend: The Right Track
Ghada Kanafini Elturk, a Lebanese American who was then working as community and cultural outreach librarian at Boulder (Colo.) Public Library, described the hostility against Muslims and Arab Americans in the months after the attacks. “Those Americans who are not familiar with my culture do not show respect,” she told American Libraries reporter Ron Chepesiuk … Continue reading Understanding the Other
During this year’s migration season, billions of birds will cover millions of square miles in their annual southbound journey across North America—and new and avid birdwatchers will reach for their binoculars, guidebooks, and smartphones and head outdoors. Birdwatching has exploded in popularity during the pandemic, with The New York Times last year observing record participation … Continue reading Programming on the Fly
Interviewed by Lonnie Bunch III, the first African American secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and introduced by ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr., Obama talked about A Promised Land (Crown, November 2020)—the first of two memoirs spanning his paradigm-breaking presidency—and the role of libraries in shaping the story of American democracy. “A Promised Land chronicles … Continue reading Hope and Harmony
“Nurses and social workers get the support that they need to recognize and cope with compassion fatigue, but in the world of libraries it’s a relative unknown,” she said. “We generally do not do a good job of promoting our own health and well-being.” Franco introduced attendees to the body’s major stress chemicals—adrenaline and cortisol—and … Continue reading The Struggle Is Real
“The act of education is an act of vulnerability, the willingness to open up to the possibility of a new worldview or at the very least be exposed to it even if it doesn’t shift your own,” said Stacy Collins, research and instruction librarian at Simmons University in Boston. There are those who arrive at … Continue reading The Myth of Neutrality
“Settlement, Slavery, and Empire, 1624–1832” is the first of three modules and will be published this year. “Colonial Government and Abolition, 1833–1849” and “Economic Change and Indentured Labor, 1850–1870” are forthcoming over the next two years. “This digital initiative will allow users to explore and research the economic and social conditions across the islands and … Continue reading Deciphering Colonial History
Tyrus started volunteering in DTH’s marketing department in the late 90s after retiring from dancing. There she found scrapbooks, programs, photos, and other archival gems. She was eventually hired to sort it all out, and brought in Novosel—a pianist for company classes—to help her organize scores. “I always dreamed of using the archives to tell … Continue reading Choreographing a Movement
Macrina spoke about the thorny concept of viewpoint neutrality, or the idea that libraries must provide equal access to collections, services, and spaces without regard to the entrenched power dynamics that often shape library policies and outcomes. She also touched on libraries’ precarious position in the crosshairs of the culture wars. “Many marginalized people, in … Continue reading Reconciling Our Values
The pair, who cofounded a nonprofit dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts, talked with American Libraries ahead of their appearance at the 2021 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual on Friday, June 25. How long have you two known each other? Judy Tyrus: I was the archivist at Dance Theatre of Harlem and Paul … Continue reading Newsmakers: Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel
What do you to hope to add to the conversation around feminism? The book tells my story, which is a very long story, so young women who read it will see what happened before them, and people my age will be able to see what’s happening now, which I think is important: to be open … Continue reading Newsmaker: Isabel Allende
