These were just some of the items brought in by library patrons during antiques appraisals held at Wilkes County (N.C.) Public Library (WCPL). “You wonder how some of these things end up in this small town in North Carolina,” says Nicole de Bruijn, WCPL’s technical services manager. At antiques appraisals, appraisers examine rare and collectible … Continue reading Another’s Treasure
Librarians are making the most of the video-sharing social media app TikTok, recording and uploading 60-second clips (sometimes longer) of themselves and others talking about programs, cool things at their library, book reviews, and more. Many of these librarians help make up BookTok, a subcommunity of users on the app who upload and share content … Continue reading 60 Seconds of Library Fame
Appropriately, the Newbery Medal, the world’s first children’s book award, is named for the man credited with publishing the first children’s book. In 1744, John Newbery, a British bookseller, published A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, a book of simple rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. The book often came with a gift—a ball or a … Continue reading 100 Years of the Newbery Medal
1922 The first Newbery Medal is awarded to The Story of Mankind, written and illustrated by Dutch American historian and journalist Hendrik Willem van Loon. 1928 Dhan Gopal Mukerji becomes the first person of color and the first Asian American author to win the Newbery. Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon is set in his … Continue reading Newbery Firsts
What resulted was Talon’s Workout Tapes, a series of free exercise videos in English and Spanish that debuted in April 2020 on the library’s website. The videos, created by D.C. United’s communications department, featured the fan-favorite bird and team players demonstrating physical activities that kids and their families could do at home without any expensive … Continue reading A Dream Team
Libraries in five states explain how they plan to put their grants to work in the coming months during the census response period. Expanding accessibility Census tract 406 in downtown Dothan, Alabama, is one of the hardest-to-count areas in the country, with a response rate of about 66% in 2010. Nearly half of residents do … Continue reading Granting Libraries’ Census Wishes
Citywide collaboration in Baltimore Baltimore received a $250,000 grant from the state of Maryland to support census outreach efforts, led by the Baltimore Complete Count Committee (BCCC). The committee has worked closely with local libraries to implement a plan for “bringing the census to the people,” says Austin C. Davis, census project manager for the … Continue reading Plug into the Census
The call represented a trend unfolding in public facilities across the country: individuals who arm themselves with video cameras, proclaim themselves First Amendment auditors, and enter police precincts, post offices, libraries, and other spaces under the auspices of the First Amendment right to free speech in order to record staff violations. The Connecticut caller was … Continue reading Free Speech—or Free-for-All?
