These libraries, each completed within the past three years, are now centerpieces of their communities. They have inspired awe and appreciation, increased user engagement, received architecture and design awards—and won over some of their critics. So how did these endeavors come together? How does a beautiful building become a reality? We asked three administrators—who have … Continue reading How to Build a Library
In your podcast Mobituaries, you exhume little-known facts about both relatively unknown and iconic people and events. How do you go about picking a story that you’d like to pursue? I pursue stories about people and things that interest me. There are people who had obituaries the first time around when they actually died, but … Continue reading Newsmaker: Mo Rocca
“Questions are being raised about what is the role of libraries in this epidemic,” said Sharon Streams, director of OCLC’s WebJunction, at the outset of “Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities,” a June 24 session at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. More than 130 people die … Continue reading Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
Which is why it’s no surprise that the CBS Sunday Morning correspondent’s forthcoming book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving (November, Simon & Schuster), and podcast of the same name, commemorates people and things—from the station wagon to Neanderthals to Thomas Paine’s legacy—where the common thread is that they’re overlooked and no longer with us. Oh, and there’s another overlap: … Continue reading The Onus of Obituary
“The reason I’m conversant in [race, social justice, and public policy] topics is because it all started at the library,” she told those gathered for the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services President’s Program at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 24. Chatelain reminisced about being dropping off … Continue reading Golden Arches, Black Franchises
At “Show Me Money! Or Not?,” a June 23 panel at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., speakers from academic institutions reviewed five examples of case law to dispel confusion around fair use, specifically focusing on the exception’s fourth factor. “I think the reason fair use is the exception librarians … Continue reading Figuring out the Fourth Factor
That’s the number at which literacy levels of all types significantly improve, said Anthony Chow, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, at “Resources for Rural and Tribal Libraries,” a June 24 session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Of the Blackfeet Nation individuals he … Continue reading Better Literacy for the Blackfeet Nation
Koran Saines, Sterling district supervisor for the Loudoun County (Va.) Board of Supervisors, asked the question at the beginning of “A Successful Budgeting Process,” a June 23 panel at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., to illustrate a simple but important point: Librarians should be having ongoing conversations with … Continue reading Budget Bedfellows
“We often frame [disability or accessibility] as a problem, something to overcome, or something to deal with,” she told attendees at “Accessibility and Creation of Online Library Materials: Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL),” a June 22 session at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Johns chooses instead to … Continue reading Universal Design for All Learners
“If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest country in greenhouse emissions,” Erica Freudenberger, outreach consultant at Southern Adirondack (N.Y.) Library System (SALS), told attendees at “Food for Thought,” a June 22 session at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. “Despite an abundance, many don’t have … Continue reading Libraries as Sustenance
“I didn’t see any reflections of girls like me,” she told attendees at “50 Years of the Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards,” a live taping of the Dewey Decibel podcast at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 22. “I think the first book that I read about an African-American … Continue reading Changing the Narrative
These themes and others are addressed in the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) new scholarly communications research agenda, “Open and Equitable Scholarly Communcations: Creating a More Inclusive Future,” released last week. The agenda was developed over the course of a year by ACRL’s Research and Scholarly Environment Committee (ReSEC) with a high degree … Continue reading ‘A More Inclusive Future’
