Blog | American Libraries Magazine

2020 Library Design Showcase

The year's most impressive new and renovated libraries
By Phil Morehart | September 1, 2020
Virus-Responsive Design

In the age of COVID-19, architects merge future-facing innovations with present-day needs
By Lara Ewen | September 1, 2020
Ready for Action

As cities undertake climate action plans, libraries emerge as partners
By Mark Lawton | September 1, 2020
2020 ALA Award Winners

Honoring excellence and leadership in the profession
September 1, 2020
Encoding Space

Shaping learning environments that unlock human potential
By Brian Mathews and Leigh Ann Soistmann | September 1, 2020
By the Numbers: Rural and Small Libraries

Stats on the buildings, staff, bookmobiles, and users of small and rural libraries
By Alison Marcotte | September 1, 2020
Bookend: The World on a String
By Sallyann Price | September 1, 2020
Dragging AI

Teaching teens to resist facial recognition software
By Maty Cropley | September 1, 2020
Conscientious Cataloging

Librarians work to advance equity in subject headings
By Anne Ford | September 1, 2020
Can You Hear Me Now?

Library managers on the challenges of leading from a distance
By Carli Spina | September 1, 2020
Newsmaker: Laurie Halse Anderson

YA author and intellectual freedom champion releases new graphic novel about Wonder Woman
By Alison Marcotte | September 1, 2020
Remote Control?

Rethinking inclusive online teaching
By Elizabeth M. Johns | September 1, 2020

Latest Library Links

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On September 18, American Library Association (ALA) President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. called to order a special meeting of ALA Council, held outside of its regular meetings during ALA conferences. Jefferson acknowledged the unprecedented times for libraries and their effects on the Association’s finances and services. But he added that the conversations around ALA’s framework have been ongoing for several years to make the Association more modern.

AL: The Scoop, Sept. 18
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A three-year, $574,910 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program will fund a Montana State University program known as Indigenous Perspectives in School Librarianship. As part of the grant, MSU’s library media certificate program curriculum will be redesigned to be culturally relevant and prioritize Indigenous perspectives in alignment with Montana’s Indian Education for All initiative as well as Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools.

Montana State University, Sept. 17
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Jennifer Pearson, director of Marshall County Memorial Library in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, spoke to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about the how her library has adapted its services to the pandemic-related needs of the community and how she is thinking about the library’s future.

Marketplace, Sept. 16
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On September 1 Dictionary.com announced major updates to more than 15,000 of its definitions, from capitalizing Black to updating entries about sexual orientation to revising language around suicide and addiction, saying its aim was to foreground people over “clinical language.” The website has more than 70 million monthly users and describes itself as the world’s leading digital dictionary.

The Guardian (UK), Sept. 1
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John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan, will leave the publishing company and its parent, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, on January 1. Don Weisberg, president of Macmillan US Trade, will succeed Sargent as CEO of Macmillan Publishers, and Susan Winslow, general manager of Macmillan Learning, will head that division as president. In making the announcement on September 17, Holtzbrinck said Sargent’s departure is due to “disagreements regarding the direction of Macmillan.”

Publishers Weekly, Sept. 17
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Sarah Mangiola writes: “Each year, we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month—also referred to as Hispanic Heritage Month—between September 15 and October 15. These children’s and YA books written by Latinx authors provide the perfect way to mark the month. Featuring a wide variety of titles for kids of all ages, including picture books, middle grade & chapter books, and young adult reads, these stories recognize Latinx contributions to the world of children’s literature and are great for reading at any time of year. Share these books with little and big kids alike.”

Brightly, Sept. 15
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, students at Montgomery County Public Schools in Christiansburg, Virginia, got books from their school library shelves. Now they’re getting them from the sky. Thanks to an idea from MCPS middle school librarian Kelly Passek and a partnership with Wing, the first commercial drone delivery service in the US, any student in the district who lives within Wing’s delivery zone can request a book through the school system’s library catalog. As the pandemic continues to make indoor library visits difficult for many (and impossible for some), Passek is just one of many librarians across the country who have turned to the outdoors as a means of putting books in the hands of readers.

AL: The Scoop, Sept. 14