Headshot of column author Amy Holland

Beyond ADA Compliance

March 1, 2024

In 2020, staff members at Irondequoit Public Library (IPL) in Rochester, New York, began rethinking our approach to accessibility and inclusion. With reduced hours and services during the COVID- 19 pandemic, we had an opportunity to reenvision how we wanted to welcome patrons back. ADA guidelines provide for a minimum standard of service, but we … Continue reading Beyond ADA Compliance


Headshots of Nia Lam and Michelle McKinney

Fighting Posttenure Fatigue

January 2, 2024

However, in the days, months, and years afterward, tenured academic librarians may start to feel a lack of motivation, support, and career guidance. Mentoring programs customarily focus on early-career librarians, and many people begin to wonder, “What next?” To answer that question, we’ve highlighted strategies for dealing with posttenure burnout. Be intentional about your time. … Continue reading Fighting Posttenure Fatigue


On My Mind by Jules LeFort

Closing Access Gaps

November 1, 2023

In addition to having the option to take one college course per semester, incarcerated students can come to a computer lab once a week at their correctional facility. That’s where a student success specialist, a writing tutor, and I provide them with research assistance. My job is to answer questions and help students brainstorm search … Continue reading Closing Access Gaps


Headshot of Kathleen Daniels

Training Wreck

September 1, 2023

The law, known as House Bill 1467, required the state’s department of education to develop what is now known as the Library Media and Instructional Materials Training. It is mandatory for all public school library media specialists and instructs library staffers to “err on the side of caution” when choosing materials. As of January 2023, … Continue reading Training Wreck


Headshot of On My Mind columnist Steve Tetreault

Let’s Get Loud

June 1, 2023

It’s maddening that so few people outside the library profession—even those we work with—see what is going on. But unfortunately, it’s not surprising. These days, news events reported across too many platforms compete for our limited time and attention. As local news outlets diminish, so does reporting on community events like school or public library … Continue reading Let’s Get Loud


Headshot of Jess Williams

Sustainable Service Models

May 1, 2023

Many academic libraries have pivoted away from subject-based or discipline-based liaison models, which have traditionally relied on designated staffers to build relationships with faculty and act as points of contact for specific services. They are now switching to team-based models that prioritize functions like teaching, learning, research support, outreach, and collection strategies. The idea is … Continue reading Sustainable Service Models


Headshot of Adrienne Doman Calkins

Behavior Policy Reboot

March 1, 2023

In preparing to welcome our patrons back amid a statewide mask mandate, library leadership realized our existing behavior policy was inadequate. Our policy lacked the nuances needed during a pandemic and didn’t cover our expanded virtual services. It needed more consistent and empathetic oversight when we knew our community was dealing with polarized and heightened … Continue reading Behavior Policy Reboot


United We Stand

September 1, 2022

Here are some strategies that helped us along the way: Talk with colleagues. Building worker power begins when workers talk with one another about their experiences on the job. When my colleagues and I started talking more, we realized that many of us shared the same issues and were able to discuss what we believed … Continue reading United We Stand


Lindsey Kimery

Book Battle in Tennessee

May 11, 2022

Country music star John Rich, who tweeted in January, prior to the bill’s introduction, that he’d met with Gov. Bill Lee and Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn about obscene books in school libraries, addressed the House subcommittee on K–12 education on February 23, comparing teachers, educators, and librarians to “the guy in the white van … Continue reading Book Battle in Tennessee


Meeting Every Maker

May 2, 2022

Acknowledging that gap, our research team set out to explore the accessibility of public library makerspaces. We did this through focus groups with disability advocates and stakeholders, with grant support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Every makerspace is different, we learned, but there were some common themes in our discussions with participants. … Continue reading Meeting Every Maker


On My Mind by Cynthia Kiyotake

Broadening Outreach

March 1, 2022

My eight-branch library system in the Denver metro area serves about 655,000 people across much of Arapahoe County, covering a diverse social landscape: lower-income communities, rural Coloradans, a county jail, and a variety of residential and commercial interests. Various groups within our libraries administer programming work collaboratively to meet the particular needs of children and … Continue reading Broadening Outreach


On My Mind with Rachel Ivy Clarke

Work Made Visible

January 3, 2022

Invisible labor is a concept from feminist scholarship that aims to bring attention to underpaid, unrecognized, and undervalued work, often performed by women. Household work is an example, but the term also applies to some intellectual work, like that performed in libraries. When a job is done well—a program goes off without a hitch, for … Continue reading Work Made Visible