I am a school librarian. My community supports the school library, and students are active library users. At the same time, rhetoric from the 2023 legislative session and in the years since have shown me that the public has limited knowledge about how we choose books and select programming to make the library a place … Continue reading Walk with a Purpose
We looked to Search Institute, a nonprofit focused on positive youth development. Its Developmental Assets Framework lists supports and strengths that can help young people succeed. On that list is involving teens in decision making, a practice that already guides our programming. Why not involve them in our space planning too? We next turned to … Continue reading The Teen Scene
Over the past five years, DC Public Library (DCPL) has partnered with Playful City Lab, a game design initiative from American University (AU) in Washington, D.C. Together, we developed a project called Engaging Beyond Our Walls, which has yielded a budget-friendly platform and toolkit that facilitates storytelling through text messages and audio. Staffers at more … Continue reading Press 1 for Engagement
The removal was done in transgression of the library board’s book reconsideration policy. The book’s catalog record also vanished. Local media outlets reported that the book was removed by our then-director who, a few weeks into the role, was called into our town first selectman’s office along with the head of the library board and … Continue reading Into the Fray
Training and operating AI tools like large language models, for instance, require substantial computational power. Generating one image could use as much energy as charging an average smartphone, according to a 2023 study by AI developer Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the first study of its kind to measure the carbon and … Continue reading Assessing AI
With immigrants making up 13.8% of our population, the US is more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than ever before. But for many library workers, staying abreast of the fraught immigration policy landscape is challenging. Laws shift rapidly, with initiatives introduced or eliminated according to political agendas. For instance, library workers may be interested in … Continue reading Serving New Neighbors
In just 48 hours, the Winooski River overflowed its banks and inundated the capital city. The river crested overnight on July 11, at more than three feet above major flood stage, the second highest reading on record. The basement of KHL, in the heart of downtown, filled with seven and a half feet of water. … Continue reading Picking Up the Pieces
With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is … Continue reading Prioritizing Trans Privacy
According to the 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study from Urban Librarians Unite, nearly 70% of respondents shared that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons, while 22% indicated that they experienced similar behavior from coworkers. When working with patrons, many libraries employ trauma-informed care, a practice popular in health care and social work. It … Continue reading Culture of Care
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
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
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
