Everbright User: Kate Simpson, Central Library children’s department manager at San Antonio Public Library What is Everbright? Everbright is an interactive light wall. It has knobs all over, and each knob changes color as you turn it. You can create images or patterns by setting the dials to various color shades, and you can program … Continue reading Low-Vision Accessibility
Thanks to all who joined me last summer on the virtual “Holding Space” tour, a conversation series with libraries. I will forever remember you as faithful partners and travel companions as we faced seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Thanks in part to our advocacy, libraries secured federal relief funding of historic proportions. ALA staff and leadership managed … Continue reading Moving Forward
My friend is a well-respected educational consultant and author of half a dozen books. In a phone call shortly after she returned home, I was delighted to learn that, though she was still weak and had limited mobility, she was finishing a book she had been working on before her illness. “I’m writing for a … Continue reading To Survive, We Must Transform
Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer, and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including … Continue reading How Much of a Threat Are Copyright Trolls?
As representatives of the first generation of college graduates in our families, we face a distinct set of challenges entering grad school. Mercedes comes from a working-class family; both her parents held positions in manufacturing; Nicki’s parents pursued jobs in industries that did not require a college degree. Our parents encouraged and supported our decisions … Continue reading Starting a New Legacy
According to America’s Libraries: Powering Broadband Adoption, Access, and Use, a 2016 report from the American Library Association, about 90% of public libraries offer digital literacy training programs through which community members can engage in job preparation and gain new skills to aid in career advancement. The report also notes that those who receive formal … Continue reading Tools for the Job
My study aimed to determine whether sampled policies had manifest messages of diversity and the degree of congruence between these policies and ALA’s “Diversity in Collection Development: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” adopted in 1982 and last amended in 2019. Given that diversity is one of the core values of librarianship and … Continue reading What Does Diversity Mean?
The tech company Cisco predicts that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all internet traffic. In recent years, large libraries have jumped on this trend, producing recorded author events, tutorials, and promotional videos; since the pandemic began, the popularity of online videos has exploded even further. Ubiquitous as it is, much video content … Continue reading Inclusive Media
Brownsburg (Ind.) Public Library, where I work, abruptly closed last March. As was the case with many libraries, when we realized the virus wasn’t going away, we had to decide if we wanted to cancel our summer reading program or adapt it to our new normal. We went ahead with summer reading to give our … Continue reading Summer Reading Realities
Gale Engage User: Riti Grover, director at Farmington (Mich.) Community Library What is Gale Engage? Gale Engage is a marketing and analysis tool designed to optimize the library’s effectiveness through data analysis and dashboard visualizations that enable library staff to best focus their efforts within the community. How do you use it? We use Gale … Continue reading Target Acquired
Going Virtual: Programs and Insights from a Time of Crisis By Sarah Ostman Going Virtual is a timely, practical guide that offers pragmatic advice and creative examples of programs for communities of all sizes and types. Divided into four sections—learning, conversation, connection, and entertainment—this book provides a wealth of ideas for programs that can be … Continue reading Pandemic Pivoting, Continued
I am beginning to see the light at the end of a dark COVID-19 tunnel. Many of us have been vaccinated or will be soon—a critical step toward healing all the communities hit by the global pandemic. Another ray of light came on March 11, when the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed … Continue reading Making a Difference
