These types of challenges were top of mind at United for Libraries (UFL) Virtual 2025, held in late July. Every year, UFL brings together trustees, foundation and Friends members, and those who work with them for a virtual conference to discuss the library advocacy landscape. It’s also a space to brainstorm practical solutions for rallying … Continue reading Unlocking Possibilities
Last April, Choice, the publishing unit of the American Library Association’s Association of College and Research Libraries, convened the virtual panel “Affirmative Action and the Future of DEI.” Moderated by Fatima Mohie-Eldin, social sciences editor for Choice and editor of its Toward Inclusive Excellence blog, the panel explored how these coalescing issues are impacting academic … Continue reading Moving Beyond the Acronym
Selznick, known for the children’s books The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck, spoke with the American Library Association’s How I Library podcast about finding revelatory love, building on cultural history, and why books scare those in power. Where did Run Away with Me’s setting and story come from? My husband won a fellowship that … Continue reading Newsmaker: Brian Selznick
A good approach is to look at the most high-impact changes you can make early in the process to improve accessibility for users, even if the entire site is not fully accessible. The following sections outline several changes that can have a significant impact without requiring the wholesale redesign of a website. Structural elements Structuring … Continue reading Preparing for New Web Accessibility Requirements
These are just a couple of the 600-plus global variations of the Cinderella fable. You’ll find many of them at Jonesborough, Tennessee’s Storytelling Resource Place (SRP), a repository of books, recordings, costumes, instruments, and other items related to the storytelling performance tradition. “Much like libraries safeguard written knowledge, we safeguard the living traditions of oral … Continue reading Bookend: Once Upon a Time
A couple of years and many, many emailed requests later, Heaviside has collected hundreds of public library cards from every US state and several foreign locales, including the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Scotland, and South Africa. “It was like I couldn’t stop,” she says. Her persistence paid off: During … Continue reading Bookend: Up Her Sleeve
$10 or less Book Club Cocktail Napkins ($9) Make your book club laugh with these “Welcome to ‘Book Club’” foil-stamped cocktail napkins from Pretty Alright Goods. These three-ply napkins will be a fun conversation starter at your next literary meetup, whether you’re reading or just “reading” (aka eating snacks and catching up on each … Continue reading 2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers
In honor of International Games Month, held every November, these stories center games and gaming as community-building, teaching, and self-improvement tools. Learn how libraries are developing tabletop role-playing games and using new adaptive technologies to make videogames more accessible for all. Check out the 2025 Platinum Play, or “Platy,” Hall of Fame inductees—games honored by … Continue reading State of Play
While game jams—accelerated game creation events—started as a way to develop videogames, they’re also useful for creating tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). The best-known TTRPGs, like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu, include rule books that can run to hundreds of pages and have steep price tags, but there are a host of smaller, … Continue reading Jam Forever
“The only way to reach out to the world was through this very cool gaming setup that the hospital would bring into the room,” he recalled. An in-game friend “became my solace in a place where every day they were hurting me and I was scared.” Spohn, director of the Mount Sinai Back to Life … Continue reading Adaptive Arcade
The 2025 inductees are: Car Wars 2–8 players 30 minutes and up Ages 10+ Now in its sixth edition, the tabletop combat simulation game Car Wars has a simple premise: Each player has a heavily armed and customized vehicle, and the last one standing is the winner. The game has a rich history of add-ons … Continue reading 2025 Platy Hall of Fame Inductees
Harmeyer—who holds the 12th-longest consecutive winning streak of any player on the show—spoke with American Libraries about her longtime love of the game, her least favorite category, and how she blazed her path to the 2025 Jeopardy! Masters tournament. As an adolescent, you auditioned for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament and weren’t selected. And now you’re … Continue reading Q&A with Adriana Harmeyer
