2009 Year that Alex Wrekk, creator of Brainscan Zine, created International Zine Month in July. 138 Number of libraries in the United States that have zine collections as of 2019, according to Barnard College Zine Library in New York City. 10 Number of minutes before Chicago Zine Fest sold out all of their artist tables … Continue reading By the Numbers: International Zine Month
“Love and Resistance: Stonewall 50,” through July 13 New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwartzman Building “Many people think of Stonewall as the start of the LGBTQ activist movement,” says Jason Baumann, assistant director for collection development at NYPL and coordinator of the library’s LGBTQ initiative, who curated the exhibit. “We wanted to show how … Continue reading Collecting Pride
These themes and others are addressed in the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) new scholarly communications research agenda, “Open and Equitable Scholarly Communcations: Creating a More Inclusive Future,” released last week. The agenda was developed over the course of a year by ACRL’s Research and Scholarly Environment Committee (ReSEC) with a high degree … Continue reading ‘A More Inclusive Future’
A former US Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, Walling studied business administration at University of Michigan and is pursuing an MBA at University of Illinois. At ALA, she’ll lead efforts to develop, implement, and measure strategic initiatives around membership and oversee a fast-paced customer service center. Walling answered our “11 Questions” to introduce herself to … Continue reading 11 Questions: Melissa Kay Walling
When did you first try out for Jeopardy? I first auditioned for the show when I was just about to graduate from high school. At the time, I was trying to get on the show’s College Championship. (I could audition for that as a high school student because the tournament would tape and air when … Continue reading Newsmaker: Emma Boettcher
Conference highlights Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the US Supreme Court and author of four books, will take the stage 8:30–9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22, for a conversation with her editor, Jill Santopolo of Philomel Books. For more on Sotomayor, whose latest book Just Ask! is forthcoming in September, read our interview. The Opening General Session features Jason Reynolds, author … Continue reading 2019 Annual Conference Preview
Today, rock-star chefs have transformed neighborhoods into epicurean destinations and turned what was once a dining drought into a wave of new restaurants, vibrant tastes, and international cuisines. Ready to dig in? Here is a guide to the best flavors in our culinary capital, excerpted from Frommer’s EasyGuide to Washington, D.C., 2020. Near the Convention … Continue reading A Culinary Capital
The 2020 Census kicks off next April. As always, some census takers will be out knocking on doors. But for the first time, people will also be able to complete the questionnaires online. Librarians can help provide space, equipment, and information to guide patrons through the process. Conducting a fair and accurate count isn’t as … Continue reading Making It Count
This year’s crop includes research on the power of reading, librarian–teacher collaborations, and school librarians as academic leaders. The nine dissertations selected from digital archives and online databases have practical implications for school, public, academic, and special libraries; feature quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies; and include measurable recommendations for change. The students and their topics … Continue reading Notable Dissertations 2019
As told to Anne Ford This is just the smallest smattering of titles that have won Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards in the last half-century. Founded in 1969, the awards have become the mark of excellence for books that are authored or illustrated by African Americans and that demonstrate an appreciation of African-American culture … Continue reading 50 Years of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Paige isn’t a librarian. She’s not even human. She’s a chatbot—a basic virtual assistant, programmed with a decision tree of potential questions, their answers, and code telling the bot how to respond. Cynthia Sandler, library media specialist at North Salem (N.Y.) Middle School and High School, created Paige in 2017 to help her students interact … Continue reading Your Library Needs to Speak to You
Ultimately, earlier this year the library instituted a camping ban, wherein anyone found between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. on the grounds of one of PPLD’s four branches could be ticketed for trespassing if they didn’t leave. “It was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done,” says Spears. Some libraries across the country—particularly on the … Continue reading Give Them Shelter?
