Uncategorized Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Food cart on wheels whose sign reads "Pier Tamales"

By the Numbers: Small Business

By Megan Bennett | November 1, 2024

With small businesses employing almost half the US workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public libraries contribute significantly to the economy through resources that support small businesses and the entrepreneurs who start them. 5.5 million The record-breaking number of new businesses started in 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. 50% Approximate number … Continue reading By the Numbers: Small Business →

The Quest for Work-Life Balance

By Allison Escoto | May 1, 2024

Fostering Wellness in the Workplace: A Handbook for Libraries By Bobbi L. Newman Library work culture and wellness have not always gone hand in hand. However, in the post-pandemic landscape, attention to wellness in the workplace has become more prevalent. This informative handbook takes a holistic approach to understanding the concerns of library workers in … Continue reading The Quest for Work-Life Balance →

From left: Filmmakers Trish Adlesic, Nazenet Habtezghi, and Sheila Nevins.

Newsmakers: Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi

By Megan Bennett | February 20, 2024

Adlesic is codirector and producer of The ABCs of Book Banning, a 2023 film that has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short category. Sheila Nevins, famed documentarian and current head of MTV Documentary Films, led the project, and journalist-turned-filmmaker Nazenet Habtezghi also codirected. American Libraries spoke with Adlesic and Habtezghi … Continue reading Newsmakers: Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi →

Seize the Data

By Reanna Esmail | June 1, 2023

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism By Safiya Umoja Noble Understanding algorithms is crucial for library workers grappling with emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence chatbots and their effect on information access. This is one of the first major books to examine algorithms and how they may perpetuate biased representation, remaining on point … Continue reading Seize the Data →

Newsmaker: Kelly Yang

By Megan Bennett | April 28, 2023

Yang, now a bestselling and award-winning middle-grade and YA author, spent her childhood moving from city to city, making it difficult to find her footing. But everywhere she went, she could find familiar stories and characters at the library. “Books became my friends, but most importantly, the library became my home,” Yang says. “It was … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kelly Yang →

Top Ten Tweets—Thursday (Day 0)

By Julie Cai | June 24, 2016

Get ready… Get (jet) set… Go! And, for those #alaleftbehind: Keep ’em coming!

People with American Libraries

July 9, 2015

Emerging Leaders: The Class of 2015

By Phil Morehart | April 21, 2015

Initiated in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger, Emerging Leaders recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians under 35 years of age or those new to the library profession of any age … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: The Class of 2015 →

An article titled "Spotlight on Women Managers" that was featured in the January 1985 issue of American Libraries.

Women in Management, Revisited

By Greg Landgraf | March 23, 2015

Recently, we followed up with four of those interviewees to see how their experiences matched—or didn’t match—their expectations, their observations of the current state of library management and of women within it, and the lessons they’ve learned over their careers. Our interviewees are: BRIDGET LAMONT, director of the Illinois State Library from 1983 to 2000, … Continue reading Women in Management, Revisited →

The Future for Teaching and Learning

By Joan K. Lippincott | February 26, 2015

What does the future hold for librarians’ participation in teaching and learning in colleges and universities? Many are already taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the emergence of new technologies and faculty interest in giving students assignments that will engage them in their learning. I believe that the greatest opportunities for librarians lie in … Continue reading The Future for Teaching and Learning →

Gallery

January 26, 2015 Headline Example of a caption in a gallery. Click here!

Latest Library Links, January 14, 2014

January 26, 2015

ALA News New e-rate implementation begins The Daniel W. Lester Library Postcard Collection Midwinter Meeting News Policy Revolution! update Division News LLAMA call for mentors and mentees Awards & Grants The life of a book award committee member Libraries in the News Passions flare on proposed Chicago parkland site for Obama library Wichita votes to … Continue reading Latest Library Links, January 14, 2014 →

Latest Library Links

3h

“As early as 2003, certain university libraries in the US developed virtual libraries in the online video game Second Life and offered a variety of services, marking the first practical research on metaverse libraries. The metaverse is regaining popularity nearly two decades later, and technological circumstances have improved. Today’s metaverse is a collection of new technologies, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), gaming, networking, etc. VR and AR are two of the most important metaverse enabling technologies, and their use in university libraries is growing.”

College & Research Libraries, Nov.
6h

Christina Caron writes: “On social media, Mychal Threets was spreading the gospel of ‘library joy’ to hundreds of thousands of followers. But at his job, as a supervisor at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif., he was facing new challenges. Over a year, Threets filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations. Like Threets, librarians around the country are struggling to reconcile their desire to serve their communities with their need for self-preservation.”

New York Times, Oct. 31
24h

Megan Bennett writes: “From the iconic to the incendiary, political messages like these have emblazoned buttons and pins since the start of US elections. Since 2012, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been archiving political buttons. The collection now spans thousands of items over a century’s worth of campaigns and causes. The collection has approximately 4,800 buttons and pins and 200 stickers. Most fit into one of three categories: campaigns (local and national), sociopolitical movements, and community organizations like unions.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
1d

Cindy Hohl writes: “Recognizing all of humanity in libraries requires a thoughtful approach and a humble spirit. I believe that we, as information professionals, have been called to this work because of our shared values. Every day, library workers provide a vital public function. We are entrusted to serve our communities, and we know that the best way to serve the public good is to welcome everyone into libraries to access accurate information.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
1d

Anne Ford writes: “For Susan Brown, December 17, 2004, was a perfectly normal day—until she saw the elevator doors open. Brown, director of Transylvania University’s J. Douglas Gay Jr./Frances Carrick Thomas Library in Lexington, Kentucky, was walking past the staff elevator on the library’s main level when the doors parted and she reflexively glanced inside. Her gaze locked on the great red books held by two young men inside. On the 20th anniversary of what became known as the Transy book heist, American Libraries looks back at one of the most brazen and puzzling thefts ever to take place in an academic library.

American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.
4d

Chase Hunter writes: “Chabot College Library and Learning Center in Hayward, California, held a ceremonial opening last week, but students have already gone so often that it’s quickly become a campus cornerstone. More than 35,000 Chabot College students have visited the new library and learning center—the tallest building on campus—this semester, already surpassing last year’s total. The new building’s geometric clean lines and splashes of orange—the school’s color—over a chrome exterior is attracting students in a way that Chabot College hasn’t experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Mercury News (San Jose, California), Oct. 28
4d

Michelle Ehrhardt writes: “Like the Metaverse and NFTs before it, it feels near impossible to follow tech news right now without hearing about Artificial Intelligence (AI). I understand it can get annoying: The tech is still in development, and everyone’s still figuring out the ethics of generating AI Art, or how to make it not suck. It’s tempting to write AI off entirely. There are a few key use cases I’ve found where AI shines better than pretty much any other alternative. As an AI skeptic, here’s where I think AI is most useful.”

Lifehacker, Oct. 28

View more Latest Library Links