Appointments & Retirements

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Bettendorf (Iowa) Public Library appointed Jillian Aschliman director in April.
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Courtney Chartier joined Columbia University Libraries in New York City as director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library in July.
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The Association of Research Libraries appointed DeLa Dos senior director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, effective June 7.
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March 1 Megan M. H. Hegna joined Patterson Library in Westfield, New York, as director.
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Heidi Hobson joined Akron (Colo.) Public Library as director in February.
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University of New Mexico has named Leo Lo dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences.
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Miranda McDermott became director of Oswego (N.Y.) Public Library in March.
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In April Jennifer Nash joined Cyrenius H. Booth Library in Newtown, Connecticut, as assistant director.
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May 10 Faith Phillips joined Cumberland County (N.C.) Public Library as director.
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Katherine Quinnell became dean of Tarleton State University Libraries in Stephenville, Texas, in February.
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Erin Sharwell became head of circulation services at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia March 1.
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July 1 Charles F. Thomas became dean of Hunter Library at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Latest Library Links

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President Biden nominated Jessica Rosenworcel as Federal Communications Commission chair, and former FCC staffer Gigi Sohn to a second vacant seat. Rosenworcel has been serving as the acting chair and has been on the panel since 2012. Sohn was counselor to former FCC chair Tom Wheeler. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first openly LGBTIQ+ commissioner. Rosenworcel is the first woman to chair the panel. She and Sohn are expected to push for a return of Obama-era net neutrality rules, which would prohibit internet providers from slowing internet speeds or blocking content. ALA issued a statement October 26 welcoming the nominations.

NPR, Oct. 26
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A Drag Queen Story Time protester who is trying to shrink the mission of the Lafayette Parish (La.) Library System was unanimously elected October 20 to lead the library board for the next year. Robert Judge, who has only been on the library board since February, proposed changing the library system’s mission statement in April to remove “recreation and cultural enrichment” to save money; the proposal was tabled.

The Acadiana Advocate, Oct. 21
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ALA invites library advocates to apply online to join the fourth cohort of ALA Policy Corps members. The deadline for applications is December 1. The Policy Corps initiative aims to strengthen advocacy related to key national library policy areas—ranging from broadband equity and copyright/licensing to federal funding and privacy and cybersecurity. Preference will be given to applicants with prior engagement in ALA and state chapters, such as service on boards, committees, or other entities and/or participation in professional development or scholarship programs.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Oct. 26
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Phil Morehart writes: “School administrators from across the US opened the second day of the 2021 American Association of School Librarians National Conference in Salt Lake City with a general session full of frank, insightful conversations about what they need and expect from school librarians—and how administrators can empower school librarians in their work.”

AL: The Scoop, Oct. 25
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As a Chattanooga school board debated who has the authority to approve, or remove, books in school libraries this week, Tennessee librarians are speaking out. Representatives from the Tennessee Association of School Librarians, the Tennessee Library Association and Friends of the Tennessee Libraries are calling out recent censorship attempts by Hamilton County school board member Rhonda Thurman. Thurman expressed concerns in an op-ed earlier this month over the use of curse words and references to sex and violence depicted in library books found in Hamilton County schools.

The Tennessean, Oct. 21
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Eleanor J. Bader writes: “Since the 2008 recession, many library budgets have been significantly reduced, and the political right has increasingly organized campaigns to challenge library promotion of antiracist and pro-LGBTQ+ events, whether through Black History Month programs, Pride displays, or speaker series. This includes disruptions of Drag Queen Story Hour, a six-year-old reading program where drag queens read to kids, to the sabotage of ballot initiatives that would authorize the expansion or renovation of crumbling library facilities, to vocal campaigns against books that address racism, gender identity, or sexuality.”

The Progressive, Oct. 19
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Dave Shumaker writes: “At a recent professional meeting, I was dismayed to find myself witnessing yet another discussion on whether those present should call themselves ‘librarians.’ The program that hosted this discussion opened with the observation that library spaces are shrinking in the postpandemic world and the question of whether the participants might stop calling themselves librarians if they no longer work ‘in a [physical] library.’ Everything I heard was a repetition of arguments I’ve heard over and over in the almost 50 years since I was working on my first professional degree.”

Information Today, Oct. 19

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