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Appointments & Retirements

Akinde, Victoria

June 28 Victoria O. Akinde became head of organizational development and diversity at Northwestern University Libraries in Evanston, Illinois.

November 1, 2021
Baxter, Isabella

Isabella Baxter joined University of Maryland in College Park as STEM/agriculture librarian August 23.

November 1, 2021
Bredeson, Stevie

In August Stevie Bredeson became librarian for St. Alphonsus School in Langdon, North Dakota.

November 1, 2021
Callegari, Catherine

Catherine Callegari started as assistant director of patron services at Scarsdale (N.Y.) Public Library June 21.

November 1, 2021
Cumbo, Piper

July 8 Piper Cumbo joined Auburn (Ala.) University Libraries as instruction librarian.

November 1, 2021

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At ALA

Day, Emily

Emily Day, conference content manager for Conference Services, left ALA July 30.

November 1, 2021
Diaz, Ellie

Office for Intellectual Freedom Program Officer Ellie Diaz left ALA July 14.

November 1, 2021
Jamison, Carla

July 19 Carla Jamison joined the Young Adult Library Services Association as program officer.

November 1, 2021
Malone, Robert

Robert “Jay” Malone became executive director for the Association of College and Research Libraries September 7.

November 1, 2021
Ostman, Sarah

Sarah Ostman was promoted to deputy director of the Public Programs Office in March.

November 1, 2021

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Cited

Alvino, Jennifer, and Garcia, Ed

Jennifer Alvino, director of Windham (Maine) Public Library, and Ed Garcia, director of Cranston (R.I.) Public Library, received the New England Library Association’s Emerson Greenaway Award for distinguished service in librarianship in October.

November 1, 2021
Bouwsma, Julia

Julia Bouwsma, director of Webster Library in Kingfield, Maine, was appointed the state’s poet laureate in August.

November 1, 2021
Alford, Larry

Larry Alford, chief librarian at University of Toronto Libraries, received the Canadian Association of Research Libraries Award for Distinguished Service to Research Librarianship May 18.

September 1, 2021
Kear, Robin

Robin Kear, liaison librarian in research and educational support at University of Pittsburgh, became the first librarian elected university senate president, effective July 1.

September 1, 2021
California Library Association

The California Library Association has inducted Michael Buckland, professor emeritus and former dean of University of California, Berkeley; the late poet and former librarian at San Francisco Public Library Hiroshi Kashiwagi; and Bonny White, retired deputy director of Marin County Free Library, into the California Library Hall of Fame.

July 19, 2021

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Obituaries

Travillian, Maurice

J. Maurice Travillian, 83, former state librarian of Maryland, died July 14. He previously worked for the state’s Division of Library Development and Services in the Department of Education for two decades, as library consultant, chief of public libraries, and, ultimately, state librarian. In the early 1990s, he envisioned and led the development of Sailor, a statewide network that brought internet access to underserved populations, which received the James Madison Award from the Coalition on Government Information in 1995. He also led development of MILO, the statewide interlibrary loan system. He had previously served as state librarian of Iowa; director of Marshalltown (Iowa) Public Library; a librarian at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa; and bookmobile driver at Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri.

November 1, 2021
Wood, Lisa

Lisa Harper Wood, 64, director of Keller (Tex.) Public Library from 1987 to 2007, died April 27. She also served as director of Richland Hills (Tex.) Public Library for five years. The Texas Municipal League named her Library Director of the Year in 1994.

November 1, 2021
Adcock, Donald

Donald C. Adcock, 86, director of library services at Glen Ellyn (Ill.) School District 41 from 1963 to 1989, died July 15. He served as coordinator for program support of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and later as interim director. After leaving AASL, he became university supervisor and then interim director for the school library media program at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.

November 1, 2021
Hines, Richard

Richard “Rich” Hines, 74, librarian emeritus at University of Portland in Oregon and dean for information services until his 2006 retirement, died May 11. Hines worked in academic libraries for more than 20 years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge; Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; and Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

November 1, 2021
Muir, Patricia

Patricia Muir, 91, longtime executive secretary at the American Library Association (ALA) until her 1997 retirement, died February 12.

November 1, 2021

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Send notices and photos to Amy Carlton, acarlton@ala.org.

Latest Library Links

13h

In 2021, libraries saw a record number of book challenges. So it’s fitting that while American Libraries looks for Call Number podcast’s new host, we re-air our sixth episode, “Banned Books.” This episode originally aired in October 2016 but its wisdom is—unfortunately—still applicable today. Former host Phil Morehart interviews James LaRue, the then-executive director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom; Sara Stevenson, a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in Austin, Texas, who faced a book challenge over the John Green YA novel Looking for Alaska; and Marjane Satrapi, author of the award-winning graphic novel Persepolis, about how her book was being briefly banned at a Chicago high school.

Call Number with American Libraries, Jan. 20
15h

Samantha Handler writes: “States that want to give libraries a better deal on ebooks are watching a publishers’ suit against Maryland, the first state to set terms for how digital books are distributed for public borrowing. Library associations, including the American Library Association and several state groups, have been pushing for laws to require publishers to distribute digital works to libraries on ‘reasonable’ terms. The groups say libraries pay too much for ebooks and should be able to get them at lower prices. The bills and the law enacted in Maryland have set off alarm bells for authors and publishers who fear the legislation encroaches on copyrights. A hearing on the law’s implementation will be held in early February. Library associations are watching what happens in Maryland to decide how to proceed in other states. Bills are pending in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and legislation is likely to be reintroduced with some changes in New York.”

Bloomberg Law, Jan. 18, Dec. 9
18h

David Lee King writes: “It’s true that people crave connection, to be acknowledged and listened to. But they’re not always looking to mimic real-world connections online, and an organization that tries to position itself as a new best friend on social media can come across as fake. So how can libraries strike a balance, demonstrating authentic engagement with a patron’s experiences, whether in person or via a digital transaction? Let’s consider how libraries can make use of common engagement platforms: catalogs, e-newsletters, mobile apps, and more.”

American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
20h

Linda W. Braun writes: “For much of my career as a youth librarian, I had focused on the topic of teen mental health from a service point of view. That meant knowing which resources or hotlines were available in the community and being able to point teens to assistance during times of distress. I’ve recently realized that this is not enough; libraries’ support of teen mental health must be embedded in everyday services and start far before a crisis occurs. My ‘aha’ moment in realizing that we must shift from reactive to proactive support was spurred by Caring about Teen Mental Health, a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services last year.”

American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
1d

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced on January 13 that a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will be used to fund a collaboration between San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and the American Library Association (ALA) that aims to improve and expand library services for incarcerated individuals locally and nationally. The initiative, Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People, will undertake a survey of existing models for library services to people in jails and prisons and a revision of outdated standards in collaboration with formerly incarcerated people and librarians. The project will also include the development of an interactive map for locating library services for incarcerated individuals, virtual trainings led by SFPL staffers and field experts, and digital literacy trainings to support people in the process of reentry.

ALA, Jan. 13
2d

Terra Dankowski writes: “Cynthiana–Harrison County (Ky.) Public Library’s (CHCPL) first in-person program since before the pandemic made a big impression—a headline-grabbing, 1,300-pound impression, to be exact. Hank, a Tennessee Walker–breed rescue horse, moseyed on into his hometown library in September 2021 for an equine-themed storytime that included a scavenger hunt, coloring contest, and prizes. While there, Hank received his first library card, in observance of Library Card Sign-Up Month. “This [event] really brought us a lot of faces that we don’t normally see, which was exciting,” says Molly Watson, CHCPL youth services librarian. “A lot of the local news stations picked it up, [which] got shared with national news stations. We were taken aback by the attention.”

American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.
2d

American Library Association (ALA) members are invited to register for ALA Executive Board, Council, and other governance meetings happening in conjunction with LibLearnX. Want to join and observe member leaders at work? Find registration links and meeting documents here. Most meetings will take place before or after conference.

ALA Governance

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