CLIR Postdoctoral Fellows | American Libraries Magazine

The Council on Library and Information Resources has named its 2019 cohort of postdoctoral fellows: Rebecca Y. Bayeck, focusing on abolition, transatlantic slavery, early black librarianship, and other topics at New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Mary Borgo Ton, developing pedagogy strategies for Archivo Mesoamericano at Indiana University in Bloomington; Andrew Brown, coordinating digital humanities workshops at the University of Toronto’s Jackman Humanities Institute; Maia Call, improving digital management and library science practices at the US Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C.; Guillaume Candela, developing a digital platform for the Indigenous Languages of the Americas collection at Brown University’s John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island; Christian Casey, developing digital technology tools for the New York University Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; Alicia Cowart, creating a research support program for geospatial research at the University of Colorado, Boulder; Faithe Day, conducting data curation projects at the African American Studies and Research Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana; Zachary Furste, developing strategies for preserving and curating executable archival materials at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; Amani Morrison, transitioning the Colored Conventions Project at the University of Delaware in Newark to a new digital platform; Aditya Ranganath, expanding New York University’s infrastructure supporting geospatial research; Brian A. Robinson, developing web-based content for training teachers to use the Digital Library on American Slavery at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Azure Stewart, working at the intersection of engineering education, librarianship, and research at New York University Libraries; Sean Tennant, developing workflows for data creation, use, preservation, and retrieval at Union College Library in Schenectady, New York; Kimber Thomas, facilitating preservation and use of the Community-Driven Archives Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Kevin Winstead, implementing new partnerships for gathering documents and organizing research data for the Colored Conventions Project at the University of Delaware in Newark.

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Maddie Hanna writes: “The Radnor school board voted April 22 to restore three books that were removed in February from Radnor (Pa.) High School’s library, after impassioned pleas from community members to reject censorship and support LGBTQ students. The board voted 6–0, with three members abstaining, to return Gender Queer, Fun Home, and Blankets to the high school library. The vote reversed decisions by an ad hoc committee appointed by the district’s superintendent that determined the books—all graphic novels, with some sexual depictions—were not age appropriate.”

Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 23; Patch.com, Mar. 7
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Jack Dura writes: “North Dakota’s Republican governor Kelly Armstrong on April 23 vetoed bills to further restrict sexual content in libraries and to create a private school voucher program, rejecting two measures that have seen widespread support by GOP governors in other states. The library bill would have expanded North Dakota’s 2023 prohibition on ‘explicit sexual material’ in public libraries to school districts, and require those entities to have policies for relocating such material ‘to an area in the library not easily accessible to minors.’” The Senate’s attempt to override the veto failed on April 25.

Associated Press, Apr. 23; KFYR-TV (Bismarck, N.D.), Apr. 26
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Since early April, numerous libraries and library organizations have received notices that their federal grant awards—such as those from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—have been terminated. ALA is responding to these politically motivated attacks on library funding with public advocacy and litigation. In addition, ALA has encouraged grantees who receive a termination notice to consider several suggestions.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Apr. 22
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Anne Ford writes: “Adele Puccio, director of Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, comes by her wedding dress obsession honestly. ‘When I was a kid, my great-aunt was the buyer at [famous New York bridal boutique] Kleinfeld’s, so I used to go over and look at all the dresses,” she says. “Other people were buying Seventeen; I was buying Brides.’ Decades later, Puccio’s passion now manifests itself in a rotating collection of vintage and modern bridal gowns, which she stores in her library office and loans to any bride who asks.”

American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.
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Martha Meyer writes: “About three in five young adults worldwide report they are ‘worried’ about climate change, but 55% of teachers don’t address the topic because they feel unprepared to do so. And when it comes to books that present climate information to preschool- and elementary-age kids, many titles end up exacerbating readers’ fears or engaging in greenwashing. Our mid-size Midwestern public library thought: Why not develop an award to honor excellent titles that buck this trend?”

American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.
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“Greening your library with limited resources and lukewarm buy-in might seem overwhelming. But sustainability is also about committing to small changes. Here’s a list of low-lift ideas that libraries of any type or size can start incorporating.” Libraries can develop zero-waste programming, start seed libraries, forge partnerships to reuse waste, host repair cafes, and much more.

American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr.
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Minyoung Kim writes: “In the summer of 2024, I spent eight weeks at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) for my first paper conservation internship. Under the guidance of Chief Conservator Babette Gehnrich—who has dedicated over 35 years to stewarding this remarkable collection—I had the privilege of engaging in various conservation projects. Through this internship, I came to appreciate how AAS’s vast collection, comprising over four million items, embodies American history not only through its texts and imagery but also through traces of use, repair, and past conservation efforts.”

Past is Present, Apr. 22

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