Pendergrass, Devona | American Libraries Magazine

Devona Pendergrass, 63, district library team leader at Mountain Home (Ark.) Public Schools, died May 2. Pendergrass was a board member at large of the American Associa-tion of School Librarians from 2016–2018, a charter member of the Arkansas Rural Education Association, and 2014 president of the Arkansas Association of School Librarians.

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Elissa Malespina writes: “On the surface, DeepSeek seems like a game-changer—a free, open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model with capabilities that rival ChatGPT and Gemini. Teachers, librarians, and students are beginning to explore how it can help with research, lesson planning, and academic support. However, as with any powerful technology, there are ethical and security concerns to consider. A recent investigation by Wired revealed troubling issues related to data privacy, censorship, and security risks.”

The AI School Librarians Newsletter, Feb. 3; Wired, Jan. 27
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Amy Gallo writes: “Research shows that teams where people feel safe to disagree outperform other teams. They make better decisions. And the friction that accompanies disagreement—even if unpleasant at times—allows for creativity and growth. At the same time, there is a difference between healthy and unhealthy conflicts. So what can a manager do to encourage more healthy conflict? It starts with acknowledging that conflict is expected and inevitable, and not only tolerating the normal tensions that all teams face, but also surfacing and leaning into them. Here are a few approaches for doing that.”

Harvard Business Review, Feb. 3
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On February 3, the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader announced the appointment of Mac Barnett as the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He succeeds Meg Medina, who served as the National Ambassador from 2023 through 2024. During his two-year term, Barnett will celebrate the children’s picture book through his platform, Behold, The Picture Book! Let’s Celebrate Stories We Can Feel, Hear, and See. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will inaugurate Barnett February 6 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, which will be streamed live.

Library of Congress, Feb. 3
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Anna Washenko writes: “The Video Game History Foundation has unveiled its digital library, a massive undertaking that makes the organization’s own materials as well as some private collections available for anyone to read. The library includes out-of-print publications like Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power alongside industry trade magazines, which casual players might never have the chance to read otherwise. There are also materials from behind the scenes of game development, such as video recordings of developer Cyan’s work on the landmark game Myst and interviews with the team.”

Engadget, Jan. 30
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Isabela Weiss writes: “Hundreds of people on January 27 protested the termination of the Susquehanna County (Pa.) Library’s administrator and demanded for the protection of LGBTQ+ books. A majority argued that Administrator/Librarian Kristina Ely’s termination was a political move to enable library board members censor books they feel are inappropriate or offensive. On Dec. 16, 2024, the Board of Trustees of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association laid off Ely by a 6–4 vote during an executive session. Their decision sent shockwaves through the board, as several members were absent that day due to illness.”

WVIA-TV (Pittston, Pa.), Jan. 28
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Jason Koebler writes: “[More than 2,000] datasets aggregated on Data.gov, the largest repository of US government open data on the internet, have disappeared since Donald Trump was inaugurated as president. Because Data.gov is an aggregator that doesn’t always host the data itself, this doesn’t always mean that the data itself has been deleted. Archivists who have been working on analyzing the deletions and archiving the data it held say that while some of the deletions are surely malicious information scrubbing, some are likely routine artifacts of an administration change, and they are working to determine which is which.”

404 Media, Jan. 30
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Jon Brodkin writes: “US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) announced a Congressional Review Act resolution January 27 that would nullify the hotspot rule issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [allowing libraries and schools to use E-rate funds to purchase Wi-Fi hotspots for lending]. The FCC voted to adopt the rule in July 2024 under then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, saying it was needed to help kids without reliable Internet access complete their homework.” Cruz claimed the rule “undermines parental control” and “heightens the risk of censoring kids’ exposure to conservative viewpoints.”

Ars Technica, Jan. 28; ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, July 18, 2024; US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Jan. 27

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