Archives

Munguia, Nicole

July 20, 2016

Nicole Gibby Munguia, YALSA program officer for continuing education, left ALA May 17.

Miklius, Chris

July 20, 2016

May 24 Chris Miklius joined the Public Programs Office as program officer for data applications.

Imburgia, Samantha

July 20, 2016

Samantha Imburgia was promoted to associate editor for eLearning Solutions in June.

Hennelly, Jamie

July 20, 2016

Jamie Hennelly was named director of digital reference in June.

Gribetz, Hannah

July 20, 2016

Hannah Gribetz joined ALA Production Services as production editor June 6.

Grant, Sarah

July 20, 2016

Sarah Grant became marketing associate for Booklist in May.

Freeman, Dan

July 20, 2016

Dan Freeman was named director of ALA’s new eLearning Solutions unit in June.

Sheets de Gracia, Karen

July 20, 2016

Karen Sheets de Gracia, director of design, layout, and composition for ALA Editions, left ALA June 10.

Deb, Niharica

July 20, 2016

Niharica Deb joined the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) May 9 in a position supporting Teen Read Week, summer learning, Teens’ Top Ten, and the Teen Book Finder app programs.

Damian, Russ

July 20, 2016

Russ Damian has been promoted to operations manager for ALA Editions.

Bowens, Jimmie

July 20, 2016

Jimmie Bowens retired as supervisor of the ALA Distribution Center April 29 after more than 40 years with ALA.

Bostrom, Annie

July 20, 2016

In May Annie Bostrom became associate editor, adult books, for Booklist.

Latest Library Links

9h

Rodney Freeman Jr. writes: “We are living through a period of profound uncertainty and systemic challenge—where erasure of truth and history is not only possible but actively underway. History is protected by those who collect, preserve, and share the facts, and the archive becomes a battleground where every saved story is an act of resistance. The future will only remember what is preserved today, and the choice is between standing by as stories are diluted or destroyed—or fighting for the record, for the archive, and for the truth with steady, everyday work that anyone can participate in.”

Common Dreams, Nov. 2
14h

John Herrman writes: “Drawing on a new global survey of 250,000 adults in 50 countries by analytics firm GWI, John Burn-Murdoch at the Financial Times provocatively argues that, amidst all the fervor about artificial intelligence, another consequential story is unfolding more quietly: ‘In years to come, we may well look back on September 2025 as the point at which social media jumped the shark and began rapidly accelerating its transition from the place to be seen,’ he writes, ‘to a gaudy backwater of the internet inhabited by those with nothing better to do.’”

New York Magazine: Intelligencer, Nov. 10; Financial Times, Oct. 3
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While there were relatively few local elections in the US November 4, several that were held delivered good news for libraries. Washington County, Oregon, approved a library levy increase from 22 to 37 mills. School board members who had supported book bans lost in Cypress-Fairbanks (Tex.) Independent School District. In Ohio, 18 of 20 public library levies passed, and voters rejected several school board incumbents who ran on culture-war issues including banning books. In Pine-Richland School District in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, a slate of candidates opposing the school board’s new policy giving themselves power to add or remove library books, won the majority of board seats.

OregonLive, Nov. 5; Houston Press Nov. 5; Cleveland.com, Nov. 5; Signal Ohio, Nov. 10; TribLive (Pittsburgh), Mar. 18, Nov. 5
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For the first time since 2018, ALA will host the National Library Legislative Day February 25–26, 2026. The event will combine advocacy education, networking, and in-person meetings with legislators and congressional staff. Interested participants must complete an interest form by December 12 to be considered, as capacity is limited to 235 people and ALA is working to ensure equitable state representation. During the February 25 training portion, participants will share advocacy stories, learn from policy experts, and strategize for meetings on Capitol Hill the next day.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 10
2d

Corey Halaychik writes: “Libraries have long been the backbone of academic and public access to knowledge. But over time, we have handed over too much control to vendors—companies that provide us with books, databases, discovery systems, and other essential services. If we continue down this path, we risk losing our ability to shape the future of information access. But libraries don’t have to be passive consumers of vendor products. We can be creators, leaders, and innovators. The question is: Are we ready to take that step?”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Nov. 7
3d

Amanda Jones, the Livingston Parish (La.) school librarian who became one of the first librarians to sue book-banning activists for defamation after relentless assaults on her character, has received an apology from one of the critics who accused her of giving inappropriate materials to children. Jones settled her lawsuit against Ryan Thames, who operates the Bayou State of Mind Facebook page, for $1 and an apology, in which he acknowledged that his claims about her were not true.

Louisiana Voice, Nov. 3; American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct. 2023; Instagram, Nov. 2
3d

On November 5, ALA, Unite Against Book Bans, and the Interfaith Alliance launched the “Faith for Libraries: Diverse Faith Communities Supporting Libraries and Librarians” campaign to defend the freedom to read. The organizations have launched a pledge for people of faith to defend the freedom to read, and a campaign for houses of worship to send supportive postcards to their local librarians. They will also announce a major event in Chicago next year to coincide with ALA’s Annual Conference.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 5

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