Archives

Irwin, Sheryl

June 3, 2019

Sheryl Irwin retired April 17 as librarian at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in British Columbia.

Sigsworth, Karen

June 3, 2019

Karen Sigsworth, manager of the North Ridgeville branch of Lorain (Ohio) Public Library System, retired February 28.

Ni, Autumn

June 3, 2019

Autumn Ni became development coordinator in the Development Office in February.

Ott, Bill

June 3, 2019

Bill Ott retired as editor and publisher of Booklist April 26, after nearly 40 years with the magazine.

Khuri, Ronny

June 3, 2019

Ronny Khuri joined Booklist March 18 as associate editor in the Books for Youth department.

Hernandez, Belinda

June 3, 2019

Belinda Hernandez, 52, longtime librarian at Shadycrest Elementary School in Pearland, Texas, died March 23.

Hofmann, Anne

June 3, 2019

Anne J. Hofmann, 67, who worked at New York Public Library for more than 40 years and was a professor of public policy at Baruch College in New York City for 25 years, died March 30. She was active in the American Library Association (ALA) and served as president of the New York Library Association … Continue reading Hofmann, Anne →

Hilbert, John

June 3, 2019

John Leroy Hilbert, 55, young adult/teen services librarian at Metropolitan Library System’s Southern Oaks Library in Oklahoma City for 18 years, died January 7.

Hamm, Leta

June 3, 2019

Leta Hamm, 85, a librarian at Illinois State University in Normal and Lee County (Fla.) Library System until her retirement in 2009, died February 26.

Hall, Mary Alice

June 3, 2019

Mary Alice Hall, 88, chief of public services at Prince George’s County (Md.) Memorial Library System (1969– 1992), died January 1. She had previously worked for libraries in Independence, Missouri, and Manhattan, Kansas.

Gapen, Delores

June 3, 2019

Delores Kaye Gapen, 75, an academic librarian for more than 35 years, died February 14. Gapen was director of library and academic services at Trinity Washington (D.C.) University (2005–2007) and vice president and provost (2007–2009); director of the library at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland (1991–1996); dean of the general library system at University … Continue reading Gapen, Delores →

Noon, Sherry

June 3, 2019

Sherry Noon, youth and family services manager at Anderson Public Library in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, received the Kentucky Library Association’s “Miss Pickle” Award for excellence in developing and providing children’s library services.

Latest Library Links

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Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
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Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
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Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9
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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

College & Research Libraries News, Dec.
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ALA has selected 46 participants for its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. The group will take part in a day-long session during the 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia in June, where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 4
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On December 9, ALA announced a $25 million bequest by James W. Lewis, of Washington, D.C. The gift, the largest individual bequest in ALA’s history, will fund scholarships for aspiring librarians with demonstrated financial needs. Throughout Lewis’s career at Merrill Lynch, where he leads the Lewis Group as senior vice president and senior relationship manager, he has demonstrated his commitment to libraries and their communities by generously volunteering his time, including as a member of the Board of Visitors at the library of his alma mater, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He also served as a Library Trustee Board member at District of Columbia Public Library for 10 years.”

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 9
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Tess Prendergast writes: “I will never forget the surprised look on one mom’s face during storytime when I dropped a tip—technically called an aside—about how rhyming helps babies differentiate sounds and prepares them for reading. “You mean that all this singing will help her in school?” she asked. “I thought we were just doing this for fun!” Early literacy activities are certainly fun—but also valuable. Many parents and caregivers aren’t aware that simple, everyday activities can benefit their child’s early language and literacy development and have a lasting positive impact on their learning.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.

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