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August 20, 2015 750 × 500 katrina-8

Calcasieu Parish Reference Librarian Gail Johnson (left) and collection and computing services staffers Dianne London and Debbie LeBeau (back) assist Katrina victims in the computer lab. (Photo: Judy Davidson)

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Brown University’s John Hay Library in Providence, Rhode Island, has acquired the contemporary papers of poet, musician, playwright, author, and activist Joy Harjo, the 23rd US poet laureate. Harjo, who served in that role from 2019–2022, was the first Native American to hold the position. The acquisition primarily includes materials from 2021–2024, and Harjo will continue to send materials to the library throughout her life. Harjo received an honorary degree from Brown in May, and had been mentored by Brown’s late Professor of Literary Arts and English Michael S. Harper.

Brown University, July 11
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Kyle Pfannenstiel and Mia Maldonado write: “House Bill 710—which passed in April, following years of similar attempts by the Idaho Legislature—requires Idaho public and school libraries to move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits. Libraries across Idaho are reworking policies to comply with the new law that some call vague. But many are waiting to see if there’d be a formal challenge to books in their collections, which they said community members have rarely filed before the law. Some libraries planned and then canceled new policies limiting access.”

Idaho Capital Sun (Boise), July 15, Apr. 10
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Alvin Wanjala writes: “The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots has popularized the term large language model (LLM), the underlying AI tech working behind the scenes. LLMs generate output based upon a predicted set of language in response to the user input, making it appear as if the AI is capable of thinking for itself. But LLMs aren’t the only large models in town; large action models (LAMs) could be the next big thing in AI. An LAM is an artificial intelligence system capable of understanding human input and performing a corresponding action.”

MakeUseOf, July 11
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Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was partially evacuated July 15 after university officials received an email claiming “In the name of Donald Trump I have hidden highly lethal lead azide devices in the library and cafeteria.” Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, evacuated its library and dining halls after receiving bomb threats July 11. Evacuation orders in both cases were lifted after searches found no bombs. Many public libraries in Illinois, Minnesota, and other states have experienced threats over the past year, most recently at River Forest (Ill.) Public Library.”

WDRB-TV (Louisville, Ky.), July 15; WGAL-TV (Lancaster, PA), July 15; Book Riot, July 16; WLS-TV (Chicago), July 9
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C. Allison Sills writes: “In the dance between safeguarding patron privacy and navigating the law, community colleges confront a pivotal question: How do we fulfill our legal obligations without compromising the ethical and legal bedrock of our profession? In North Carolina, where I work, since the Parents’ Bill of Rights became state law in December 2023, community colleges have been pressured to compulsorily activate all patron checkout history for the first time in decades. The need to shield individuals’ privacy from potential abuse is paramount.”

College & Research Libraries News, July
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Steph Campbell writes: “From a combination of hype from Stranger Things, captivating performances on Critical Role, acceptance of ‘nerd culture,’ and so many other reasons, tabletop role-playing games have greatly increased in popularity over the past few years, and youth activities are reflecting this. Running games is often seen as the core for facilitating this interest, but you can connect your library’s book collection to this too. By displaying books that focus on themes from your library’s game sessions, you can help players find other stories that they relate to.”

ALA Games & Gaming Round Table, July 11
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Share innovative strategies and resources with your peers by submitting an education program proposal for the 2025 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, taking place January 24–27, 2025, in Phoenix. The submission site is open now through August 12. The programmatic theme of LibLearnX 2025 is Reimagine, Refocus, Reset: Charting a Path for the Future. The LibLearnX Program Submission Guide provides detailed explanations of the learning formats and step-by-step instructions for submitting a proposal. Consult the Program Proposal Rubric for evaluation criteria and scoring and view a video on using the submission site to create and submit your proposal.

ALA Conference Services, July 15

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