Latest Library Links
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Hana Lee Goldin writes: “On October 22, the UK government launched Be Ready, a campaign asking households to prepare for three days of disruption. The campaign’s website names cyberattacks alongside severe weather as emergencies that can disrupt everyday services. Be Ready’s checklist includes copies of key documents, important phone numbers, and an FM radio alongside food and water. Those items are a great start, but information needs a kit of its own. In an emergency, we need to know whose warnings to trust and how to check an alarming claim when official sites go dark.” -
Katie Burkholder writes: “Lavonnia Moore, former branch manager of Pierce County (Ga.) Public Library, filed a lawsuit against the library system after she was fired for allowing a child to include the book When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff in a ‘Color Our World’ reading display in June 2025. The book includes a transgender character. Unbeknownst to Moore until her termination,” the book sparked a campaign by the Alliance for Faith and Family…. -
Holly Miller and Nancy Garmer write: “Academic libraries are often organized into discrete departments that have little to no interaction. This article describes how one mid-sized library with 30 librarians and professional staffers used cross-functional teams to encourage personnel to interact in new ways and cultivate new skills. The teams helped develop leadership and project management skills in team members who were not currently in library leadership roles. This approach accomplished essential infrastructure projects while growing employees’ competencies and fostering ownership and engagement within the library.” -
Janice Chuang writes: “Public library storytimes are more than just a fun time for children; beneath the read-alouds, songs, fingerplays, bubbles, and movement activities are abundant opportunities to support children’s literacy learning. One way to do this is by incorporating the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), an educational theory by Lev Vygotsky, into storytime planning and design. With a little bit of foreplanning, we can structure literacy experiences to align with children’s developmental levels. This article provides an introduction and practical tips for storytime providers on how to intentionally scaffold learning during picture book reading in storytime using the ZPD.” -
“Last spring, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) subcommittee of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Value of Academic Libraries Committee shared a survey to check the temperature of DEI at our institutions and within our units. The two questions we posed were: What does equity mean to you or your library? What is the status of DEI programs and initiatives at your institution? Based on your anonymous responses, we identified a few trends and common challenges, which we hope can strengthen our unity towards addressing these challenges.” -
Byron Tate writes: “A proposal to cut funding to Saline County (Ark.) Library by a third was narrowly defeated on November 3. Saline County Quorum Court voted in May to place a measure on the ballot, giving voters the opportunity to cut the library’s tax base of 1.7 mills to 1.1 mills, which would have amounted to a loss of $1.7 million. The attempt to reduce the funding has its roots in a disagreement that Saline County Judge Matt Brumley and Republicans on the Quorum Court” had over library content with former Executive Director Patty Hector. -
Megan Bennett writes: “In response to the proliferation, and polarized response to, of the use of artificial intelligence (AI), ALA designed its Guidance on the Use of AI in Libraries to help institutions develop AI policies and procedures with professional values in mind. American Libraries spoke with AI Policy Working Group cochairs Chip McAuley and and Ed Sanchez about the origins of the guidance and how the working group aimed to represent library workers with varying perspectives on AI use.” -
Witt Salley writes: “A library can collect thoughtful teen feedback and still leave participants unsure how their answers informed a decision. Teens contribute time and ideas, and they deserve to know what the library did with their input and what happens next. Building on the Association for Library Service to Children’s discussion of program evaluation, I recommend identifying the decision teens can influence and planning how staff will report back before collecting feedback.” -
Lori Misaka and Jessica Regitano write: “Have you ever been asked to explain the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries to a colleague, an administrator, or someone who wants to know more about what happens in your school library? Maybe you’ve been the one asking those questions yourself! That’s where the “Getting Started with the AASL Standards” one-pager comes in. This resource was created to help school librarians introduce the standards in a way that’s approachable, practical, and easy to share.” -
Rachel Bachman writes: “After enough time reading to children, you begin to notice certain patterns. Not necessarily in what books they enjoy, but in how they enjoy them. Some children want to hear the same story a hundred times. Others have very strong opinions about the second page. Some listen with rapt attention, while others appear to be conducting an entirely unrelated investigation of the ceiling tiles. Which brings me to my entirely unscientific attempt at classification. After years of reading picture books to children, I have concluded that there are several distinct species of storytime attendee.” -
Lish McBride writes: “It’s the spooky season, the time for tricks and treats, and today I bring you whimsy that has a little of both. Horror is the salty to whimsy’s sweet, each one bringing out hidden nuances and subtle flavors you might not catch otherwise. They also make a pretty good team. Studies show that horror can act as a safe space to process trauma in multiple ways. While horror helps you process, humor is there to help you cope. They combine to make a powerful psychological tool, a one-two punch in the gut of trauma!” -
Emily Long writes: “If you’ve opted in to Google’s ‘Personal Intelligence’ feature in the hopes of receiving more tailored AI responses from Gemini, there’s a good chance that more of your data than you realize is being used for targeted advertising. In a recent privacy policy update, Google quietly added an exception to how it handles information from Drive, Gmail, and Photos to personalize the ads you see—but there’s a way to opt out.”
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