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The American Library Association (ALA) announced the return of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program, which seeks to recruit diverse LIS faculty members. The program, to be run in partnership with University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, will recruit a cohort of 8-10 racially and ethnically diverse doctoral students focused on advancing racial equity and social justice in library and information science curricula. “There have been many discussions about the lack of diversity in the profession, and that includes the classrooms as well,” said Kevin Strowder, director of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, in an October 14 statement. An information session for the fellowship will take place November 3; applications for the program open November 4.ALA's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Oct. 14
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After 10 years of renovations, construction has been completed on the Richelieu site of the National Library of France (formerly known as Bibliotheque du Roi) in Paris. Improvements to the 300-year-old campus, known for its arts and heritage collections, include façade restoration, an interior garden installation, and facilities maintenance. Though the library has maintained hours during construction, the site is expected to fully reopen to the public in summer 2022. -
Kristen A. Graham writes: “The Philadelphia School District, with 200-plus schools, employed 176 certified school librarians in 1991. Today, that number is fewer than 10. Philadelphia has the worst ratio of school librarians in the country. Building 21’s new homespun library has no budget, no librarian, and was built entirely with used and new books donated or purchased cheaply at yard sales or through online marketplace sites. Though it lacks computers, a digital circulation system, or any of the sophisticated bells and whistles that are the hallmarks of better-resourced schools, the Building 21 library feels like a gift, says Simone Burrell, a recent graduate.” -
Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia write: “So often educators favor fiction for read-alouds, book talks, book clubs, classroom instruction, and special assignments. They seem to believe that young readers prefer fiction, and yet wide-ranging research clearly shows that many students enjoy nonfiction as much as or more than fiction. To help students make sense of the wide world of nonfiction, we advocate the Five Kinds of Nonfiction classification system.” -
Suzie Glassman writes: “My daughter is part of the 15–20% of students and adults living with a language-based learning disability. Once we diagnosed her dyslexia, I understood she needed the help of assistive technology to learn at a rate on par with her classmates, but I wasn’t sure where to start. In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month this October, I reached out to several assistive technology experts to find out what technology they recommend for facilitating and improving reading, writing, spelling, and math.” -
The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) has received $3.6 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the American Rescue Plan to help Native cultural organizations recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 18, ATALM and NEH announced in a press release that this money has been earmarked for subgrants for up to 175 Native cultural institutions and their partners. Awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and may be used to rehire furloughed employees, prepare facilities for reopening, document cultural practices, and create new exhibits and programs. Applications open October 20.Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Oct. 18
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K. W. Colyard writes: “The most influential sci-fi books of all time have shaped not just science fiction and its myriad subgenres, but horror, fantasy, and manga, as well. Filmmakers have drawn inspiration for the stories between their covers, and real-world STEM developments have been made in their names. Without these books, for better or worse, our world would not be what it is today.” -
Forty-five books have been selected for the longlist of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, the American Library Association (ALA) announced October 18. The list of 23 fiction and 22 nonfiction selections is available on the awards’ website. The six-title shortlist will be chosen from the longlist and announced November 8, and two medal winners will be named January 23 during ALA’s first annual LibLearnX conference. The awards are funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and administered by Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association. -
Eric Franklin writes: “Unfortunately, you can never completely remove yourself from the internet, but there are ways to minimize your digital footprint, which would lower the chances of your personal data getting out there. Here are some ways to do that.” -
McKayla Coyle writes: “Remember last year, when everyone suddenly got really into baking sourdough bread and sewing their own clothes and making so much jam that there was a national jar shortage? Those were the days of cottagecore, a romantic aesthetic that valued pastorals and strawberries and wicker picnic basics. Goblincore is like cottagecore’s grimy, grungy little sibling who won’t stop flipping over rocks in the backyard to find cool bugs. As a goblin, you’re sure to love these goblincore books.” -
Scott Gilbertson writes: “Whether you are sick of social media, want to get away from endless notifications, or just want to read all your news all in one spot, an RSS reader can help. I’ve been using RSS for over a decade, and recently spent a few months trying out almost a dozen different RSS reader services. These picks are the best RSS readers available right now.” -
Communities for Immunity is seeking proposals that address COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake, with an aim to reach vaccine-hesitant populations. Funding awards ranging from $1,500–$100,000 will be provided to museums and libraries to leverage their deep relationships with local communities to improve vaccine confidence. The application window is October 12–29, and projects must be completed by March 31, 2022. Read the applicant toolkit or sign up for an October 14 webinar for more information.
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