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Dianndra Roberts, Valarie Guagnini, and Devyani Mahajan write: “The implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace attempts to right historic wrongs. For years, organizations have mistaken ‘niceness’ with kindness. They say the right things, yet often lack the action, accountability, and structural commitment needed. Instead, they rely on people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, and especially women to push the work forward without meaningful support, especially from those in power. Organizations must break the pattern of looking to the most impacted people to protect them from criticism, explain the issues, or lead the healing.” -
ALA is seeking volunteers for two ALA Endowment Trustee positions. Trustees serve a three-year term and are eligible to be reappointed for one additional three-year term. Applications are due March 31; a preview of the application is available for preparation. Applications will be reviewed by the ALA Endowment Trustees, who make recommendations to the ALA Executive Board, which will make its selection at its Spring Meeting. The successful applicants’ terms will begin after the ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference in Chicago, and will end after the 2029 Annual Conference. -
George Eberhart writes: “On June 24, 2018, ALA Council passed a historic resolution that ‘apologizes to African Americans for wrongs committed against them in segregated public libraries’ and commends those ‘who risked their lives to integrate public libraries for their bravery and courage in challenging segregation in public libraries and in forcing public libraries to live up to the rhetoric of their ideals.’ Then-ALA President Jim Neal read the resolution later that day to an audience at the main New Orleans Public Library accompanied by four individuals who participated in sit-ins and protests at libraries in the South during the 1960s.” -
Jillian Forstadt writes: “The board of the Pine-Richland School District in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania voted Monday to advance a set of major revisions to its controversial library policy. The changes, if given final approval, would reverse measures passed last year that expanded the board’s role in library book selection, broadened parental control over which books are part of the district’s collection, and prohibited librarians from acquiring any materials with ‘pervasive vulgarity or profanity’ or ‘explicit sexual content.’” A slate of Democratic candidates won four seats on the board in November, flipping the district’s conservative majority. -
Elizabeth Everett writes: “Storytime is more than reading aloud—it’s an opportunity to create an inclusive space where every child can see themselves reflected, practice language, and participate actively. Whether it’s a weekly storytime or a special author visit, librarians can use intentional strategies to support multilingual learners, Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and all children in exploring stories, ideas, and concepts together. This post focuses on practical ways to make storytime engaging, equitable, and accessible for every learner.” -
Sam Helmick writes: “Over the years, libraries have grown from community learning centers into dynamic civic infrastructure, serving as hubs that spark innovation, nurture talent, and strengthen local economies. They are trusted partners in entrepreneurship, workforce development, and community prosperity. And this growing role reflects a simple truth: The success of local businesses and the health of communities are deeply intertwined. Libraries are embedded in every community and equipped with resources that many small businesses and entrepreneurs could not otherwise afford. As a result, libraries serve as both launching pads and long-term support networks for entrepreneurs at every stage.” -
Introduced in the US House on February 24, H.R. 7661 would modify the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by prohibiting use of funds under the act “to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes.” ALA President Sam Helmick issued a statement observing that “H.R. 7661 isn’t fundamentally about protecting kids. It’s about giving politicians broad authority to restrict whose stories are allowed on our shelves.” -
ALA employees announced the start of their efforts to unionize with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in a March 2 open letter signed by 40 employees. If certified, the union—American Library Association Workers United/AFSCME—will represent more than 100 ALA workers. In the letter, employees say they’re forming their union to “protect staff’s work, well-being, and ALA’s future.” Members of the union organizing committee will begin gathering signed union cards from their coworkers. When they have gathered supermajority support, they will ask ALA leadership to voluntarily recognize their union. -
Sallyann Price writes: “A growing generation of young readers can stream the reboot of Reading Rainbow on YouTube, hosted by children’s librarian Mychal Threets. Threets broke through on social media in 2023 with heartwarming videos that balanced real talk about mental health with unwavering positivity, a message he’s now carrying over as honorary chair of National Library Week (April 19–25), with the theme ‘Find Your Joy.’ He spoke with American Libraries about his path from hometown library to TikTok fame and beyond, and his debut picture book, I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy, with illustrations by Lorraine Nam (Random House, February). -
Becky Siegel Spratford writes: “The Wuthering Heights movie is getting people who don’t normally talk about books, talking about books. They are debating and discussing a book (and not just the adaptation) in spaces where you don’t always see book conversation. We need to seize this moment. People want to read more classics because of this movie. And who has more classics? Libraries!” Spratford recommends displays, programs, and more to take advantage—as well as preparation for the next big book adaptation coming to theaters, March’s Project Hail Mary. -
Yasir Mahmood writes: “I’ve always found it frustrating that Excel’s most popular functions, such as SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX, fall apart the moment your data has a single error value. A stray #DIV/0! or #VALUE! in your range will cause the whole formula to return an error. The usual fix is wrapping everything in IFERROR, which works but clutters the formula bar. AGGREGATE is a function I’ve leaned on precisely because it skips that mess. If you work with real-world data that isn’t always clean, AGGREGATE is worth learning.” -
Carrie Webster writes: “The user experience (UX) industry is facing its most significant shift yet. We are moving past the era of ‘design at any cost’ into the era of sustainable UX. For years, we have treated the internet as an ethereal, weightless cloud. We were wrong. The cloud is a sprawling network of data centers, undersea cables, and cooling systems that hum 24⁄7. If we want to build a future that lasts, we must stop designing for ‘wow’ and start designing for efficiency.”
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