Carla Hayden and Michelle Obama: A conversation

Michelle Obama's book, Becoming, and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will moderate a conversation with former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama during the Opening General Session of the 2018 ALA Annual Conference on Friday, June 22. This session will take place 4–5:30 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Obama’s memoir Becoming, about the experiences that have affected her life, her family, and the country, will be published by Crown Publishing Group on November 13.

AL: The Scoop, June 5

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Julia Skinner writes: “In 1918, World War I was coming to a close, and widespread changes were afoot. It was in some ways a moment similar to today: rapid technological development brought sweeping changes to workplaces and homes. Fights for labor and voting rights were under way. Then, in the spring, a pandemic began to sweep the globe, killing millions. Libraries across the US helped people stay informed, entertained, and cared for as they disseminated information and resources, shifted their services, and reimagined how they brought collections to the communities they served.”

JStor Daily, Apr. 14
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Amy Carlton writes: “On April 14, the second day of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 2021 Virtual Conference, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick invited attendees to think beyond the idea of openness in library and archival spaces—a concept that generally involves open access to resources—to imagine the idea of welcome for both library users and library workers. Kendrick, dean of the Ida Jane Dacus Library and Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, said that her theory of welcome has been proven through her own experience and research, as well as through national and international perspectives on the practice.”

AL: The Scoop, Apr. 15
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Simon & Schuster said April 15 that it had scrapped plans to distribute a book by one of the Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor during the botched drug raid last year that resulted in her death. The book by the officer, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, is being published by Post Hill Press, a Tennessee-based house whose specialties include Christian and conservative political books.

New York Times, Apr. 15
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Vartan Gregorian—historian and humanities scholar, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom—died April 15 at 87. Gregorian served as president of Brown University (1989–1997) and is renowned for revitalizing New York Public Library during his tenure as president (1981–1989). Related: “Remembering Andrew Carnegie’s Legacy”

Carnegie Corp., Apr. 16
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New York Times–bestselling author Jason Reynolds will serve as the inaugural Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week, September 26–October 2. Reynolds is a multiple National Book Award finalist and has received a Newberry Honor, several Coretta Scott King Awards, and an NAACP Image Award. He is currently serving as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for the Library of Congress. Two of his works (Stamped, with Ibram X. Kendi, and All American Boys) are on ALA’s list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Book of 2020.

Entertainment Weekly, Apr. 13
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Amy Carlton writes: “Award-winning author, educator, podcaster, and cultural critic Tressie McMillan Cottom opened the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 2021 Virtual Conference on April 13 by noting how the conference theme—“Ascending into an Open Future”—parallels conversations she’s been having with colleagues around the idea of what openness means in an information-based society.”

AL: The Scoop, Apr. 14
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America’s public library workers have adjusted and expanded their services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to initiating curbside pickup options, they’re doing many things to support their local communities, such as extending free Wi-Fi outside library walls, becoming vaccination sites, hosting drive-through food pantries in library parking lots and establishing virtual programs for all ages, including everything from story times to Zoom sessions on grieving and funerals. In 2018, there were 143,518 library workers in the US, according to data collected by IMLS. While newer data isn’t available, the number is probably lower now, and recent history suggests more library jobs may be on the chopping block in the near future.

The Conversation, Apr. 13

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