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  • 1y
    NMAI librarian Elayne Silversmith shares a book in the birchbark Little Free Library

    The Smithsonian has installed a birchbark book-sharing box at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., donated by the Little Free Library nonprofit organization. The “take a book, share a book” library seeks to honor Native American culture and increase access to culturally relevant books. The miniature library was provided by LFL’s Native Library Initiative, which places them in tribal communities across the nation to meaningfully improve book access. To date, LFL has gifted more than 60 libraries to tribal communities. The NMAI box was created by Pat Kruse, an Ojibwe birchbark and quillwork artist.

    Little Free Library, Nov. 22

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    • 10h

      Jack Miller dusts shelves at the main location of Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, Illinois, pre-pandemic. (Photo: Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, Illinois)Emily Udell writes: “Before COVID-19 came along, 18-year-old Jack Miller (right), who has autism, visited the main location of Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, Illinois, three times a week. It would be difficult to find a library-goer whose visits haven’t been affected by COVID-19. But for Jack and many other people with disabilities, the effects are reaching even further. Losing independence, socialization, cognitive stimulation, and other library benefits is, in many cases, leading to emotional, intellectual, and other difficulties.”

      American Libraries feature, Mar./Apr.

    • 10h

      Julius C. Jefferson Jr.ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. writes: “Libraries and library workers had an important role leading up to the 2020 presidential election by encouraging and supporting voter registration, which led to more than 66% of eligible voters participating—making 2020 the most engaged election since 1900. No matter who you voted for, as an ALA member you understood the significance of engaging in our democracy and the democratic process. Participation in the democratic process and the governance of our nation is important to the citizens we serve. The governance of ALA should be equally important to our members.”

      American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.

    • 3d

      Beinecke Rare Book Library, Yale (Photo: Michael Kastelic - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)Walker Caplan writes: “For all the fake news fearmongering of the last four years, we’re still very susceptible to myths presented as fact when they’re deployed with authority. February 7 saw the viral Facebook resurgence of a popular tweet from 2018 which claimed that in the event of a fire, all the oxygen is slurped out of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library to preserve the library’s collection of over 1 million rare books—killing all the people inside.”

      LitHub, Feb. 16

    • 3d

      Penguin Random House logoWhen Penguin Random House said last year that it planned to buy Simon & Schuster for more than $2 billion, the entire publishing industry snapped to attention. The merger of two of the largest publishers in the United States—Penguin Random House is already the biggest by almost any metric—has the potential to touch every piece of the book business, including how much writers get paid, which books get priority at printing plants and how independent bookshops are run.

      New York Jewish Week, Feb. 25

    • 3d

      Remote learning (Photo: August de Richelieu/Pexels)Rebecca Torchia writes: “As schools across the nation shifted to distance learning—and then again to a hybrid model—library staff have taken creative approaches to foster student engagement and give students access to literature. From sharing digital resources with teachers to helping students in research projects, librarians around the country have found themselves going above and beyond to guide teachers and students at all grade levels, including in their efforts to engage and educate using technology solutions.”

      Ed Tech, Feb. 25

    • 3d

      Person staring at wall of Zoom meeting faces (Illustration: Alexandra_Koch/Pixabay)Researchers at Stanford University have confirmed what millions of remote workers already knew: “Zoom fatigue” causes greater stress than meeting in real life because of the “nonverbal overload” of endless video calls. A study by Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communication and founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, found that the underlying causes of Zoom fatigue include “excessive amounts of close-up eye gaze” and “increased self-evaluation from staring at video of oneself.”

      Financial Times, Feb. 26

    • 6d

      Letters of the Law with Mary MinowIn the latest edition of our online Letters of the Law column, lawyer-librarian Mary Minow explores nuances of meeting room policy affected by pandemic conditions, as well as privacy considerations and liability around tax season.

      American Libraries column, Feb. 23

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