Skip to main content
American Libraries Magazine Menu
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Features
    • Trends
    • Columns
    • Newsmakers
    • Spotlights
    • By the Numbers
    • Bookend
    • People
    • Library Systems Report
    • Design Showcase
  • Trending
    • #alaac22
    • Intellectual Freedom
    • Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
    • Advocacy
    • Inside ALA
    • COVID-19
    • Jobs
    • Sustainability
    • Law and Legal Issues
    • Library Systems Report
  • AL Direct
  • The Scoop blog
  • Podcast
  • JobLIST
  • American Libraries Live
  • 3y
    On My Mind, by Kelly Clark

    Kelly Clark writes: “On the evening of December 11, 2018, my wife, Amber Fawn Clark, supervisor of the North Natomas branch of Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library (SPL), was fatally shot multiple times in the head while sitting in her car getting ready to drive home. Her alleged killer: a man she had banned from the library two months earlier for behaving aggressively toward staff and customers. In the wake of Amber’s murder, I have come to seriously reassess my own role as a public library employee.”

    American Libraries column, Apr. 23

  • Latest Library Links

    • 5d

      Headshot of librarian and public intellectual Tressie McMillan CottomEmily Temple writes: “As you might have heard, on [June 24], the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, eliminating Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion and dragging the country back in time almost 50 years. If you’re looking for help making sense of it all, here are just a few recent pieces we recommend.” The list includes a recent New York Times essay by librarian and public intellectual Tressie McMillan Cottom (pictured).

      LitHub, June 28; The New York Times, June 28

    • 5d

      Photo of the US Supreme Court buildingLiz Mineo writes: “Collections at Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute document the abortion dispute in the US, providing rich historical and political context and offering insights into the evolution of one of the nation’s most stubbornly polarizing issues. The holdings of Schlesinger, a research library on the history of women in America, include archival materials that chronicle the dispute from both the abortion rights and the anti-abortion movements, said Jenny Gotwals, Johanna-Maria Fraenkel Curator for Gender and Society there. Among them are photographs, records of abortion-rights organizations, posters of anti-abortion advocates, and personal letters of women asking for help to terminate their pregnancies, as well as personal papers and documents of anti-abortion activists.”

      Harvard Gazette, June 28

    • 5d

      Cover of Rainbow Rainbow, short stories by Lydia ConklinLaura Sackton writes: “These days I cannot get short stories into my bloodstream fast enough. There are so many! More come out every month! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with non-queer short story collections, but as someone who grew up hungering for queer lit, this current abundance is especially satisfying.”

      Book Riot, June 28

    • 5d

      Photo of men in Proud Boys regaliaMadeleine List writes: “Parents who attended an LGBTQ-themed storytime at a Wilmington, North Carolina, public library say members of the Proud Boys protested outside and entered the building during the event to antagonize them.… ‘I was starkly nervous that they were in the building,’ one parent said. ‘I definitely felt unsafe at that point. I never imagined that the police would allow them to go into the library.’”

      Qnotes Carolinas, June 25

    • 5d

      Photo of rainbow Pride flagAlisha Ebrahimji writes: “A library board in New York reversed its decision to remove all LGBTQ-related displays from its children’s section in four of its libraries during Pride Month after the removal was criticized. On [June 21], four out of seven Smithtown Library Board of Trustees had voted to remove all Pride material displays from the children’s section in its Commack, Kings Park, Nesconset, and Smithtown locations on Long Island.… On [June 23], however, the board met once again for an emergency meeting to talk about the ban, resulting in a reversal on a 4–2 vote. The Pride Month material will remain on display through July 15 and be removed afterward at the supervisory librarian’s discretion.”

      CNN, June 24

    • 5d

      Headshot of scholar George ChaunceyBrett Zongker writes: “Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that historian George Chauncey will receive the 2022 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity. Chauncey is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. He directs the Columbia Research Institute on the Global History of Sexualities. ‘Professor Chauncey’s trailblazing career gave us all better insight into, and understanding of, the LGBTQ+ community and history,’ Hayden said. ‘His work that helped transform our nation’s attitudes and laws epitomizes the Kluge Center’s mission to support research at the intersection of the humanities and public policy.’ Chauncey is the first scholar in LGBTQ+ studies to receive the prize.”

      Library of Congress Blog, June 22

    • 5d

      Stock image of ebook readerDeanna Schwartz writes: “Authors are protesting Amazon’s ebook return policy, a system they say allows readers to ‘steal’ from self-published authors. Amazon’s current return policy for ebooks allows customers to ‘cancel an accidental book order within seven days.’ But, for some readers, seven days is more than enough time to finish a book and return it after reading, effectively treating Amazon like a library.… Those suggesting the read-and-return practice think they’re ‘sticking it to Amazon’ but in reality are only harming the authors, said Eva Creel, a fantasy writer who publishes under the name E. G. Creel. ‘I have my book available at the library. If somebody wants to read it for free, they can,’ Creel said.”

    View more Latest Library Links

    AL Live

    al-live-logo@2x

    AL Live screenshot with laptop










    American Libraries Magazine

    A publication of the American Library Association

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • RSS
    • Advertising
    • About
    • Comment Policy
    • Contact
    • Subscriptions
    • Submissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright/Terms of Use Statement
    • Site Help
    American Library Association
    • ALA Home
    • JobLIST
    • ALA News
    • ALA Store
    • Strategic Directions

    225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601

    1.800.545.2433

    © 2009–2022 American Library Association