By the Numbers: Rural and Small Libraries | American Libraries Magazine

In honor of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference (September 28–October 2), American Libraries presents statistics on the buildings, staff, bookmobiles, and users of small and rural libraries. ARSL was founded in 1982 by Bernard Vavrek, director of the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship at Clarion (Pa.) University. The typical rural library employs 1.9 full-time staff members, in a space that is 2,600 square feet on average. Kentucky has the most bookmobiles of any state: 75.

American Libraries Trend, Sept./Oct.

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Michael Rodriguez writes: “In the first half of 2024, institutions of higher education in the United States closed permanently at the rate of one per week, according to one estimate, with little sign of slowing down. Where the author lives in Pennsylvania, eight colleges have closed, consolidated, or announced plans to do so since January 2024 alone. These closures directly impact small private colleges and the communities built around them, but closures also ripple throughout the academy, disbanding libraries and archives and endangering access to and preservation of the scholarly record.”

The Scholarly Kitchen, Sept. 5
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Daniel M. Rothschild writes: “Discussions of reading habits typically break down, at least in the first instance, along the binary of fiction and nonfiction. If you ask most people what they read, they’ll give you some version of ‘mostly fiction’ or ‘mostly nonfiction.’ I write today in praise of a third genre that few self-respecting intellectuals admit to reading regularly, though many do: the reference book. Real reference books are unpretentious, which is part of their charm. You as the reader can make them comply with the demands of your knowledge, intellect, and time constraints, not vice versa.”

Discourse, Aug. 30
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Kurt Schlosser writes: “All tech-enabled systems and services are back up and running at Seattle Public Library this week, roughly three months after a ransomware attack impaired services at the institution and its 27 branches across the city. Cybersecurity experts are praising some of the steps taken to protect against future attacks. The breach over Memorial Day weekend affected access to staff and public computers, online catalog and loaning systems, ebooks and e-audiobooks, in-building WiFi, the library website, and more.” The library said it will issue a public report later this year but it has revealed some steps taken to prevent future attacks.

GeekWire, Sept. 5; Seattle Public Library, Sept. 3
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Matt Hudson writes: “Great Falls (Mont.) Public Library Board of Trustees voted September 5 to approve a counter-proposal to a city plan to [cut seven mills of library funding that have been in place since 1993]. The board’s proposal would reduce funding by 2.5 mills, or about $300,000 annually.” The city had proposed reducing funding from seven to 3.5 mills for two years and eliminating it after that. This funding is separate from an increase approved by voters last year, but “library representatives have said that the 2023 campaign was based on keeping the seven mills in place.”

Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Sept. 8; American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb., 2024
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Caitlyn Byrd writes: “Last year, Angelina Davenport ignited a firestorm in Berkeley County (S.C.), launching a sweeping challenge that targeted 93 books in the district’s school libraries—all in a single day. Now, with an open school board seat up for grabs, Davenport is making her next move, complete with a campaign logo that features a stack of six books.” In Nebraska, Gov. Jim Pillen appointed Terri Cunningham-Swanson, who was recalled from the Plattsmouth Community School District Board in January after she attempted to have more than 50 books removed from school libraries, to the Nebraska Library Commission.

Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), Sept. 5; KOLN-TV (Lincoln, Neb.), Sept. 6
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Steve Tetreault writes: “Educators face more pressure and push-back than at any point I can recall. Decision-makers at the national, state, and local levels resist the idea of educators as trained professionals. Too many parents feel entitled to dictate every second of students’ lives, both in and out of the classroom. Even students exhibit widespread attitudes of disrespect and disdain for school. In short: Education is in a dark age. But within that darkness, there are points of light. We are each a star. And if we are willing to connect with others, we can create fabulous constellations.”

Knowledge Quest, Sept. 9
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“Choice and LibTech Insights have published a white paper that offers an innovative framework for AI literacy, developed by Sandy Hervieux and Amanda Wheatley, two librarians from McGill University in Montreal with extensive experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and librarianship (long before the wave of generative AI). ‘Building an AI Literacy Framework: Perspectives from Instruction Librarians and Current Information Literacy Tools’ integrates interviews with many librarians on the ground who are teaching AI and AI literacy to highlight the shortcomings of current models and the needs a new one must address.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Sept. 4

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