Latest Library Links
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The American Library Association’s Public Policy & Advocacy Office, in partnership with Co/lab Capacity, has released the Libraries Build Business Communications Toolkit. The toolkit provides tools and resources for library workers to promote their small business support services, grow and maintain relationships with local partners, and advocate to policymakers on the important role libraries play in the small business ecosystem. It includes outreach plans targeting four key audiences: small business owners, small business support organizations, elected officials and decision makers, and library staff. -
Discover stats related to the intersection of libraries and press freedom, including the number of Minecraft blocks used to create the Uncensored Library, an online repository of banned reporting from international journalists that exploits a loophole in censorship laws, the year of the oldest newspapers in the Library of Congress’s US newspaper collection, and the number of boxes in the Commission on Freedom of the Press records archived at the University of Chicago Library. -
Diana Panuncial writes: “Soon after Angie Thomas released her debut young adult novel, The Hate U Give, in 2017, the book became a common target for challenges in schools and libraries across the United States. But the novel also helped change the landscape of the publishing industry, at a time when authors and readers were calling for more diverse stories and better representation. She spoke with American Libraries about balancing make-believe and reality, book challenges, and how a librarian changed her life. -
Small businesses are a big part of every community, and libraries offer a wealth of resources to support them. Episode 83 of the Call Number podcast highlights how libraries and librarians are supporting small business owners, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Associate Editor Megan Bennett talks with Madeleine Ildefonso, Los Angeles Public Library managing librarian, about the Be a Successful Street Vendor program, and Associate Editor Diana Panuncial speaks with Emory University Business Librarian Saira Raza about how academic librarians can help students fine-tune business ideas. -
Joanna Biggs writes: “A friend of mine used to joke that women writers discovered friendship in 2015, when the last volume of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet came out. I laughed, but I knew what he meant. The men might not like it, but in 2023 women are overwhelmingly the ones who write, read, edit and buy books, particularly fiction. Female friendships, rather than literary marriages or bros with quills, are a force for the creation and continuation of literary culture in a way that simply hasn’t been true before. -
Karen MacPherson writes: “If you’re a baby boomer like me, you probably remember libraries as places of silent reading; any loud voices were immediately shushed by a librarian. These days, however, libraries are more like bustling community centers, where being at least somewhat noisy is the new normal, especially when kids are involved. As someone who led hundreds of circle times at my public library, I can tell you there’s just no quiet way to do the Hokey Pokey.” -
Elizabeth Yuko writes: “A lot of people find online shopping therapeutic: A way to zone out and de-stress at the end of a long day. However, in most situations, buying things you don’t need isn’t a great idea. In 2019, we suggested browsing Airbnb listings (but not actually booking them) as a way to avoid stress shopping. Now we’re back with something better: Requesting books and other items from your local library as a way to curb impulse shopping. Here’s what to know.” -
Google has introduced passkeys, an alternative to passwords for security and presering privacy. Dan Goodin writes: “My recent feature on passkeys attracted significant interest, and a number of the 1,100-plus comments raised questions about how the passkey system actually works and if it can be trusted. In response, I’ve put together this list of frequently asked questions to dispel a few myths and shed some light on what we know—and don’t know—about passkeys.” -
Craig Silverman writes: “The previous edition of Digital Investigations offered advice for getting the most out of the Wayback Machine. Now I’m back with even more tips, thanks to an interview with Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine. He pointed to a few features I forgot to mention along with one I wasn’t aware of. We also talked about the challenge of archiving social media content.Global Investigative Journalism Network, May 11; Digital Investigations, Mar. 5
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Becky Spratford writes: “Today, I would like to argue for those of you who work with leisure readers to consider looking into adding some print literary magazine to your fiction collections—not magazine collections. I realize this is outside the norm of how we shelve our collections. Normally you would not have a literary magazine interfiled with fiction, but I would argue that if we have any of the “Best American” anthologies in our fiction collection, shelved by title of the series—and we all do—then we can also add literary magazines.” -
Twanna Hodge writes: “The catalyst for this piece was when I worked as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Librarian at the University of Florida Libraries during my mentoring sessions with Melody Royster, an exemplary mentor and tenured faculty librarian. I was honored to be her mentee. I wanted to share why having a Black mentor at a predominantly white institution was vital to my mental, physical, and emotional health. We cultivated a space where we focused on our well-being, prioritized exploring our Blackness, de-centered whiteness, and interrogated what it means to dismantle white supremacy culture from Black spaces. -
Medar de la Cruz writes: “For more than a year, I’ve been working in New York City jails as a library assistant for the Brooklyn Public Library. I started out at the jail complex on Rikers Island. Now I work at the Vernon C. Bain Center. The Department of Correction doesn’t give us any bookshelves, so at Rikers my colleagues and I rolled a squeaky cart from dorm to dorm. I’m always moved by the sense of gratitude and warmth that some people express when we’re able to get them the books that they asked for.
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