Latest Library Links
-
Last year, as our nation was confronting ongoing issues related to racial justice, Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero established a task force of National Archives and Records Administration employees to identify issues of racial inequality in both our customer-facing operations and internally within our workplaces, in pursuit of an equitable and inclusive environment for all employees and customers. The full report, which includes the methodologies used in the task force’s assessment and more detailed recommendations, is now available to the public.
-
Mary Davis Fournier began her first official day as executive director of ALA’s Public Library Association on June 14, but she’s no stranger to the Association. During her 20 years at ALA, Fournier has worn many hats, most recently that of deputy director of the Public Programs Office where she helped spearhead projects such as Libraries Transforming Communities and the National Impact of Library Public Programs Assessment. Fournier answered our “11 Questions” to introduce herself to ALA members.
-
Danielle Cooper and Roger C. Schonfeld write: “During the pandemic, streaming media and in particular video has exploded. And it’s not just Netflix and Disney+—there is also growing demand for video services offered through libraries. The significance of this market for licensed streaming media services was cemented last week when OverDrive acquired Kanopy. At a minimum, OverDrive’s acquisition creates a public library powerhouse with continuing growth aspirations. Both services, however, have struggled in the academic sector. Will the combination now provide the scale needed to create a more sustainable offering for this market?”
-
To help libraries take advantage of the new $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund program, ALA has created the ECF Solutions Toolkit. Established as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Federal Communications Commission’s ECF program will provide funding for public and tribal libraries and K–12 schools to purchase connected devices and broadband internet connections for use off of library and school grounds by library patrons, students, teachers, and staff who otherwise lack internet access.
-
Sallyann Price writes: “In 1969, at the height of the civil rights movement, legendary ballet dancer Arthur Mitchell founded Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH). It was imagined as a space where dancers of all cultures and colors could train in the fine art of classical ballet. Now, more than 50 years later, former DTH dancer and archivist Judy Tyrus and musician Paul Novosel have collaborated on Dance Theatre of Harlem: A History, a Movement, a Celebration (Dafina, October), an expansive account of the company’s first half-century through the stormy present. The pair, who cofounded a nonprofit dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts, talked with American Libraries ahead of their appearance at the 2021 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual on Friday, June 25.”
-
Conflicts are playing out in cities and towns across the country, amid the rise of at least 165 local and national groups that aim to disrupt lessons on race and gender, according to an NBC News analysis of media reports and organizations’ promotional materials. Reinforced by conservative think tanks, law firms, and activist parents, these groups have found allies in families frustrated over COVID-19 restrictions in schools and have weaponized the right’s opposition to critical race theory, turning it into a political rallying point.
-
New York is now the second state to pass a bill that would ensure public libraries the right to license and lend ebooks that are available to consumers in the state. After votes on successive days this week in the Assembly and the Senate, the bill crossed the finish line just before the June 10 close of the legislative session and is now headed to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s desk. If signed, the law would be the second such piece of digital library legislation to pass, following Maryland’s.
-
COVID-19 has affected American schools, hospitals and businesses. But libraries—which often serve people who have nowhere else to turn—have responded in unprecedented ways. Like many of us, they’ve had to pivot, going from providing extensive in-person services and programming onsite in branches to quickly establishing virtual lectures and classes, and contactless material pickup, as well as services that were strictly COVID-related like contact tracing. As librarians emerge from closures, they are thinking about how they will maintain existing services along with the new ones.
-
The Law Library of Congress recently published a new report on the protection of children online. The report, titled Children’s Online Privacy and Data Protection, surveys ten jurisdictions on the special measures they have put in place to protect children online after the General Data Protection Regulation took effect in the EU in 2018.
-
Nicollette M. Davis, adult services and reference librarian at East Baton Rouge Parish (La.) Library’s Greenwell Springs Road Regional branch, got her first hair relaxer when she was 5 years old. In her early 20s, she decided to cut off her chemically treated hair and return it to its natural state—a journey, she says, with many emotional and physical ups and downs. To help support others going through similar transitions, Davis started the Natural Hair Support Group at the library in 2016. Before the pandemic, these monthly meetings drew dozens of women, men, and children from the area to share tips and concerns about going natural.
-
Mark Walsh writes: “How much ‘academic freedom’ do K–12 teachers actually have to teach what they want? How far does the First Amendment go in shielding them? And where would they stand in the face of new state laws taking aim at the use of critical race theory or the teaching of antiracist lessons? Measures introduced in at least 20 state legislatures to rein in teaching about race and other controversial and ‘divisive’ topics have thrust teachers into uncertainty over what they can discuss in the classroom and whether they would face discipline or other legal consequences if they overstep.”
All links outside americanlibrariesmagazine.org are provided for informational purposes only. Questions about the content of any external site should be addressed to the administrator of that site.