Latest Library Links
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Russell Brandom and William Joel write: “If broadband access was a problem before 2020, the pandemic turned it into a crisis. As everyday businesses moved online, city council meetings or court proceedings became near-inaccessible to anyone whose connection couldn’t support a Zoom call. Some school districts started providing Wi-Fi hotspots to students without a reliable home connection. After years of slowly widening, the broadband gap became impossible to ignore. This map shows where the broadband problem is worst. Specifically, the colored-in areas show US counties where less than 15% of households are using the internet at broadband speed.”
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Research and instruction librarian David Sye writes: “The term intellectual freedom has been recently tossed around by state lawmakers to justify new laws targeting college campuses. The recent laws and policy changes mainly target one of three things: faculty tenure, curriculum, or freedom of speech. This post provides an update on new laws or incidents happening in various states. Many bills discussing curriculum target Critical Race Theory, whether directly or indirectly.”
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Books written by Hong Kong pro-democracy figures and critics of Beijing have been removed from local public libraries in Hong Kong for review, after the authorities cited potential national security law violations. According to a May 7 report, the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department ordered library staff to remove copies of nine books by six authors from the shelves as the titles had to undergo a review. The LCSD confirmed on May 9 that they have suspended services relating to the nine books, saying the move was to “avoid breaking the law.”
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Kevin Reome writes: “Every year around this time goats are sent to Simi Valley in California to the grounds near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum to combat the ever-present danger of wildfires. They do not put on fire helmets or ride around in firetrucks, though I bet we can find photos of that on the internet somewhere. The goats are brought in to eat the surrounding dry vegetation thus giving less fuel to any possible fires and creating a fire break.”
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Grammy award–winning country singer, TV host, chef, and entrepreneur Trisha Yearwood has been added to the featured speakers roster at the virtual 2021 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition, June 23–29. Yearwood will discuss her new cookbook, Trisha’s Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September). The book is a collection of 125 comfort-food recipes peppered with unforgettable family stories and photos.
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Sallyann Price writes: “Since her first novel, The House of the Spirits, was published in 1982, Isabel Allende has written frequently about the interior lives of women. Her latest book, The Soul of a Woman (Ballantine Books, March), is a collection of essays that follows the trajectory of Allende’s life and evolving approach to feminism—as the daughter of a single mother in Chile, as a journalist covering women’s issues in the 1960s and 1970s, as a mother herself, and now as a US citizen and internationally acclaimed author of fiction and nonfiction. She spoke with American Libraries about her influences, challenges to her books, and fighting the patriarchy.”
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In 2008, Gabriel Levinson, often described as the founding father of the present-day book bike, began riding his custom-built Haley book tricycle around Chicago’s parks to hand out free materials. May is National Bike Month, and we’ve got stats celebrating library cyclists, book bikes, and bike-share programs in this issue’s By the Numbers.
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On May 6, the Illinois General Assembly passed H.R. 274 to honor Leonard J. Kniffel, former American Libraries editor in chief, who died March 19. The resolution notes Kniffel’s leadership in the library, Polish American, and LGBTQ+ communities.
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T. J. Rankin writes: “When in-person programming is unsafe, how do you help community members find much-needed employment? Tyler (Tex.) Public Library came up with a novel way: creating a ‘job fair in a bag.’ Through a lot of community partnering and a little creativity, the library was able to reach 150 patrons in need. It all began with a question: ‘If a crafting event can be turned into a kit, why can’t a job fair?’”
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Since the ALA Chapters’ briefing on the Build America’s Libraries Act, the legislation has garnered more than 100 cosponsors, DC is abuzz with talk of a massive infrastructure plan, and states have begun to share their library infrastructure needs with members of Congress. Hear from some of those states and get an update on this fast-moving, once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure federal funding to update, furnish, and build libraries that meet our communities’ 21st century needs, May 5, 2:00 p.m. Central. Register here.
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Claire Zulkey writes: “Gloria Vela, fresh from receiving her MLIS and earning her Texas school librarian certification, did all the right things when she applied for school librarian jobs. She set up a tidy workspace well-lit for Zoom interviews. She applied makeup, styled her hair, and made sure her 6-month-old miniature Australian shepherd, Olive, was out of audio range. She rehearsed and smiled and made eye contact and sent thank-you notes. But after 34 job applications, six interviews, some close calls but no bites—plus ‘some good cries’—Vela was burned out.”
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The 2021 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition (Virtual) Program Scheduler is now open. Among the live and on-demand educational sessions, attendees will have access to exhibitors, featured speakers, authors, and more than 200 educational sessions. The News You Can Use series, interactive Discussion Groups, and president and chair programs are also available. The ALA Annual Conference (Virtual) takes place June 23–29. Registration is now open.
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