Latest Library Links
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Random House is launching Joy Revolution, a new publishing imprint dedicated to young adult romance novels for, by, and about people of color. The imprint will be headed by bestselling husband-and-wife authors David Yoon (right) and Nicola Yoon. According to a Nielsen BookScan report from 2014–2015, people of color make up about one-fifth of romance readers. Joy Revolution will publish its first books in 2022.
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Library historian Wayne A. Wiegand writes: “Fifty years ago this week, Carrie C. Robinson—a Black school librarian whose long career revealed much about the Jim Crow South, the challenges of integration, and librarianship in the civil rights era—settled a landmark case for racial justice in the profession. After being passed over for a promotion, she had sued her employer, Alabama’s Department of Education. That case, as well as the trajectory of Robinson’s career, sheds light on a critical period in American history, one with lingering effects on diversity and representation in the library field.”
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At the 2020 Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference—held virtually September 28–October 2—a thread quickly emerged: Rural libraries play an important role in the social fabric of their towns. The event opened with a meme-filled presentation from author and librarian William Ottens (Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks) and closed with a keynote from renowned librarian and literary critic Nancy Pearl (The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, with Jeff Schwager). The sessions between the speakers highlighted how small libraries engage and enrich their communities.
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The National Book Foundation announced five contenders each for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature on October 6. The winners will be announced on November 18 at an online ceremony. Two lifetime achievement awards will also be presented at that event: The novelist Walter Mosley will receive the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and Carolyn Reidy, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster who died in May at 71, will posthumously receive the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.
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Writer, sociologist, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill SLIS Associate Professor Tressie McMillan Cottom has been named a 2020 MacArthur Fellow. The “genius grant” award includes $625,000 paid over five years. The MacArthur Foundation praised Cottom for “shaping discourse on highly topical issues at the confluence of race, gender, education, and digital technology for broad audiences.”
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ACRL joined the Association of Research Libraries, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the University of California Libraries, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, and the University of Iowa Libraries in filing an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court case Ahmad v. University of Michigan, a case involving the use of a public records request to circumvent a deed of gift, which is a contract that libraries and archives routinely negotiate with donors and that sets the conditions of access to donated papers.
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The Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee is devoting the 2020–2021 calendar year to creating a vibrant, dynamic toolkit that provides ALSC members with up-to-date resources for working with marginalized populations. October’s LSUCTC Toolkit focuses on youth and families experiencing homelessness and financial insecurity, estimated to affect 1.5 million public school children.
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Emily Martin writes: “I know it’s hard to believe, but November 1 is already right around the corner. Where did the year go? How did we get here? I don’t have time to answer those questions or even reflect on them. Why? Because it’s time to get ready for what can be the most rewarding and the most stressful time of the year for every writer. NaNoWriMo is here again. It’s time to get writing. It’s time to get inspired. And if you’re wondering how to get your mind in the right space to do all of that, try these books to help prep you for NaNoWriMo.”
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Jon Brodkin writes: “AT&T has deployed fiber-to-the-home Internet to less than 30% of the households in its 21-state territory, according to a new report that says AT&T has targeted wealthy, non-rural areas in its fiber upgrades. The report, cowritten by an AT&T workers union and an advocacy group, is timely, being issued just a few days after AT&T confirmed it will stop connecting new customers to its aging DSL network. That does not mean customers in DSL areas will get fiber, because AT&T last year said it was mostly done expanding its fiber service.”
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New York Public Library’s stone lions, Patience and Fortitude, were fitted with fabric facemasks in June in solidarity with New Yorkers and to remind everyone to wear their masks in public. Unfortunately, the masks have been damaged or removed completely five times since then. NYPL staffers are now removing the masks at 5 p.m. each day to avoid shenanigans.
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Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is planning an exhibit to highlight people’s experience through out the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Build a Quarantine Museum” program is expected to be an ongoing video series that could be accessed virtually. The Quarantine Museum and other new programming will be funded by a $116,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The program is expected to open in the spring and registration to share stories will begin later this month.
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Public libraries across the country play a critical role in connecting community members to vital resources and programs, now more than ever. The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today the release of new data on the many thousands of rural public libraries in the United States and how they function in American society. Rural Libraries in America: An Infographic Overview provides an overview of the distribution, resources, and services of these important community assets. The brief uses IMLS data from the 2017 Public Libraries Survey and updates the agency’s 2013 analysis of trends for small and rural library services.
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