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The LeVar Burton Book Club launched May 11 via the “social reading app” Fable, with selections handpicked by the actor. To start off, he’s chosen three books that “represent how my identity as a reader has been shaped,” he says: James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, Octavia Butler’s modern sci-fi classic Parable of the Sower, and the essay and poetry collection The Fire This Time, edited by Jesmyn Ward.

Entertainment Weekly, May 11
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On May 14 the American Library Association announced the appointment of Mary Davis Fournier as executive director, Public Library Association, a division of ALA. Her first day in her new role will be Monday, June 14. Fournier is a 20-year veteran of ALA, having served in various roles including most recently as deputy director of the Public Programs Office.

AL: The Scoop, May 14
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Lara Ewen writes: “In spring 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the small town of Pottsboro, Texas, local doctors switched from in-person to telemedicine appointments with patients. But many of the town’s 2,500 residents don’t have internet access at home, or lack the bandwidth for video calls. So they went to Pottsboro Area Library, where Director Dianne Connery let patrons use her office—the only private space in the one-room building—for their telehealth visits.”

American Libraries Trend, May
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LIS assistant professor Andrea Jamison writes: “As part of my dissertation in 2020, I researched the collection development policies of academic libraries. I looked specifically at universities and colleges with ALA–accredited LIS programs that offer master’s degrees or library programs with concentrations or career pathways in children’s services. It was important to situate this study within this context because these types of library programs provide the requisite skills and training needed for the selection and acquisition of children’s books. Academic libraries with children’s collections that support these types of programs can and should serve as models for collection practices.”

American Libraries column, May
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Join your fellow ALA members for the 2021 Virtual Information Session and Membership Meeting on June 27 at 1:30 p.m. Central. This livestream session will include information about the association and provide a forum for members to hear first-hand updates from ALA leaders and engage in real time with ALA leadership. The Virtual Membership Meeting is an opportunity for members to learn more about the governance of ALA and share the experience with colleagues from your community and across the world.

ALA Member Relations and Services
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Senjuti Patra writes: “As I write this, my country is dealing with a devastating second wave of the pandemic. Now, more than ever, we need to see how we are all connected in the stories of our past. I have spent a lot of time this past year reading Indian history. Here is a roundup of 14 books that will help you understand the history of this diverse country and its impact on the rest of the world.”

Book Riot, May 13
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Kim Bellware writes: “A 5th-grade classroom has become the latest collision point for America’s cultural reckoning with racial bias, police violence, and academic freedom after Florida’s second-largest school district temporarily pulled an award-winning youth novel over a police complaint that the book was ‘propaganda’ against law enforcement.”

Washington Post, May 10