November/December 2023

Features & Trends

Illustration of an incarcerated individual reading, with a colorful vision of home emerging from the book.

Lighting the Way

Betts founded Freedom Reads, an organization that installs 500-book Freedom Libraries in prisons and juvenile detention centers. Horton cofounded Radical Reversal, a program that creates performance and recording spaces in detention centers and correctional facilities, and conducts workshops that provide creative outlets for incarcerated people. American Library Association (ALA) Executive Director Tracie D. Hall interviewed … Continue reading Lighting the Way →

Aaron LaFromboise, Martha Hickson, Vicki Selander, Chelsea Price, and Marilynn Lance-Robb

One of a Kind

By Megan Bennett

At many of the country’s 4,000 rural library systems, staffers are operating by themselves, or nearly so. Solo librarianship can take a variety of forms. It can be a sole employee, a full-time employee managing part-timers or volunteers, or librarians working with small or spread-out teams. As libraries continue to recover from the worst of … Continue reading One of a Kind →

Figuring Out Fair Use

By Carrie Russell

Many of us harbor an unfounded fear of copyright litigation. “Better safe than sorry” is a frequent assertion. But that attitude can keep users and creators of copyright-protected content from engaging in personal and educational activities that are unlikely to infringe copyright law. That excess caution is, consequently, contrary to the values of librarianship, teaching, … Continue reading Figuring Out Fair Use →

CALA Turns 50
True Colors
By Stephi Smith
Tranquil Tones
By Rosie Newmark
A New Start
By Duffie Dixon
Newsmaker: Tracy K. Smith
By Terra Dankowski
By the Numbers: Toys
By Megan Bennett
Bookend: Marching Full Circle
By Carrie Smith

Columnists

Latest Library Links

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Tania Otero Martinez writes: “Since a shocking plunge in math and reading scores on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, educators, administrators, and policymakers have grappled with how to address learning challenges following the pandemic. One factor that has largely escaped notice, however, is the role school libraries and librarians play in academic performance. School libraries are too often treated as a luxury rather than an essential part of the public education system with a proven impact on learning. It is time to turn around years of disinvestment in school libraries and librarians.”

Center for American Progress, Apr. 18
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Cynthia Hudson Vitale writes: “The Association of Research Libraries has issued a set of Research Libraries Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI technologies, and in particular, generative AI, have significant potential to improve access to information and advance openness in research outputs. AI also has the potential to disrupt information landscapes and the communities that research libraries support and serve. The increasing availability of AI models sparks many possibilities and raises several ethical, professional, and legal considerations. These principles will serve as a foundational framework for the ethical and transparent use of AI and reflect the values we hold in research libraries.”

Association of Research Libraries, Apr. 25
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Orlando Mayorquín writes: “Less than two weeks after a Pennsylvania school board unanimously voted to cancel a gay author’s anti-bullying speech at a middle school, the board voted Wednesday night to reverse its decision and reinstate the event amid pressure from parents, students and administrators. The 5-to-4 vote by the Cumberland Valley School District’s board came in front of scores of community members who packed a high school auditorium and, for several hours, chastised the board for having canceled the event featuring the actor and author Maulik Pancholy over what they said were homophobic concerns.”

New York Times, Apr. 24
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Kim Kardashian may have been the headline guest on the April 23 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but the highlight of the show was a World Book Day segment about antilibrarian bills. Kimmel said “There are at least a hundred bills in various red states, three of which have become law already, threatening librarians with prison for the crime of lending books.” He then turned the segment over to real-life librarians to clarify that they give out library cards and offer storytimes rather than “grooming” children or spreading Satanism and meth. One of the featured librarians concluded the segment by declaring “You can have To Kill a Mockingbird when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!”

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Apr. 23
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Lauren Feiner writes: “The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3–2 to restore net neutrality rules, reversing a repeal ushered through during the Trump administration. Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers should not be able to discriminate against different kinds of content by blocking or throttling connection speeds or offering paid prioritization for different internet traffic.” The new rules are similar to those originally adopted in 2015 and repealed in 2017, but also include language preventing network slicing, in which internet service providers prioritize certain traffic by using 5G technology to create virtual subnetworks that prioritize certain subscribers who pay for a premium subscription.

The Verge, Apr. 25; Gizmodo, Apr. 25
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“A new Taylor Swift album is always a big event on the internet, including fans carefully reading into every line for hidden meaning—a little like close reading poetry. But while Swifties have celebrated Taylor Swift’s lyricism from the beginning, no album invites comparisons to literature quite like The Tortured Poets Department, if just for the title. Already, outlets have been putting together reading lists to pair with each song on the album. Here are just a few to get you started.”

Book Riot, Apr. 22
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Chris Hoffman writes: “When I was younger, I was told ‘never use your real name on the internet.’ But the world has changed, and I don’t follow that advice anymore. Likewise, there’s a lot of well-meaning online security advice that has outlasted its usefulness. There’s a core of truth to each one of the security practices I criticize below, but you shouldn’t blindly follow these old tips. At best, you’ll be wasting your time. At worst, you’ll be putting yourself more at risk. Read on to learn more about the five outdated security practices you shouldn’t use anymore.”

PC World, Apr. 17