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The American Library Association (ALA) announced the return of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program, which seeks to recruit diverse LIS faculty members. The program, to be run in partnership with University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, will recruit a cohort of 8-10 racially and ethnically diverse doctoral students focused on advancing racial equity and social justice in library and information science curricula. “There have been many discussions about the lack of diversity in the profession, and that includes the classrooms as well,” said Kevin Strowder, director of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, in an October 14 statement. An information session for the fellowship will take place November 3; applications for the program open November 4.

ALA's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Oct. 14
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After 10 years of renovations, construction has been completed on the Richelieu site of the National Library of France (formerly known as Bibliotheque du Roi) in Paris. Improvements to the 300-year-old campus, known for its arts and heritage collections, include façade restoration, an interior garden installation, and facilities maintenance. Though the library has maintained hours during construction, the site is expected to fully reopen to the public in summer 2022.

ArchDaily, Oct. 13
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Kristen A. Graham writes: “The Philadelphia School District, with 200-plus schools, employed 176 certified school librarians in 1991. Today, that number is fewer than 10. Philadelphia has the worst ratio of school librarians in the country. Building 21’s new homespun library has no budget, no librarian, and was built entirely with used and new books donated or purchased cheaply at yard sales or through online marketplace sites. Though it lacks computers, a digital circulation system, or any of the sophisticated bells and whistles that are the hallmarks of better-resourced schools, the Building 21 library feels like a gift, says Simone Burrell, a recent graduate.”

Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 16; Jan. 24, 2020
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Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia write: “So often educators favor fiction for read-alouds, book talks, book clubs, classroom instruction, and special assignments. They seem to believe that young readers prefer fiction, and yet wide-ranging research clearly shows that many students enjoy nonfiction as much as or more than fiction. To help students make sense of the wide world of nonfiction, we advocate the Five Kinds of Nonfiction classification system.”

MiddleWeb, Oct. 13
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Suzie Glassman writes: “My daughter is part of the 15–20% of students and adults living with a language-based learning disability. Once we diagnosed her dyslexia, I understood she needed the help of assistive technology to learn at a rate on par with her classmates, but I wasn’t sure where to start. In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month this October, I reached out to several assistive technology experts to find out what technology they recommend for facilitating and improving reading, writing, spelling, and math.”

Wired, Oct. 16; International Dyslexia Association
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The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) has received $3.6 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the American Rescue Plan to help Native cultural organizations recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 18, ATALM and NEH announced in a press release that this money has been earmarked for subgrants for up to 175 Native cultural institutions and their partners. Awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and may be used to rehire furloughed employees, prepare facilities for reopening, document cultural practices, and create new exhibits and programs. Applications open October 20.

Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Oct. 18
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K. W. Colyard writes: “The most influential sci-fi books of all time have shaped not just science fiction and its myriad subgenres, but horror, fantasy, and manga, as well. Filmmakers have drawn inspiration for the stories between their covers, and real-world STEM developments have been made in their names. Without these books, for better or worse, our world would not be what it is today.”

Book Riot, Oct. 12