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Michael Kimmelman writes: “The other day, I wrote about two new branch libraries in New York City, which share an unusual feature: They’re both paired with 100 percent affordable housing developments. The economics of building subsidized housing in America depends on land that costs little or nothing, which almost inevitably means building on public land. But having sold off much of what it owned, New York no longer has a large inventory of big, usable lots for deeply affordable projects. The city does own library branches, however. And they occupy public land in the heart of many neighborhoods.”
New York Times Headway, July 17
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Cindy Hohl writes: “As we look ahead to meet the information needs of our membership, it is important that we stand united to remember why we work in this trusted profession. ALA has some big goals ahead with the hiring of the next ALA executive director, celebrating the Association’s 150th anniversary, creating a strategic plan to elevate the role of ALA throughout the field, and ensuring that we have strong member leadership to offer guidance and support. Our core values help us see that what one holds sacred is a touchstone in advancing this work as we strive to serve everyone in #AGoodWay together.”
American Libraries column, July/Aug.
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Trey Walk writes: “Over the past few years, new policies and laws in Florida have stopped teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity, while also repressing any honest efforts to grapple with systemic racism and slavery. [But] many people have taken a stand against these prejudiced policies, including in Florida. Their goal: to build a brighter future for the state. We hope today’s leaders fighting censorship in Florida can offer a blueprint to people across the US to further truly free and just education.”
Human Rights Watch, July 18
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Angela Dennis writes: “Young scholars, parents, and staff from the East Tennessee Freedom Schools program, a local summer enrichment program, marched in downtown Knoxville July 17 to protest literary censorship in public schools and libraries across the country. Recent legislation in Tennessee has fueled concerns about literary censorship. In May, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law an expansion of the Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Opponents fear the new law might exclude the perspectives of marginalized groups in educational materials. The Knox County Schools Board recently revised its library policy to align with the new state law, further fueling debate.”
Knoxville News Sentinel, July 18
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Daniel Pfeiffer writes: “Information literacy has become a watchword for librarians—not merely a pedagogical aim but a moral obligation in a digital and political landscape riddled with misinformation. The clear necessity of information literacy in society belies a more difficult question: Should librarians be the ones to take on the full weight of this mantle?” Pfeiffer interviewed Amber Willenborg and Robert Detmering, librarians at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and authors of a new paper examining this question through interviews with 20 academic librarians.
Choice 360 LibTech Insights, July 17
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Jennifer Nardine writes: “I recently finished a second master’s degree, in counseling, from Virginia Tech’s School of Education (in Blacksburg). Shortly after graduating, I was startled when a colleague asked, ‘How are you going to show that [mental health] counseling is related to your work?’ Her implication: even though I’d put in the work to earn the degree, it wouldn’t serve me when it came time to apply for promotion. My response: It’s obvious to me that education, librarianship, and counseling are related.”
ACRLog, July 18
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Willem Marx writes: “Sometimes it’s not about catching up on the newest news or the hottest debut. Sometimes it’s about taking a bath with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning and listening to famous writers laugh about their MFA students while going nuts about their favorite short story writers. Sometimes it’s about taking a plane across the Atlantic just to visit a bookstore and pretend it’s still 1922 and Ulysses is all the rage. The book life is about a lot of things and these podcasts cover every single one.”
Electric Literature, July 19