More than 1.8 million people in the United States were incarcerated in a prison or jail at the end of 2021, according to a February 2023 Bureau of Justice Statistics report. Research shows that formerly incarcerated people have more difficulty finding employment than the rest of the population, resulting in lower long-term earnings and other … Continue reading A New Start
To Free the Captives was written in response to assaults on Black life and the racial reckoning this country was experiencing in 2020, but the book is mostly set in the past. Were there challenges to weaving the historic aspects with more personal narratives? It was hard for me to pull the past away from … Continue reading Newsmaker: Tracy K. Smith
All signs pointed to Philip Espe joining the Marines. The 34-year-old comes from a long line of military family members. But he also had a calling in music. Espe studied clarinet performance, earned a master’s of music in orchestral conducting, and directed community and youth orchestras. He used those skills when serving as a youth … Continue reading Bookend: Marching Full Circle
King knew the difference between being dejected and being disillusioned, drawing the distinction often in his writings and speeches. While being dejected is a natural reaction to opposition, the latter represents the capitulation of hope. King knew well that hope is needed for struggle. That connection is important for those of us who work in … Continue reading Our History Is Our Protection
As president of ALA during this critical moment in history, I get asked this question a lot. Libraries and library workers are both in the spotlight and under the microscope, and people want to know who we are and what we do. Maybe you’ve even asked this question yourself. One of the joys of this … Continue reading Our Shared Mission
In fall 2022, I used gamification to design a six-week professional development series for staff members at my middle school in South Texas, where I work as a library media specialist. Our campus had just adopted a laptop initiative for students, so my goal was to ensure that teachers would retain the skills they learned … Continue reading A Real Game-Changer
All because she spoke at a public library board meeting last year. “I said, ‘Hate and fear have no place in Livingston Parish,’” says Jones. “It was an innocuous speech, a speech on censorship that any librarian would give.” The meeting, which occurred in July 2022, was intended to address general book content at Livingston … Continue reading How We Fight Back
Award recipients were honored at a June 25 ceremony and reception during ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. This selection represents only some of those recognized in 2023; for a complete list, visit ala.org/awardsgrants. Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship Carla Hayden Hayden has exemplified the award criteria of “contributing significantly to the public … Continue reading 2023 ALA Award Winners
Spartanburg County is the fifth most populated county in South Carolina—and it’s growing. In 2022, it had close to 346,000 residents, but nearly 14% of them were living at or below the federal poverty line, with an estimated 11% of children experiencing food insecurity. To help address these issues of affordability and access, Spartanburg County … Continue reading It’s in the Bag
By February 2020, a month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, more than 5,500 criminal investigations had been opened in China against health care professionals and journalists accused of “fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information” about the novel coronavirus. Many were detained and charged with causing fear and hysteria, … Continue reading The Good Fight
As of late, bureaucratic practices in higher education have been steeped in a neoliberal ideology that manifests as managerialism, or applying a corporate model to run a nonprofit or academic institution. Neoliberalism emphasizes capitalist free-market values, including a focus on efficiency, maximizing productivity, and individualism over collectivism. With managerialism, academic libraries are asked to adopt … Continue reading Question the Bureaucracy
From energetic demos and mascots to giveaways and games, vendors continue to invest in their exhibit hall spaces for the opportunity to interact with current and potential customers. Additionally, many businesses act as sponsors, contributing to the overall success of Annual Conference and the Association. While this wasn’t a year for breaking news in the … Continue reading Trending Upward
