academic librarians Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Award winner Jessica Gleason speaking at the awards ceremony podium

Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

By Chase Ollis | May 1, 2025

On January 24, the American Library Association (ALA) presented the awards as part of the LibLearnX conference in Phoenix (watch the video here). Among the recipients were four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians, each nominated by community members for their expertise, dedication, and impact. Awardees received $5,000, as well as complimentary … Continue reading Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees →

Jennifer Beals, assistant dean and director of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), poses with items from the library's Scopes Trial collection.

Bookend: On the Origin of Scopes

By Carrie Smith | May 1, 2025

“There’s just so much surrounding the whole story,” says Jennifer Beals, assistant dean and director of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), who curated the library’s exhibit commemorating the trial’s centennial. UTK’s Scopes trial archive includes transcripts, photos, and ephemera from locals and attorneys involved in the … Continue reading Bookend: On the Origin of Scopes →

Headshots of authors Jennifer Embree and Neyda Gilman

Growth Report

At the time, we each were working independently on similar, smaller projects within BUL’s Science Library, like using a small area to feature some of the library’s sustainability resources and research happening on campus, as well as providing meeting spaces for sustainability-focused student clubs. But we recognized we could think bigger. In 2020, we received … Continue reading Growth Report →

Caelin Ross, performing arts librarian at Arizona State University Library in Tempe, poses with items from its Theatre for Youth and Community Collection.

Bookend: Curtains Up

By Megan Bennett | January 2, 2025

“You can learn so much … from plays written for, with, and by youth,” says Ross, performing arts librarian at Arizona State University (ASU) Library in Tempe, noting that young imaginations allow for more “interesting and experimental” presentations. Ross oversees ASU’s Theatre for Youth and Community Collection. Founded in 1979, the university says it is … Continue reading Bookend: Curtains Up →

A Storied History

By Reanna Esmail | January 2, 2025

The Library: A Fragile History By Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen The global history recounted in this six-part title demonstrates the role information access plays in societies, with the final two sections focusing on the US and the West. Although its length may seem overwhelming, this is a straightforward read whose clear message that … Continue reading A Storied History →

Serving New Neighbors

By Ana Ndumu | November 1, 2024

With immigrants making up 13.8% of our population, the US is more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than ever before. But for many library workers, staying abreast of the fraught immigration policy landscape is challenging. Laws shift rapidly, with initiatives introduced or eliminated according to political agendas. For instance, library workers may be interested in … Continue reading Serving New Neighbors →

Librarian Corinne Wolfson wearing several buttons from Harvard University's political button collection, surrounded by a collage of buttons reading, "Wearing buttons is not enough," "Teddy is good enough for me (alongside a photo of Teddy Roosevelt), McKinley and protection, Draft beer not people, It's a man's world unless women vote, Boycott non-union lettuce, Proudly for Brooke - a creative Republican, Viva LBJ, Rocky has never lost an election, and an illustration of black and white hands cradling a dove of peace.

Bookend: Put a Pin in It

By Megan Bennett | November 1, 2024

From the iconic to the incendiary, political messages like these have emblazoned buttons and pins since the start of US elections. Since 2012, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (HKS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been archiving political buttons. The collection now includes thousands of items spanning a century’s worth of campaigns and causes. “Pre-internet, this … Continue reading Bookend: Put a Pin in It →

Ted Quiballo, instructional technologies librarian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, shows interns for World Relief Chicagoland’s youth summer program how to use a 3D scanner.

Makerspace and Sense of Place

By Sarah P. Lee and Ted Quiballo | September 3, 2024

For nearly a decade, Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, and the Chicago office of the national nonprofit World Relief have worked together to offer free summer programming for families who are refugees or seeking asylum. In 2021, after the US military withdrew its final troops from Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghan families fled … Continue reading Makerspace and Sense of Place →

Jasmine Shumaker and Joe Lee, Academic Insights columnists for the Sept/Oct 2024 issue of American Libraries magazine

Busy Intersections

by Jasmine Shumaker and Joe Lee | September 3, 2024

For library workers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, creating successful mentorship relationships is more than a boon: It’s a necessity. This is especially true in a career where it’s difficult for women of color to see themselves among peers or draw inspiration and encouragement from leaders who share their identity, culture, and … Continue reading Busy Intersections →

Presenter Candice Benjes-Small at a podium gesturing as she speaks

It’s Not Okay

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | July 2, 2024

Benjes-Small addressed dozens of attendees at “‘It’s Not Okay. It’s Not Normal’: Sexual Harassment of Librarians and Implications for the Field,” a July 1 program held at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. Spurred by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Benjes-Small and Jennifer Resor-Whicker, university librarian at Radford (Va.) … Continue reading It’s Not Okay →

Citational Justice

By Sheila Craft-Morgan | June 3, 2024

These findings contribute to the notion that scholarly knowledge comes from a homogenous group of researchers, thereby overlooking the contributions of other groups. This phenomenon has been referred to as epistemological racism or screening, among other terms. In 2017, I read about the “Cite Black Women” campaign founded by Christen A. Smith, an anthropologist whose … Continue reading Citational Justice →

Campus Connections

By Dani Carmack and Jessica Quarles | June 3, 2024

To help acquaint faculty members with the facility and build strong relationships with them, we designed an engaging in-person event called Summer Fest at our Hazy Library and Learning Center. During Summer Fest, which took place June 2022, our 24 attendees received a passport directing them to explore seven stations placed throughout our two-floor library, … Continue reading Campus Connections →

Latest Library Links

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Lila Denning writes: “Book displays and online book lists work for those patrons who enter your buildings or view your website and social media accounts. It is possible to extend your outreach to those in your community who aren’t currently using the library. By increasing the percentage of members of your community who use and appreciate the library, you are increasing the stakeholders and voices who can be asked to speak up during times when your library could use more defenders such as when budget cuts are on the horizon.”

Passively Recommending Books, Apr. 30
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Daniel Pfeiffer writes: “Not quite two years after our first post on the antitrust cases against Google, the courts have finally issued judgment in the second major antitrust lawsuit against the company. This post will recap both of these lawsuits and also get into the ongoing Meta antitrust trial. What what is most significant about these trials isn’t the outcome necessarily, but that Big Tech is beginning to face high-level legal scrutiny. An antitrust campaign could radically affect the structure of the internet economy and its information landscape, so we wanted to make sure they have stayed on your radar.”

Choice: LibTech Insights, Apr. 30
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Jason Parham writes: “Earlier this week, at the Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta, a couple dozen fellows commenced a year-long project designed to put the mission of preserving Black history back in the hands of community members. The Web Archiving School (WARC) is a new training program that teaches practitioners methods of digital preservation built around an ‘ethic of care.’ As many agencies, public and private, have quickly fallen in line with Trump’s orders, WARC cofounder Makiba Foster says she’s not going to rely on legacy institutions to do that important preservation work.”

Wired, May 2
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Frank Strong writes: “I’ve been covering Texas school board elections for seven cycles, and as I have documented over and over again, book bans, attacks on educators and public schools, and attempts to target LGBTQ students do not fare well at the polls. But Saturday night’s election results were next level. Voters across Texas clearly and consistently punished the people who have been restricting students’ reading and learning.” School board candidates who advocated for restrictive school library book policies lost in Fort Bend, Keller, Mansfield, and several other communities.

Anger & Clarity, May 5; May 7, 2023; May 5, 2024; Nov. 9, 2024; Community Impact, May 3; Newsweek, May 4
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Andrew Limbong writes: “A federal judge has halted President Trump’s attempt to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—the agency which provides federal funding to libraries and museums across the country. Attorneys general from 21 states sued the president to stop him from dismantling IMLS, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service [in his March 14 executive order]. District court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued an injunction on the order May 6, stating that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act.” This lawsuit is separate from one filed by ALA and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which resulted in a restraining order temporarily blocking the dismantling of IMLS on May 1.

WRKF-FM (Baton Rouge, La.), May 6
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Daniel Kool writes: “The Maine State Library has rescinded three layoff notices it issued last month after it regained access to half its federal funding. The library avoided two other layoffs by shifting employees from their federally funded positions to positions unrelated to that funding, State Librarian Lori Fisher wrote in an email May 5. That leaves eight layoffs still in effect, though Fisher said those have been delayed until May 8. ‘The remaining layoffs could be rescinded if federal funding is restored in full,’ Fisher said.”

Portland (Maine) Press Herald, May 5
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Brian Dobreski and Christopher Hastings write: “Libraries show an increasing interest in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) tools into their workflows, particularly easily accessible and free-to-use chatbots. In this study, researchers sought to assess the performance of AI tools in performing basic subject heading and classification number assignment. Overall performance of these tools was poor, particularly for assigning classification numbers. Frequent sources of error included assigning overly broad numbers or numbers for incorrect topics. Although subject heading assignment was also poor, ChatGPT showed more promise here, backing up previous observations that chatbots may hold more immediate potential for this task.”

Library Resources & Technical Services, Apr.

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