#alaac23 Archives | Page 3 of 4 | American Libraries Magazine

Sterling Cunio holds up his cellphone as incarcerated individual David Fleenor shares the impact of a writers' workshop at his correctional facility on June 25. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

Fostering Self-Determination

By Diana Panuncial | June 25, 2023

At “Nurturing Writers Workshops in Prison,” a June 25 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, Fleenor shared the impact his writers’ workshop has had on his life as well as what his facility has gained from it: “An enduring writing community.” He was joined by moderator Moira Marquis, … Continue reading Fostering Self-Determination →

Attorney and social media influencer Emily Amick at “Fight Book Bans: Frame the Debate, Fill the Seats, and Create Connections,” a June 25 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.

Methods for Mobilizing

By Terra Dankowski | June 25, 2023

“What Moms for Liberty isn’t doing is advocacy—it’s a takeover,” said Emily Amick, an attorney, social media influencer, and founder of political change nonprofit For Facts Sake. “I want to push you to think bigger about what we’re up against and how to fight it.” Amick was the featured speaker at “Fight Book Bans: Frame … Continue reading Methods for Mobilizing →

Danielle Costello, librarian at Louisiana State University, explains game jams for creating tabletop roleplaying games at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.

Jam Forever

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2023

While game jams—or accelerated game creation events—started as a way to develop video games, they’re also useful for creating tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). The best-known TTRPG systems, like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu, include rulebooks that can run to hundreds of pages and have steep price tags, but there are a host … Continue reading Jam Forever →

Authors Rajani LaRocca (left) and Minh Lê speak at the session “Share our Stories: Asian and Pacific Islander Literature for Children and Young Adults” during the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 25.

Reflecting the World

By Diana Panuncial | June 25, 2023

“I have never been in a library that did not have enough white books,” said Park, a Korean American author whose novel A Single Shard (Clarion Books, 2001) won the 2002 Newbery Medal. She suggested that, to increase representation of other cultures and perspectives, librarians should consider buying more books from marginalized authors. “That’s one … Continue reading Reflecting the World →

Author Rick Riordan (right) and Mark Oshiro discuss their co-written book, The Sun and the Star, a Nico di Angelo Adventure at a June 25 talk at ALA's 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.

Partnering Perspectives

By Megan Bennett | June 25, 2023

So Oshiro picked up the first book in Rick Riordan’s Greek mythology-inspired series for middle-grade readers. The books follow a modern-day demigod and his friends as they fight fantastical forces, and Riordan later built a franchise from that world with two more series and standalone books. Instead of reading it over the weeks-long tour as … Continue reading Partnering Perspectives →

Council II: Condemning Discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ Community

By Judy Czarnik | June 25, 2023

Andrew Pace, chair of the Committee on Organization (COO), provided an update on the committee (CD#27.1) and introduced the following action items: Modify the charge of the ALA Conference Committee Modify the name, charge, and composition of the ALA Council Orientation Committee Both motions carried. Toni Negro, chair of the Policy Monitoring Committee (PMC), proposed … Continue reading Council II: Condemning Discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ Community →

ALA Council I: Reports and Resolutions

By Megan Bennett | June 25, 2023

The Rules and Guidelines for ALA Hybrid Council Meetings (CD #5.1) and the agenda for Council I (CD #8.6) were adopted, and the minutes from the LibLearnX Council meeting in January (CD #2.1) were amended and approved. ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall reviewed Executive Board actions taken since the January meetings at LibLearnX (CD … Continue reading ALA Council I: Reports and Resolutions →

Anne Holland demonstrates an eclipse-related activity by using a flashlight and a toy tree to cast a shadow.

Preparing for the Next Great American Eclipse

By Greg Landgraf | June 25, 2023

Librarians hoping to avoid last-minute scrambling to prepare for the upcoming annular (on October 14, 2023) and total solar (on April 8, 2024) eclipses visible in the continental United States attended the session “A Procrastinator’s Guide to the 2023/2024 Solar Eclipses” at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June … Continue reading Preparing for the Next Great American Eclipse →

The Misrepresentation of Women in Hip-Hop

By Diana Panuncial | June 25, 2023

“Uncovering Unsung Sheroes: A Discussion of Women in Hip-Hop,” a June 24 session of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, shone a light on these artists and the challenges they faced while building their careers. The panel included Tamela Chambers, manager of the Chicago Public Library’s Beverly branch; S. … Continue reading The Misrepresentation of Women in Hip-Hop →

Katie Strand, first year experience librarian at Utah State University, speaking at the “Connecting Library Experiences: Collaboration Across Library Types to Better Support our Patrons” session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24

Library Collaboration to Improve Information Literacy

By Greg Landgraf | June 25, 2023

USU’s efforts are one example of the benefits that can be gained when different types of libraries collaborate. Librarians from USU and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, shared success stories in the session “Connecting Library Experiences: Collaboration Across Library Types to Better Support our Patrons” at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and … Continue reading Library Collaboration to Improve Information Literacy →

Aaron LaFromboise speaking at the “Food is Medicine in Medicine Spring Library: Food Sovereignty Needs in a Tribal Library" session

Food as Medicine

By Greg Landgraf | June 25, 2023

LaFromboise, American Indian Library Association (AILA) past president and director of library services at Medicine Spring Library at Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana, shared her story at the AILA President’s Program, “Food is Medicine in Medicine Spring Library: Food Sovereignty Needs in a Tribal Library,” at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and … Continue reading Food as Medicine →

Rachael Bild (left), teen services librarian at Skokie (Ill.) Public Library, and Analú María López, Indigenous studies librarian and assistant curator at the Newberry Library in Chicago, at “An Introduction to Organizing and Collective Bargaining in Libraries,” a session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24.

The Reasons for Unions

By Terra Dankowski | June 25, 2023

At “An Introduction to Organizing and Collective Bargaining in Libraries,” a session at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24, a panel of five Chicago-area library workers addressed these questions by sharing their experiences with organizing, winning recognition for their unions, and negotiating contracts at their respective libraries. … Continue reading The Reasons for Unions →

Latest Library Links

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Sheila Craft-Morgan writes: “Citations are a key measure of the impact of a researcher’s work. However, research in a variety of disciplines has found that women are less likely to be cited than men; citations contain geographic bias; and the Matthew effect—in which those who begin with advantage continue to gain advantage—leads to more citations for prominent scholars in a specific discipline. These findings contribute to the notion that scholarly knowledge comes from a homogenous group of researchers, thereby overlooking the contributions of other groups.”

American Libraries column, June
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Mel Baldwin writes: “Regardless of why someone comes into a library, every patron should be free to interact with staff, browse materials, and use the internet without fear of harassment or worse. That freedom depends on libraries upholding patron privacy. With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is higher.”

American Libraries column, June
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Greg Landgraf writes: “On a school morning last September, small groups of 5th-graders crowded around tools connected to scientific research—a microscope, a robotic camera, and even a snake named Morgan Freeman—clipboards and pencils in hand. They were at the Melrose branch of Roanoke (Va.) Public Libraries (RPL), judging graduate students from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on their research. The event was RPL’s second Flip the Fair, introduced in 2022 to help graduate students develop skills to effectively communicate their research while engaging local elementary students with STEM topics and the library.”

American Libraries Trend, June
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Aaryn Bierly writes: “Disability Pride Month is traditionally celebrated in July to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA regulates laws regarding service animals, requires employers to accommodate their employees’ physical and medical needs, stipulates the number and placement of accessible parking spaces and restrooms, and more. One in five Americans has some type of disability that makes working more difficult, and the ADA has made working conditions easier for a significant number of Americans. We’ve got several great lists of books for kids and teens of different ages featuring characters with a range of disabilities.”

Herrick District Library (Holland, Mich.), July 1
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“Many people already turn to libraries as sources of trusted information ahead of elections, and organizations like ALA and the League of Women Voters are hoping to expand those numbers. We’ve curated a selection of resources, tools, and ideas to help inform your library’s approach to this important work.”

WebJunction, July 3
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“A federal appeals court in New Orleans is taking another look at its own order requiring a Texas county to keep eight books that deal with subjects including sex, gender identity, and racism on public library shelves. Llano County officials had initially removed 17 books from its shelves amid complaints about the subject matter. The June 6 order was vacated July 3 after a majority of the 17-member court granted Llano County officials a new hearing before the full court. The order did not state reasons and the hearing hasn’t yet been scheduled.”

Associated Press, July 7
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Todd Spangler writes: “In the days after Paramount Global disabled mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news in June—removing a trove of hundreds of thousands of articles about music and pop culture from the internet—the not-for-profit Internet Archive assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published at mtv.com/news. The Wayback Machine’s archive of MTV News is not the full complement of what was published over the span of more than two decades. But the new collection at least ensures, for the time being, that much of MTV News’ articles remain accessible in some form.”

Variety, July 2

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