April Fools' Day Archives | American Libraries Magazine

myMcROBOT, a fully-autonomous humanoid robotic assistant available from McCracken County (Ky.) Public Library on April 1, 2019.

April Foolswatch 2019

By Greg Landgraf | April 4, 2019

Libraries are fir everyone Nearly half of Oregon is forest, but the state’s trees are a remarkably underserved population. Tigard (Oreg.) Public Library addressed that with a brand-new storytime for plants, guaranteed to help saplings grow healthy and strong. One Seed, One Library, 1 million damaged tires Pima County (Ariz.) Public Library already operates a … Continue reading April Foolswatch 2019 →

A portrait of Nugget, Duke University's famous golden retriever, is added to the reading room at Duke’s Rubenstein Library on Sunday, April 1.

April Foolswatch 2018

By Greg Landgraf | April 5, 2018

A purrfect library Noting the popularity of Bertie, the library cat at the University of Nottingham (England) Hallward Library and inspired by Nottingham’s Kitty Café, Hallward Library announced that it would turn its top floor into the #Cattic, where students can study surrounded by cats. “We’re working closely with our vet school to ensure the … Continue reading April Foolswatch 2018 →

Image from Hillsboro (Oreg.) Public Library's video of its take-home tattoo gun for April Fools' Day.

April Foolswatch 2017 Has Been Canceled

By Greg Landgraf | April 4, 2017

Okay, okay, on to the real library pranks. Go for the gold The National Library of Scotland has launched a campaign to make speed-reading an Olympic sport, with a video profile of Declan, an aspiring long-distance nonfiction competitor, and other top contenders. The sport’s not without its controversies, mostly involving the Polymer Handbook, but it’s … Continue reading April Foolswatch 2017 Has Been Canceled →

Library and Archives Canada announced the acquisition of the declassified journals and military records of soldier James “Logan” Howlett, who bears a striking resemblance to Hugh Jackman.

April Foolswatch 2016

By Greg Landgraf | April 4, 2016

A Soldier’s Life, Declassified The day’s clear viral victor was Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) announcement of the acquisition of the declassified journals and military records of soldier James “Logan” Howlett. “Logan’s journals provide valuable insight into his early life in Canada, including work as a miner in a British Columbia stone quarry, a fur … Continue reading April Foolswatch 2016 →

Sacramento Public Library announced that the Library of Things had evolved into a new Library of Cats, with apparently a lengthy borrowing period: "Patrons can now borrow a kitten and return a cat."

April Foolswatch 2015

By Greg Landgraf | April 3, 2015

A Truly Cool House: King County (Wash.) Library System—already known for its architecture—announced that its next facility would be “an homage to the card catalog,” although it is unclear if the drawers were functional and, if so, whether the users would access the top row by climbing ladders or if they would need to rappel … Continue reading April Foolswatch 2015 →

#AprilFools @ Your Library

By Mariam Pera | April 2, 2013

In honor of April Fools’ Day, American Libraries compiled some of the best tweets circulating around the library twittersphere. In true LIS fashion, tweets range from information-centered and serious to whimsical and lighthearted. And as the internet has shown many a time: All’s well that ends with a kitten.

Professor Brian Trump of the British Library’s British Medieval Cookbook Project reported a near-miraculous find of a long-lost 14th-century cookbook with recipes for hedgehog, blackbird, and unicorn (pictured).

April Fools! The Year’s Best Library Pranks

By Greg Landgraf | April 4, 2012

Grilled Unicorn: Professor Brian Trump of the British Library’s British Medieval Cookbook Project reported a near-miraculous find of a long-lost 14th-century cookbook with recipes for hedgehog, blackbird, and unicorn. (If you’ve got a hungry family full of picky eaters, the book suggests marinating unicorn in cloves and garlic before roasting. Absolutely delicious.) No More Midwinter … Continue reading April Fools! The Year’s Best Library Pranks →

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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13
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Rowana Miller writes: “In my experience, many young library-goers identify as storytellers but not writers. These are the kids who draw Captain-Underpants-style cartoons, who craft meticulous Minecraft universes, and who plot elaborate Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but who believe that ‘writing’ is limited to five-paragraph essays. But when children draw the connections between their natural storytelling proclivities and the written word, they can become self-motivated to develop the communication skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Libraries, I believe, are uniquely positioned to help children make this connection.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14
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Emily Weak writes: “Something I always hear from hiring managers is that they want to build a resilient, diverse workforce. Sometimes we say we want a resilient workforce, but what we mean is that we want staffers who are willing to go above and beyond, or to do more with less. These concepts are deeply entrenched in librarianship, but I think we’re beginning to see how they can cause problems. Instead of trying to hire people who will do more with less and who will thrive amid adversity, let’s think about resilience as an organizational feature.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.

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