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Jabba the Hutt figurine from the Nicholas A. Salerno Star Wars Collection at Arizona State University

By the Numbers: Literary Phoenix

By Megan Bennett | January 2, 2025

American Library Association’s LibLearnX Conference in Phoenix will take place Jan. 24–27. 28,000 Number of Indigenous artists represented in the Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives (BJBLA), located within the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Like the museum, BJBLA’s holdings include traditional and contemporary American Indian artists’ art, written works, and biographical information. $500 Amount that … Continue reading By the Numbers: Literary Phoenix →

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 →

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 →

Conversations with Holocaust Survivors

By Sally Stieglitz | July 2, 2024

In 1993, director Steven Spielberg told the story of Oskar Schindler, a German factory worker who became an unlikely hero. Spielberg’s experiences working with survivors on set served as the genesis for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which today is the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. It is … Continue reading Conversations with Holocaust Survivors →

A photo of a piece of sheet music from University of Michigan's collection of Thomas Edison's sheet music.

By the Numbers: Inventors

By Megan Bennett | May 1, 2024

May is National Inventors Month 135,850 Number of items in the Edison Sheet Music Collection, housed at University of Michigan Library in Ann Arbor. Thomas Edison, who invented the phonograph in 1877, spearheaded this collection as a way for his phonograph company to select vocal and instrumental scores to record. 44 Number of agricultural bulletins … Continue reading By the Numbers: Inventors →

Kathleen Donahoe, robot archive processing archivist at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), poses with a selection of robots in CMU's archive.

Bookend: Completing the Circuit

By Carrie Smith | March 1, 2024

How do you archive a robot? This is the question that Kathleen Donahoe, robot archive processing archivist at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Libraries in Pittsburgh, and a team of archivists, roboticists, and preservation experts seek to answer through the Robotics Project, which launched in 2019. “There are just so many layers to how a robotics … Continue reading Bookend: Completing the Circuit →

By the Numbers: Literary Baltimore

By Megan Bennett | January 2, 2024

ALA’s 2024 LibLearnX conference will be held January 19–22 in Baltimore. 1882 Year that Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) in Baltimore was founded. Six years after ALA’s founding, EPFL received its initial funding from local businessman and philanthropist Enoch Pratt. The system now has 22 locations across the city. 1992 Year that Atomic Books—an independent … Continue reading By the Numbers: Literary Baltimore →

Anna Kresmer, holding a title from the B&O Railroad Museum research library, poses in front of a 19th century locomotive.

Bookend: Keeping Track

By Megan Bennett | January 2, 2024

“It really [was] a seismic culture shift,” Kresmer says. “We call it the moonshot. We liken it to the internet, how it had that kind of change on people.” Kresmer analyzes and catalogs materials, supports exhibit development, and oversees BORM’s research library, home to more than 5,000 titles. Locomotives aside, BORM’s collection—including its archives, library, … Continue reading Bookend: Keeping Track →

Philip Espe stands in a room with filing cabinets in the background. He is in a red US Marine Band uniform holding a stack of sheet music. Various pieces of music, memorability, and children's books are arranged on the table in front of him.

Bookend: Marching Full Circle

By Carrie Smith | November 1, 2023

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 →

Photo of Rosie Grant with one of the gravestone recipes she created for her @ghostlyarchive account

Bookend: Recipe in Peace

By Megan Bennett | September 1, 2023

“Food connects us to someone we miss,” says Rosie Grant, digital librarian for American Jewish University in Los Angeles and outreach and communications manager at UCLA. “It connects all of our senses to that person or memory.” Grant, who is known as @ghostlyarchive on TikTok, went viral last year for trying recipes etched on gravestones … Continue reading Bookend: Recipe in Peace →

Photo of Salt Lake City Public Library's community garden.

By the Numbers: Gardening

By Megan Bennett | June 1, 2023

71 Number of institutions recognized by the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries. These libraries are often housed within public gardens, arboretums, or universities around the world. 2004 Year the first seed library opened in a public library. Hudson Valley Seed Library—which has since evolved into Hudson Valley Seed Company, selling seeds and garden-themed art—got … Continue reading By the Numbers: Gardening →

Bookend: At the Heart of Medical History

By Phil Morehart | June 1, 2023

“It’s not a traditional library,” says Michelle Rinard, referring to the museum’s Thorek Manuscripts and Rare Books Collection. As curator and manager of exhibitions and development, Rinard stewards the library—home to more than 1,000 volumes of medical books, journals, illustrations, letters, and manuscripts dating from the 16th century to the present. Among the collection’s rare … Continue reading Bookend: At the Heart of Medical History →

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Clare Starkey, Haley Lykins, and Kelli Hansen write: “In the spring of 2024, Special Collections at the University of Missouri [in Columbia] hosted a series of field trips for every sixth grader in the local public school district, more than 1,300 students. This workshop gave students a chance to experience ancient writing technologies from across Africa and Asia while interacting with primary sources, to complement the school curriculum on ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. This post will cover the advantages and pitfalls of hands-on teaching on a large scale, and strategies to make the most of a shoestring budget and a small staff.”

TPS Collective, Jan. 2
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Bianca Schweighofer and Julia Bartlewski write: “The transition to open access has increased the visibility of scholarly work, but understanding and managing publication costs remains complex. Shifting from subscription-based to fee-based or institution-financed models fundamentally changes processes, financial flows, and the roles of stakeholders. Additionally, the lack of cost transparency from publishers poses significant challenges for institutions and researchers, who often face hidden or unclear fees, making budgeting and financial planning more complicated. Our project, openCost, addresses this issue head-on.”

Katina, Dec. 18
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Elizabeth Kaye Cook and Melanie Jennings write: “Literary fiction is dead. Or, so we’ve been told. It’s convenient to assume that readers are to blame for killing literary fiction. But what has actually occurred is death by committee. Mirroring many other American industries, publishing has followed the path of consolidation, starting when Random House bought Knopf in 1960. The result is a monopsony, a market dominated by only a few buyers. Publishing houses used to have blood feuds, much to the benefit of literature writ large. But monopolies are always sedate, always predictable.”

Persuasion, Dec. 19
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Becky Spratford writes: “I have a goal I think all of us need to consider adding to our 2025 to-do lists. We are terrible at communicating what we do and why we are important. People outside the library world do not understand how important our work is. I want you to start speaking out about how great we are before people try to attack you. I want you to do it in 2025 but then keep doing it, on a regular basis going forward.”

RA for All, Dec. 23
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Annmarie Timmins writes: “Gov. Chris Sununu withdrew his choice for state librarian over concerns about the nominee’s public opposition to book censorship. In arguing against library restrictions, nominee Mindy Atwood was advocating a mainstream position held by many in her field, including the New Hampshire Library Association and American Library Association. The governor’s reversal demonstrates just how perilously divisive that stance has become for some conservative and religious groups. [Incoming Governor] Kelly Ayotte is likely to face similar pressures to choose someone who can earn the support of the Republican-led Executive Council.”

New Hampshire Public Radio, Dec. 17
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Robin Camille Davis writes: “So you want to hear from real people who use your library! There are many user research methods to choose from. Interviews let you get at the why and the how, not just the what. You could easily use surveys to ask a large number of your users which library services they use. But only an interview can tell you why your patrons seem to use virtual references services often but never the in-person information desk.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Jan. 6
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Katherine Knox writes: “Linked data is a system of organizing information with the goal of making it easier to share and find new information, something which is very appealing to libraries. But methodologies for cataloging library materials are very slow to change. Converting libraries to a linked data system is complicated. Catalogers typically don’t have the capacity, authority, or software to test out new cataloging methods. Not all integrated library service discovery platforms used by public libraries have incorporated linked data into their search results. Nevertheless, libraries around the world are converting to linked data, especially archival repositories.”

Public Libraries Online, Jan. 6

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