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A 23-foot statue stands at a central spot on the Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi. The state's Institutions of Higher Learning board will determine whether to relocate the monument to a Confederate cemetery, also on campus.

A Monumental Debate: Addressing Controversial Namesakes

By Timothy Inklebarger | February 4, 2020

In this multipart series, American Libraries presents case studies and interviews with thought leaders looking at research trends in academic libraries. We’ll be covering the topics of social justice, information literacy, digital archives, faculty outreach, and new technology. This is the sixth story in the series. It’s been more than two years since the university chose … Continue reading A Monumental Debate: Addressing Controversial Namesakes →

Above, a Congolese immigrant waves to the camera in a screenshot from a home movie archived by Home Made Visible. Below, metadata is collected for a photo submitted to Los Angeles Public Library's Mobile Memory Lab. Screenshot: Home Made Visible; Photo: Los Angeles Public Library

Uncovering the Past

By Lauren Emily Whalen | January 2, 2020

Caught on old home movies, each image offers an intriguing glimpse of a specific community. But if those movies stay trapped on dusty VHS tapes or forgotten reels of 8-millimeter film, their stories—and those of the populations they belong to—stay hidden. That’s why some libraries in the United States and Canada are offering patrons the … Continue reading Uncovering the Past →

Creating Accessibility within LGBTQ Collections

By Brooke Morris-Chott | August 8, 2019

Linda J. Long, curator of manuscripts in special collections and university archives at University of Oregon Libraries, provided background on the history and politics of archiving LGBTQ collections and examined the roadblocks that have impeded the accessibility of these collections. University of Montana Digital Archivist Erin Baucom discussed how the use of language incompatible with … Continue reading Creating Accessibility within LGBTQ Collections →

Archiving Controversial Digital Materials

By Brooke Morris-Chott | August 8, 2019

Presenters explored how current events are captured in collections and archives and the effect that collecting controversial and sensitive materials has on patrons and staff. Jennifer Weintraub, librarian and archivist for digital initiatives at Harvard’s Schlesinger Library, opened with a discussion on the #MeToo Digital Media Collection project from the History of Women in America … Continue reading Archiving Controversial Digital Materials →

SAA 2019: Building New Traditions

By Brooke Morris-Chott | August 8, 2019

Francesca Marini, programming and outreach librarian at TAMU’s Cushing Memorial Library and Archives (CMLA), moderated the session and gave the introductory presentation, providing background information about CMLA’s efforts and collections. Beginning with a brief history of some of the racism at the university, Greg Bailey, university archivist, provided a historical timeline of the integration of … Continue reading SAA 2019: Building New Traditions →

Saving Your Digital Life

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2019

Katlin Seagraves is the digital literacy associate at the Tulsa City-County Library where she manages the library’s Digital Literacy Lab. At “Save As: Preserving Your Digital Life” on June 24 at the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., Seagraves educated attendees on methods for preserving born-digital personal data like photos and social media. … Continue reading Saving Your Digital Life →

From left: Melinda Shelton, Jefferson Bailey, and Makiba Foster discuss the Community Webs archiving program at DPLAfest 2019 in Chicago. Photo: Carrie Smith/American Libraries

Community Collaboration at DPLAFest 2019

By Carrie Smith | April 22, 2019

Archiving the local web In order to maintain their local collections, public libraries are looking to web archiving. “Community Webs: Empowering Public Librarians to Create Community History Web Archives” explored how two public libraries are using the Internet Archive’s Community Webs program. Jefferson Bailey, director of web archiving and data services at the Internet Archive, … Continue reading Community Collaboration at DPLAFest 2019 →

Tracie D. Hall (center), director of the culture program at the Joyce Foundation, moderates a discussion between danah boyd (left) and Elaine Westbrooks. Photo: Carrie Smith/American Libraries

Facing the Past, Strengthening the Commons

By Carrie Smith | April 22, 2019

DPLA has undergone changes since the nonprofit was founded nine years ago as an access point to a network of libraries’ digital holdings. Bracken emphasized that its core values would remain: collaboration; a belief in the transformational power of technology; and a commitment to being a better partner to communities, “especially those who have been … Continue reading Facing the Past, Strengthening the Commons →

Jeremy Brett, curator of Texas A&M University’s Cushing Memorial Library and Archives's Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection.

Bookend: An Archive of Ice and Fire

March 1, 2019

Martin’s relationship with Texas A&M began in the 1970s, when he first visited AggieCon, a science fiction and fantasy convention held at the university, says Jeremy Brett (right), curator of the library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection. In 1993, Martin began shipping items to the archives, which now include more than 50,000 pieces. The … Continue reading Bookend: An Archive of Ice and Fire →

Columns Society members at University of Mississippi tell visitors about the Committee on History and Context plaque placed at Barnard Observatory.

What’s in a Building Name?

By Timothy Inklebarger | March 1, 2019

With the goal of reconciliation and justice, institutions across the US are increasingly undertaking formal measures to review who they’ve memorialized—evaluating names of buildings and monuments to determine connections to white supremacy and other forms of discrimination. Unsurprisingly, university librarians and archivists are finding a role in these discussions, providing historical materials on the buildings … Continue reading What’s in a Building Name? →

Clifford Anderson, associate university librarian for research and learning, at the Vanderbilt Television News Archive.

Bookend: News to Peruse

November 1, 2018

This year the archive of more than 1.1 million abstracted segments—including the only known coverage of its kind of the Vietnam War, the Apollo spaceflight program, and Watergate—celebrates its 50th anniversary. “We want people to have an objective record of what has been broadcast,” says Clifford Anderson (pictured), associate university librarian for research and learning, … Continue reading Bookend: News to Peruse →

Judith A. Downie poses with growlers from CSUSM Library’s Brewchive. Photo: Brandon Van Zanten (Brewchive)

Tapping into Beer History

By Judith A. Downie | November 1, 2018

“Who’s collecting San Diego’s beer history?” This question—asked by Char Booth, California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Library associate dean, during a brewing science certificate proposal review in 2016—launched what would become the Brewchive at CSUSM Library. In 2018, the archive received the American Library Association’s John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award. With the … Continue reading Tapping into Beer History →

Latest Library Links

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Rodney Freeman Jr. writes: “We are living through a period of profound uncertainty and systemic challenge—where erasure of truth and history is not only possible but actively underway. History is protected by those who collect, preserve, and share the facts, and the archive becomes a battleground where every saved story is an act of resistance. The future will only remember what is preserved today, and the choice is between standing by as stories are diluted or destroyed—or fighting for the record, for the archive, and for the truth with steady, everyday work that anyone can participate in.”

Common Dreams, Nov. 2
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John Herrman writes: “Drawing on a new global survey of 250,000 adults in 50 countries by analytics firm GWI, John Burn-Murdoch at the Financial Times provocatively argues that, amidst all the fervor about artificial intelligence, another consequential story is unfolding more quietly: ‘In years to come, we may well look back on September 2025 as the point at which social media jumped the shark and began rapidly accelerating its transition from the place to be seen,’ he writes, ‘to a gaudy backwater of the internet inhabited by those with nothing better to do.’”

New York Magazine: Intelligencer, Nov. 10; Financial Times, Oct. 3
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While there were relatively few local elections in the US November 4, several that were held delivered good news for libraries. Washington County, Oregon, approved a library levy increase from 22 to 37 mills. School board members who had supported book bans lost in Cypress-Fairbanks (Tex.) Independent School District. In Ohio, 18 of 20 public library levies passed, and voters rejected several school board incumbents who ran on culture-war issues including banning books. In Pine-Richland School District in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, a slate of candidates opposing the school board’s new policy giving themselves power to add or remove library books, won the majority of board seats.

OregonLive, Nov. 5; Houston Press Nov. 5; Cleveland.com, Nov. 5; Signal Ohio, Nov. 10; TribLive (Pittsburgh), Mar. 18, Nov. 5
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For the first time since 2018, ALA will host the National Library Legislative Day February 25–26, 2026. The event will combine advocacy education, networking, and in-person meetings with legislators and congressional staff. Interested participants must complete an interest form by December 12 to be considered, as capacity is limited to 235 people and ALA is working to ensure equitable state representation. During the February 25 training portion, participants will share advocacy stories, learn from policy experts, and strategize for meetings on Capitol Hill the next day.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 10
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Corey Halaychik writes: “Libraries have long been the backbone of academic and public access to knowledge. But over time, we have handed over too much control to vendors—companies that provide us with books, databases, discovery systems, and other essential services. If we continue down this path, we risk losing our ability to shape the future of information access. But libraries don’t have to be passive consumers of vendor products. We can be creators, leaders, and innovators. The question is: Are we ready to take that step?”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Nov. 7
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Amanda Jones, the Livingston Parish (La.) school librarian who became one of the first librarians to sue book-banning activists for defamation after relentless assaults on her character, has received an apology from one of the critics who accused her of giving inappropriate materials to children. Jones settled her lawsuit against Ryan Thames, who operates the Bayou State of Mind Facebook page, for $1 and an apology, in which he acknowledged that his claims about her were not true.

Louisiana Voice, Nov. 3; American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct. 2023; Instagram, Nov. 2
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On November 5, ALA, Unite Against Book Bans, and the Interfaith Alliance launched the “Faith for Libraries: Diverse Faith Communities Supporting Libraries and Librarians” campaign to defend the freedom to read. The organizations have launched a pledge for people of faith to defend the freedom to read, and a campaign for houses of worship to send supportive postcards to their local librarians. They will also announce a major event in Chicago next year to coincide with ALA’s Annual Conference.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Nov. 5

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