Association of College and Research Libraries Archives | Page 4 of 5

Michelle Baildon, collections strategist for arts and humanities and a science, technology, and society librarian, presented a poster March 23 at ACRL titled “Creating a Social Justice Mindset.”

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Dispatches from ACRL

By John Amundsen | March 24, 2017

Incorporating social justice into the academic library What would it look like if academic libraries incorporated more equity, diversity, and inclusion into their everyday work? Members of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DISJ) task force of the MIT Libraries’ Collections Directorate have explored this question, looking at library activities—including archives, technical services, collection development, … Continue reading Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Dispatches from ACRL →

Data journalist David McCandless keynotes at the 2017 ACRL conference in Baltimore.

The Importance and Beauty of Information

By Amy Carlton | March 23, 2017

ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis began the proceedings by emphasizing ACRL’s mission of covering the trends and issues in academic and research librarianship and higher education. Davis said the conference was ACRL’s largest to date, with more than 3,400 attendees from 29 countries and all 50 states. American Library Association President Julie B. Todaro’s … Continue reading The Importance and Beauty of Information →

Information Literacy

By Karen Muller | November 1, 2016

If libraries are a cornerstone of our democracy, librarians are the key to their riches. Librarians are also the key to enabling library users to unlock those riches on their own, whether through one-time bibliographic instruction or a more embedded form of instruction—information literacy. At its January 2016 meeting, the board of directors of the … Continue reading Information Literacy →

Amy Wainright, LMaO co-convener, encouraged new members to join the LMaO Facebook group

Overflowing Interest in Outreach

By Erika L. Jenns | January 10, 2016

As a relatively new group, much of the discussion at the session was focused on reaching existing and potential members. The group has a discussion list, acr-iglmo@lists.ala.org, as well as a Facebook page, both of which co-convener Amy Wainright encouraged all attendees to join. The group falls under the ACRL umbrella, but not all members … Continue reading Overflowing Interest in Outreach →

Attendees at the Collection Development Discussion Group

Collaboration and Competition in Collection Development

By Erika L. Jenns | January 10, 2016

To start the discussion, Priddle asked attendees to discuss any new or interesting collections, either at their own institutions or that they had heard about elsewhere. Lois Black, the special collections curator at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, mentioned a donation of 1,100 volumes from an alumnus to her institution. The donation was comprised largely … Continue reading Collaboration and Competition in Collection Development →

Beth Kilmarx (left) and Charlotte Priddle, RBMS Curators and Conservators Discussion Group co-conveners

Just Lines in a Spreadsheet?

By Erika L. Jenns | January 10, 2016

Nearly every special collections repository sends some items to an offsite storage facility. As a result, curators and conservators are dealing with issues related to access to and transport for those materials on an almost daily basis. When attendees were asked to raise a hand if their institution sent special collections materials, manuscript or print, … Continue reading Just Lines in a Spreadsheet? →

The many faces of the librarian stereotype. Illustration: Rebecca Lomax and Vlada Young/Shutterstock

The Stereotype Stereotype

By Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos | October 30, 2015

The answers lie in understanding the history of stereotypes in our profession and also in looking outside the profession to larger social conditions. We cannot separate our understanding of library stereotypes from the history of librarianship that influenced their development in the first place. Librarians are not explicitly responsible for the creation and perpetuation of … Continue reading The Stereotype Stereotype →

Open Access Publishing

By Marcus Banks | September 8, 2015

“I really believe open access is not a passing fad,” Mary Ellen Davis, executive director of ALA’s Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) division, told an open-access panel at the American Historical Association’s 2014 annual meeting. “I believe open access is a durable feature of the landscape of scholarly communication.” ACRL made its scholarly … Continue reading Open Access Publishing →

Get Published

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | June 29, 2015

The four panelists, representing authors, editors, and publishers, emphasized the importance of timelines. “Time management and project management is a big deal,” said Brad Eden, dean of library services at Valparaiso (Ind.) University. A timeline for editing a book needs to factor in calls for proposals, giving authors deadlines, and establishing the editor’s own deadline … Continue reading Get Published →

Between 1993–2012, average student debt rose from $9,450 to $29,400. Additionally, the number of seniors graduating with loans has increased from 47% to 71%.

In College, Time Is Money

By David L. Eisler and Scott Garrison | April 2, 2015

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, from 1993 to 2012, average student debt rose from $9,450 to $29,400. Additionally, the number of seniors graduating with loans has increased from 47% to 71%. Data for heads of households under 40 years of age shows that student debt results in higher levels of credit … Continue reading In College, Time Is Money →

Lawrence Lessig Wraps Up ACRL 2015 in Portland

By Laurie D. Borman | March 29, 2015

Lessig spoke on three themes: the impact of a few big givers to political campaigns and how that corrupts the political process, net neutrality, and open access. He called all of these themes an “equality fight” that librarians should embrace as part of their profession. Lessig compared the current political campaign fundraising and process to … Continue reading Lawrence Lessig Wraps Up ACRL 2015 in Portland →

ACRL 2015 in Portland: Sunny Skies, Serious Conversation

By Laurie D. Borman | March 28, 2015

Safiya Umoja Noble, assistant professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, talked about how search-engine bias affects women and girls negatively in her presentation, “Searching for Girls: Identity for Sale in the Age of Google.” “What I’m asking us to think about today is: What does it cost us more broadly … Continue reading ACRL 2015 in Portland: Sunny Skies, Serious Conversation →

Latest Library Links

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Libraries have a long history of helping to deliver on a wide variety of development goals, from literacy and school readiness to research productivity and urban cohesion. Their unique potential has been recognized not just by the governments or others that traditionally fund them, but also by a range of other funders, private and public alike. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has created a dataset to help librarians easily discover examples of private philanthropic grants, as well as other funding sources, that other libraries have been able to leverage.”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Apr. 22
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Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
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ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
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In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
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Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15

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