Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard Law School professor and cofounder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, urged attendees to first define the core purpose of libraries in his “Creativity, Innovation, and Change: Libraries Transform in the Digital Age” presentation. “The book as we know it, as an artifact,” he declared, “is on its way out.” … Continue reading Midwinter 2016 Wrap-Up
The Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat who fought for the US in the American Revolutionary War, is a ubiquitous but overlooked character in American history. He touched many significant events, people, and places: the Revolution, Herman Melville, Marie Antoinette, and also our modern parks, cities, and roads. The name “Lafayette” is everywhere in the US, … Continue reading On the Road with Lafayette
Your most recent book is a fascinating look at the Underground Railroad and antislavery networks of pre–Civil War New York City. Explain how you came across the document that shed new light on these events. ERIC FONER: It was totally accidental. Madeline Lewis, an undergraduate history major at Columbia who also worked for my family … Continue reading Newsmaker: Eric Foner
American Libraries: How significant were libraries when you were growing up in Ohio? JON MUTH: The local library was on the way to my elementary school, about two blocks from my house. I would go every Thursday with my class, but my mother and great-grandmother would also take me on other days, and then sometimes … Continue reading Zen and the Art of Jon Muth
Art historian, curator, and Harvard professor Sarah Lewis began her keynote to the roomful of librarians by saying that at age 8, she and her sister “Dewey decimaled” the entire collection of books at their apartment while their mom had stepped out. Lewis, author of the acclaimed debut book The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of … Continue reading Sarah Lewis: The Art of Striving
“A group of us who knew each other gathered spontaneously outside of the room after the talk and just got jazzed about it and said, ‘We really should do something,’” says Sue Wilsey, communication manager at the Helen Plum Memorial Library in Lombard, Illinois. What resulted was the Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project, … Continue reading Soon to Be … Awarded
American Libraries: You made headlines last year by giving $1 million dollars in small grants to independent bookstores, and now you’re doing the same for school libraries. The problems bookstores are facing are well known, but school libraries haven’t received as much national attention. Why did you decide to focus on school libraries? That’s exactly … Continue reading Newsmaker: James Patterson
When you began writing Outlander, you didn’t think anyone would ever see it, but you shared some of what you wrote on literary forums. Can you talk about what role the online literary community played for you as a novelist starting out? I started showing people a bit of what I was doing on [a … Continue reading Newsmaker: Diana Gabaldon
I know you’re not supposed to ask this of writers, but how’s the current book going? Slowly! It’s never good for me to stop and start, and with this book I’ve had to do that several times. Two years off to write and produce the Tiger Eyes movie. Months away from it for other reasons. But … Continue reading Newsmaker: Judy Blume
Among Sweet’s awards are a Caldecott Honor for A River of Words (Eerdmans, 2008) and, more recently, a 2014 Sibert Honor for A Splash of Red (Knopf), which was announced at the January 27 Youth Media Awards. Video: Melissa Sweet on the Influence of Libraries See, hear, and read more about what’s going on … Continue reading Interview with Melissa Sweet
