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A collection of headshots of the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

Meet the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

By Chase Ollis | January 17, 2023

“Even in these unprecedented times, and as our nation’s library workers face historic levels of intimidation and harassment due to an ongoing wave of book censorship, librarians continue to empower their patrons, teach critical literacy skills, promote inclusion in their space and collections, and provide vital services for their communities,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani‘opua … Continue reading Meet the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees →

2023 LibLearnX Preview

By Alison Marcotte | January 3, 2023

Designed for active learning, the conference will offer more than 120 educational sessions in various formats, created by and for library professionals. Additionally, LibLearnX sees the return of ALA’s Symposium on the Future of Libraries, as well as an all-new Governance Institute geared toward prospective leaders. This preview represents a sampling of the sessions that … Continue reading 2023 LibLearnX Preview →

2022 ALA Award Winners

September 1, 2022

Winners were honored at a ceremony and reception held June 26 at ALA’s 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. This selection represents only some of those recognized in 2022; for a complete list, visit ala.org/awardsgrants. Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award Lessa Kanani‘opua Pelayo-Lozada Pelayo-Lozada, who now serves as ALA president, has … Continue reading 2022 ALA Award Winners →

Image features the many books that have won the Newbery Medal over the last 100 years in a colorful, grid-like pattern.

A Celebration of the Newbery Medal

June 1, 2022

In “100 Years of the Newbery Medal,” we look at the legacy, challenges, and future of this distinguished award for children’s books. Taylor Hartz talks with former and current Newbery Award Selection Committee members about the honor and responsibility of picking a winner. In “Newbery Firsts,” we explore important milestones—and archival photographs—from the award’s first … Continue reading A Celebration of the Newbery Medal →

Fenton T. Newbery (located at left), a direct descendent of John Newbery, watches author Arthur Bowie Chrisman receive the 1926 Newbery Medal for Shen of the Sea from Nina C. Brotherton, chair of ALA’s Children’s Librarians Section. Frederic G. Melcher (located at right), who instituted the Newbery Medal, looks on. Photo from the ALA Archives.

100 Years of the Newbery Medal

By Taylor Hartz | June 1, 2022

Appropriately, the Newbery Medal, the world’s first children’s book award, is named for the man credited with publishing the first children’s book. In 1744, John Newbery, a British bookseller, published A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, a book of simple rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. The book often came with a gift—a ball or a … Continue reading 100 Years of the Newbery Medal →

From left, Lois Lowry, Cynthia Kadohata, Tae Keller, and Jerry Craft.

Winner’s Circle

By Diana Panuncial | June 1, 2022

American Libraries interviewed Jerry Craft, Cynthia Kadohata, Tae Keller, and Lois Lowry about their past Newbery Medals in honor of the award’s 100th anniversary. Jerry Craft Recipient of the 2020 Newbery Medal for New Kid How did you react when you learned you had won the Newbery Medal? At 6:42 a.m., the phone rang. I … Continue reading Winner’s Circle →

Newbery Firsts

By Taylor Hartz | June 1, 2022

1922 The first Newbery Medal is awarded to The Story of Mankind, written and illustrated by Dutch American historian and journalist Hendrik Willem van Loon. 1928 Dhan Gopal Mukerji becomes the first person of color and the first Asian American author to win the Newbery. Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon is set in his … Continue reading Newbery Firsts →

2022 Youth Media Award Winners

January 24, 2022

A list of all the 2022 award winners follows: John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: The Last Cuentista, written by Donna Barba Higuera, is the 2022 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Levine Querido. Four Newbery Honor Books also were named: Red, White, and Whole, written by Rajani … Continue reading 2022 Youth Media Award Winners →

2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

January 23, 2022

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (Little, Brown and Company) by Tom Lin as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (Random House) by Hanif Abdurraqib as the winner of the … Continue reading 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced →

Composite of headshots of the 2022 I Love My Librarian honorees

Meet the 2022 I Love My Librarian Award Winners

By Chase Ollis | January 10, 2022

“Even in these unprecedented times, our nation’s librarians continue to empower their patrons, promote inclusion in their spaces and collections, and provide essential services for their communities,” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong in a statement. “Congratulations to this year’s I Love My Librarian Award winners, who impact the lives of those they serve … Continue reading Meet the 2022 I Love My Librarian Award Winners →

2021 ALA Award Winners

September 1, 2021

Joint Council of Librarians of Color Equality Award The Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC) was the unanimous choice of the award jury. Formed in 2015 as a nonprofit affiliate of ALA, JCLC comprises five national associations representing people of color in the library and information profession: the American Indian Library Association, the Asian/Pacific … Continue reading 2021 ALA Award Winners →

Students compete in the Virtual Library InfoLit Race Challenge at Nazarbayev University Library in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

2021 International Innovators

By Phil Morehart | July 8, 2021

The citations began as an initiative of former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Presented by the International Relations Round Table, the awards recognize exemplary services and projects that draw attention to libraries that are creating positive change, demonstrating sustainability, and providing a model for others. The winners are Nazarbayev University Library in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan; Red … Continue reading 2021 International Innovators →

Latest Library Links

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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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Elisabeth B. White writes: “How can librarians ensure their instruction materials are as accessible as possible? One way is through Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, a set of best practices to improve teaching and learning and create inclusive and equitable educational experiences for all students. The guidelines include three principles that instructors must provide via multiple means: engagement (the ‘why’ of learning), representation (the ‘what’ of learning), and action and expression (the ‘how’ of learning). However, to create a truly equitable educational experience, school library workers need to consider accessibility principles as well.”

American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.

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