Although the report focuses on 2019, libraries are shown to be on the front lines addressing societal and community challenges—a role they are certainly playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many libraries serve as first responders that take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2020
“That didn’t necessarily make sense to me because most public libraries are well prepared to deal with challenges,” she says, pointing to the popularity of Banned Books Week (this year September 22–28) and the array of resources OIF provides for librarians dealing with book challenges. “When I went back and looked just at public libraries, … Continue reading Censorship Beyond Books
Build your foundation The first step is to be an excellent educator. Your lessons should foster “opportunities for learners to demonstrate personal curiosity and creation of knowledge” and “support the diverse developmental, cultural, social, and linguistic needs” represented in your community, according to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National School Library Standards for … Continue reading Up to the Challenge
Telgemeier has also written two fictional graphic novels (Drama and Ghosts), four illustrated adaptions of The Baby-Sitters Club series, and the new interactive journal Share Your Smile. American Libraries spoke with Telgemeier about her creative process, how graphic novelists became champions for unrepresented voices in publishing, and her advice for aspiring artists. You wrote two … Continue reading Newsmaker: Raina Telgemeier
Pilkey struggled with dyslexia and ADHD as a child. But being encouraged by his mother to read whatever he liked—”it didn’t matter if it was a magazine, or a comic book, or a bunch of Snoopy cartoons, or the Guinness Book of World Records,” he says—changed his life. He started drawing his Captain Underpants character … Continue reading Newsmaker: Dav Pilkey
The report finds that library workers are on the front lines addressing community challenges. Many serve as first responders who take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as career counselors, social workers, teachers, and technology instructors, library staffers give special care to adopt programs … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2019
This year’s Banned Books Week is September 23–29. 416 Number of books banned or challenged in 2017, according to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). 100,000 Number of copies that Angie Thomas’s young adult novel, The Hate U Give, printed in its first month. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoree, about … Continue reading By the Numbers: Banned Books Week
Yet these revelations and incidents lead to troublesome, difficult questions: What should we do about the books these authors have written? Do we remove them from circulation or pledge to no longer purchase them? Do we keep them on the shelves as if nothing has changed? Do we owe something to our patrons, our colleagues, … Continue reading How Should Libraries Respond to #MeToo?
During this time of rapid social change, libraries of all types are providing welcoming spaces to an increasingly diverse population; working with the community to offer social service support and health resources, career, and small business development assistance; and combating fake news by providing tools to assess and evaluate news sources. The function of libraries … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2018
Attendees captured on camera, counterclockwise from top: Chelsea Johnson, librarian at Marshall (Mich.) District Library, tries her hand at steering a drone through an obstacle course. Jos Holman, county librarian at Tippecanoe County (Ind.) Public Library, reads from The Inner City Mother Goose at Stand for the Banned, a banned books readout. Alison Griffin (left), … Continue reading Bookend: Conference Candids
The term “fake news” is recent, but the skills needed to evaluate information are not. Librarians provide users with expertise and the training needed to evaluate the quality of information in all formats. The report shows that the library community continues to share best practices to help fuel efforts to combat disinformation. With the massive … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2017
This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in the ALA’s The State of America’s Libraries 2016 report, released April 11 in recognition of National Library Week, April 10–16. The report shows that libraries of all types add value in five key areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and engagement. Local and national … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2016
