It’s maddening that so few people outside the library profession—even those we work with—see what is going on. But unfortunately, it’s not surprising. These days, news events reported across too many platforms compete for our limited time and attention. As local news outlets diminish, so does reporting on community events like school or public library … Continue reading Let’s Get Loud
The four-day hybrid conference, now in its third year, is designed by and for authors, publishers, booksellers, and librarians. The first day of programming covered two curated tracks: “Libraries Are Essential” and “Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities in Conversation.” The tracks addressed several common themes, including how librarians are experiencing burnout as a result … Continue reading Standing Together
In summer 2021, several parents and community members challenged a handful of books at the school, including the memoir Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. In response, Kirtley and about 40 of her peers met that fall at a student-run social justice club to discuss how to respond. They made plans to attend the next school … Continue reading Meeting The Challenge
Thomas continues to champion Black narratives through new and numerous projects, including a TV show currently in production with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground media company. The show will be based on Blackout (Quill Tree Books, 2021), an anthology she cowrote with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. … Continue reading Newsmaker: Angie Thomas
I looked out at the crowd and—understanding both the weight of the moment and where the conversation was taking place—I commented on the connection between attempted book banning today and the McCarthy-era attempts at cultural disenfranchisement. The rationale behind these attempts is the same: silencing people who are errantly believed to be aberrations. I said … Continue reading Reading for Our Lives
Yang, now a bestselling and award-winning middle-grade and YA author, spent her childhood moving from city to city, making it difficult to find her footing. But everywhere she went, she could find familiar stories and characters at the library. “Books became my friends, but most importantly, the library became my home,” Yang says. “It was … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kelly Yang
The American Library Association (ALA) condemns—in the strongest terms possible—the violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation that are increasingly taking place in America’s libraries, including last week’s bomb threats to Hilton Central School District in New York, which put the lives of hundreds of innocent children and staff members in jeopardy. ALA … Continue reading ALA Condemns Ongoing Threats against Libraries
When talking about the fight for justice, fairness, and equity, the fruits of our labor are often not seen within a lifetime. We must trust that our efforts will lay the path for those who follow, so that their resistance builds communities of love and strength that we may never be able to witness or … Continue reading ‘Resistance Is Its Own Reward’
At ALA’s second-annual LibLearnX, presenters shared different approaches and a refreshed outlook for dealing with the swell of book bans and censorship attempts happening across the country. Authors and illustrators took to the stage to offer stories of hope and struggle and showed the power of centering narratives from those who are Black, Indigenous, and … Continue reading 2023 LibLearnX Wrap-Up
“This is the obstacle we face—and money and time is not something libraries have a lot of,” said Peter Coyl, director and CEO of Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library, at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans on January 29. “If you’re experiencing lots of challenges, it’s possible that it’s something that’s … Continue reading Same Fight, New Tactics
But what about those libraries that leverage their marketing platforms to head challenges off at the pass? What does it look like when members of the profession decide not to back down? At “No More Neutral: How to Use Marketing to Position Your Library in Challenging Times,” a January 28 session at the American Library … Continue reading Market Your Strengths
Uniting against censorship attempts Organized book challenges continued to proliferate. From January through August, 681 attempts to ban or restrict library materials had been made in the US, with 1,651 unique titles targeted. In response to mounting censorship threats, ALA announced in May its Unite Against Book Bans campaign, a coalition with more than 60 … Continue reading 2022 Year in Review
