Black History Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Members of an African drum and dance ensemble lead patrons in a performance routine as part of Richland Library's day-long Black History Month Fair on January 28, 2017. Photo: Richland Library

Every Month is Black History Month

By Quincy Pugh | March 1, 2018

Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina, needed a better way to reach its African-American community. Quincy Pugh, film and sound manager, explains how the decision to celebrate black history year-round and start “I Have a Problem with That”—a series of panel discussions that address challenging social issues—has boosted program attendance and engagement among its target … Continue reading Every Month is Black History Month →

Jessie Carney Smith in 1965, her first year as a university librarian at Fisk University in Nashville.

Blazing Trails

By Greg Landgraf | January 2, 2018

American Libraries spoke with five leading African-American librarians about their careers, the changes they have witnessed over the decades, and the current issues in librarianship. While no two people have the same story, all five interviewees note inclusivity as an important theme. They discuss libraries as safe havens, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the … Continue reading Blazing Trails →

Chicago Public Library Reference Librarian Lawanda Miller (left) and Archivist Tracy Drake at the National Conference of African American Librarians in Atlanta August 12.

Sparking Interest in Archives and History

By Amanda Davis | August 14, 2017

Katrina Spencer, literatures and cultures librarian at Middlebury College in Vermont, spoke on the topic of silences and erasures in black history in her presentation, “How to Get Youth to Sign Up for Blackness: Black History Month and Beyond.” She began by saying, “It’s going to be biased; it’s going to be personal,” then related … Continue reading Sparking Interest in Archives and History →

Former Broward County (Fla.) Library Director Samuel F. Morrison stands next to a replica of himself. It stands at the entrance of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.

This Former Library Director Is Beside Himself

By Alison Marcotte | October 9, 2015

Morrison, who received his master’s in library science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, became director of the Broward County library system in 1990 and retired in 2003. As director, he began campaigning to build AARLCC, and in 2002, the 60,000-square-foot facility opened as a branch of Broward County Library. Its collection of books, … Continue reading This Former Library Director Is Beside Himself →

Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection

By Sarah Hunter | February 5, 2015

Need to refresh your Black History Month offerings? Here are some graphic novels, both fiction and nonfiction, that address Black History in dynamic, engaging ways. For Adults: Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White By Lila Quintero Weaver. Illus. by the author. 2012. Univ. of Alabama, paper, $24.95 (9780817357146). Perry County, Alabama, was a hotbed … Continue reading Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection →

Latest Library Links

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Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani officially opened the new Qatar National Library in Doha on April 17 and symbolically presented its one-millionth acquisition, an 843-year-old manuscript copy of Sahih al-Bukhari. The building was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’s firm, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The 42,000-square-meter facility, conceived as a single room that houses both people and books, also serves as a public library and university library.

Designboom, Apr. 17
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Craig Silverman writes: “Technology to trick our eyes and ears is advancing rapidly. This ObamaPeele video was created using another emerging technology: FakeApp. Part of the process for creating this video involved taking an original video of Barack Obama and pasting Jordan Peele’s mouth into it. It looked really clumsy at first. But things got remarkably better the longer FakeApp was left to process a more believable blend. Here are some basic tips you can follow to ensure you don’t get fooled easily.”

BuzzFeed, Apr. 17
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The Institute of Library and Museum Services has awarded YALSA a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant to work with the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies to train 11,000 library staff in all 50 states and 5 US territories. Building on the ALA Ready to Code Initiative, the grant will provide professional development to librarians so they can help prepare teens for computational thinking. The grant is one of 42 totaling $10.4 million to support libraries across the US.

Institue of Museum and Library Services, Apr. 18
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United for Libraries has awarded its 2018 Thriftbooks Friend Conference Grant to Jennifer Kaminski, secretary of the Friends of the Daviess County (Ky.) Public Library. Kaminski will receive $850 plus full conference registration to attend the 2018 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.

United for Libraries, Apr. 17
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Peter Pearson, lead consultant and cofounder of Library Strategies Consulting Group, was elected 2019–2020 president of United for Libraries. Pearson will serve as vice-president/president-elect during 2018–2019 and will assume the presidency in July 2019. As president of the Friends of the Saint Paul (Minn.) Public Library, he led three capital campaigns and coordinated an annual grassroots advocacy campaign that added millions of dollars of public funding to the library’s budget.

United for Libraries, Apr. 17
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Diana Haneski, library media specialist at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Yvonne Cech, director of the Brookfield (Conn.) Library and a former library media specialist at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, have been awarded the 2018 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity. Haneski and Cech will receive a cash prize and an object from Daniel Handler’s private collection during the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.

Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 17
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Christina Dorr, media specialist at Weaver Middle School in Hilliard, Ohio, has been named the 2018 winner of ALA’s Scholastic Library Publishing Award. The award recognizes a librarian whose contribution to the stimulation and guidance of reading by children and young people exemplifies outstanding achievement in the profession. Dorr was cited for her series of videos made for the Ohio Educational Library Media Association that demonstrate strategies to use when reading aloud with children.

Office of ALA Governance, Apr. 17

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