Call Number Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Call Number Episode 59: Talking about Race

Call Number Podcast: Talking About Race

February 16, 2021

First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Emmanuel Acho, sports analyst for Fox Sports and former NFL linebacker (and recent Midwinter Virtual featured speaker), about his YouTube series and subsequent book Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. Next, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with Jessica Bratt, youth … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Talking About Race →

Call Number Podcast: COVID-19 Mitigation Measures

January 19, 2021

First, American Libraries Editorial and Advertising Associate Carrie Smith speaks with Sharon Streams, OCLC’s director of the REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project. A collaboration between OCLC, IMLS, and science and technology development nonprofit Battelle Memorial Institute, REALM is studying how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on materials common to libraries, archives, … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: COVID-19 Mitigation Measures →

Call Number episode 57: Year-End Author Talk, with photos of authors Julia Alvarez, Yaa Gyasi, and Chanel Miller

Call Number Podcast: Year-End Author Talk

December 18, 2020

Author, poet, and essayist Julia Alvarez, writer and artist Chanel Miller, chef Jeff Henderson, ice dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani, and writers Echo Brown and Yaa Gyasi discuss their work and reveal the important role that libraries and books have played in their lives. If you have feedback for the podcast team, call 312-857-6761 and leave … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Year-End Author Talk →

Call Number Podcast: Let Them Lead

November 13, 2020

In Episode 56, Call Number looks at library efforts to support and engage teen activism. First, American Libraries Associate Editor Sallyann Price speaks with Donnell Washington, senior library assistant at Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library, about the Better Hope for Tomorrow virtual summit for teens that he helped organize. Next, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Let Them Lead →

Call Number Podcast: Monster Mash

October 26, 2020

On Episode 55 of the newly named Call Number with American Libraries, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with Matt Ruff, author of Lovecraft Country, the bestselling horror/fantasy novel that’s been adapted into a hit HBO series of the same name. Next, American Libraries staffers reveal what frightens them the … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Monster Mash →

American Libraries Changes Podcast Name

October 26, 2020

After consulting with the American Libraries Advisory Committee, staff decided to change the podcast name to distance the magazine from the legacy of Melvil Dewey (1851–1931), a founder of the American Library Association (ALA) and inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification system, who was eventually ostracized by ALA as a result of what one librarian … Continue reading American Libraries Changes Podcast Name →

Latest Library Links

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Walker Caplan writes: “For all the fake news fearmongering of the last four years, we’re still very susceptible to myths presented as fact when they’re deployed with authority. February 7 saw the viral Facebook resurgence of a popular tweet from 2018 which claimed that in the event of a fire, all the oxygen is slurped out of Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library to preserve the library’s collection of over 1 million rare books—killing all the people inside.”

LitHub, Feb. 16
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When Penguin Random House said last year that it planned to buy Simon & Schuster for more than $2 billion, the entire publishing industry snapped to attention. The merger of two of the largest publishers in the United States—Penguin Random House is already the biggest by almost any metric—has the potential to touch every piece of the book business, including how much writers get paid, which books get priority at printing plants and how independent bookshops are run.

New York Jewish Week, Feb. 25
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Rebecca Torchia writes: “As schools across the nation shifted to distance learning—and then again to a hybrid model—library staff have taken creative approaches to foster student engagement and give students access to literature. From sharing digital resources with teachers to helping students in research projects, librarians around the country have found themselves going above and beyond to guide teachers and students at all grade levels, including in their efforts to engage and educate using technology solutions.”

Ed Tech, Feb. 25
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Researchers at Stanford University have confirmed what millions of remote workers already knew: “Zoom fatigue” causes greater stress than meeting in real life because of the “nonverbal overload” of endless video calls. A study by Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communication and founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, found that the underlying causes of Zoom fatigue include “excessive amounts of close-up eye gaze” and “increased self-evaluation from staring at video of oneself.”

Financial Times, Feb. 26
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In the latest edition of our online Letters of the Law column, lawyer-librarian Mary Minow explores nuances of meeting room policy affected by pandemic conditions, as well as privacy considerations and liability around tax season.

American Libraries column, Feb. 23
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Kelly Jensen writes: “New research from authors Rachel Noorda and Kathi Inman Berenes, both of Portland State University, published by the Panorama Project and funded by OverDrive, ALA, the Book Industry Study Group, and the Independent Book Publishers Association, explored consumer attitudes toward media and books. The findings are fascinating and insightful in exploring who is buying books, where readers are engaging with books, where and how books are being discovered, and more. Of the three age groups studied, it was millennials who engaged with books more than any other. But more specifically, it was avid Black, Latinx, and male-identifying millennials who engaged with books the most, though across all age groups, it was individuals who did not identify as white who engaged the most.”

Book Riot, Feb. 23
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Jae Thomas writes: “While supporting Black creators and getting educated on Black history and antiracism are things we all should be doing every month of the year, Black History Month is a great reminder to put even more time and energy into those pursuits. Each of these programs was made by a Black creator or educator, can be completed in the comfort of your home, and involves both historical education and contemporary tools for antiracism work.”

Mashable, Feb. 24

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