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Call Number Podcast: Back in the Big Easy

January 17, 2023

In Episode 79, Call Number highlights two beloved aspects of New Orleans: its music and its food. First, American Libraries associate editor Megan Bennett speaks with library associate Joshua Smith about New Orleans Public Library’s new, free music streaming service, Crescent City Sounds. Then, members of the Call Number team and interviewees from this episode … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Back in the Big Easy →

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 Year in Review

January 3, 2023

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 →

C. Thi Nguyen, associate professor of philosophy at University of Utah in Salt Lake City, was the opening keynote speaker at the 2022 Core Forum on October 14. Photo by Jeri Gravlin.

Building Agency and Creating Value

By Brooke Morris-Chott | October 18, 2022

Game collections as ‘library of agencies’ Core Forum kicked off October 14 with “Games and Agency,” a keynote presentation from C. Thi Nguyen, associate professor of philosophy at University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The game enthusiast and former food writer spoke about the ways that our social structures and technologies shape how we … Continue reading Building Agency and Creating Value →

Ladino singer-songwriter Sarah Aroeste explains how the migration of Sephardic Jews from Spain to Macedonia and Greece informed Ladino music. Aroeste performed June 27 at the Association of Jewish Libraries Conference 2022. Photo by Sally Stieglitz.

Saving Our Stories

By Sally Stieglitz | July 1, 2022

Highlighting history In the session “Documenting History through Collections,” presenters discussed how collections tell—or exclude—stories from the past. Herb Calanes, retired director of Corpus Christi (Tex.) Public Libraries, shared his research on Sephardic Jews in northern Mexico (an area then known as Nueva España) following their 1492 expulsion from Spain. Although Sephardic families were longtime … Continue reading Saving Our Stories →

2022 Annual Conference Preview

By Greg Landgraf | June 1, 2022

In addition to the face-to-face networking opportunities that so many have missed, Annual will offer a full slate of programs, including educational sessions, author talks, exhibit hall attractions, and new ideas to shape the future of libraries. Also available is the Digital Experience, a virtual option for those who cannot attend the celebration in the … Continue reading 2022 Annual Conference Preview →

Introducing LibLearnX

By Greg Landgraf | January 3, 2022

That planning comes to fruition when LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience debuts as an online event January 21–24. (ALA’s Executive Board voted in September to cancel the planned in-person component in San Antonio because of the ongoing pandemic and surge of COVID-19 variants, as well as the size, scope, and location of the event.) LibLearnX … Continue reading Introducing LibLearnX →

Call Number episode 69: Year-End Author Chats

Call Number Podcast: Year-End Author Chats

December 27, 2021

Featured in this installment are never-before-released clips from conversations with Fox Sports analyst and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho, acclaimed writer Isabel Allende, reggae musician and philanthropist Ziggy Marley, TV host and producer Padma Lakshmi, bestselling horror author Max Brooks, Dance Theatre of Harlem alumni Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel, and lawyer and speaker Savala … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Year-End Author Chats →

ALA Announces LibLearnX Will Be Virtual

September 15, 2021

On September 15, the American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board issued a statement about transitioning LibLearnX (LLX), ALA’s upcoming conference, to a virtual-only format. The full statement follows: The American Library Association’s Executive Board announced today that LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, scheduled for January 21–24, 2022, in San Antonio, will take place virtually. “Given the … Continue reading ALA Announces LibLearnX Will Be Virtual →

Graphic reading "Annual Conference Preview"

2021 Annual Conference Preview

June 1, 2021

FEATURED SPEAKERS Check the Annual Conference Scheduler for dates and times. Opening Session Thursday, June 24, 10–11 a.m. Investigative reporter and author Nikole Hannah-Jones will open Annual Conference. Her work on the 1619 Project, The New York Times Magazine’s groundbreaking exploration of the legacy of Black Americans, won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Listen to … Continue reading 2021 Annual Conference Preview →

Talihina (Okla.) Public Library participates in Play Streets on September 7, 2017. Photo: Talihina (Okla.) Public Library

Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being

By Jamie Santoro | October 6, 2020

The event opened with a meme-filled presentation from author and librarian William Ottens (Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks) and closed with a keynote from renowned librarian and literary critic Nancy Pearl (The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, with Jeff Schwager). The sessions … Continue reading Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being →

Community and Cooperation

By Deborah Doyle | August 11, 2020

With COVID-19 and social justice in mind, keynotes and sessions introduced management tools and strategies, highlighted opportunities for organizations to pivot and imagine a different future, and explored what these changes might mean for the libraries and nonprofits that support them. Realizations and reckoning At the opening keynote session “Integrating Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity into … Continue reading Community and Cooperation →

Latest Library Links

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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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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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