Since May, the REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project—an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)–funded collaboration between OCLC and the research and development organization Battelle—has been studying surface transmission risks of common library and museum materials. Results from the first five rounds of tests, illustrated in this infographic, show that the virus’s survival … Continue reading REALM Test Results
Libraries have been described as beacons of democracy, inclusion, and equity. As a direct result of the pandemic, we have seen that in striving to fulfill our values and serve our patrons, the very people who make up libraries—library workers—are being neglected. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people are experiencing higher death rates in this pandemic. … Continue reading Call to Action
We’re in a crisis unlike any other, so we must make time to check in with our students. Similar to the way we hold icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities in our classrooms at the beginning of each school year to familiarize ourselves with our students, we can find ways to gauge wellness and build connection amid … Continue reading Making Time to Check In
Follett Destiny User: Craig Seasholes, librarian at Dearborn Park International Elementary School in Seattle What is Destiny? Destiny is a library management system that allows cataloging, inventory, and usage reports for print and electronic resources. Destiny Discover is the student-facing catalog that allows students to log in, download electronic resources, and put holds on books. … Continue reading Remote Realities
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. About 698 per 100,000 of the national population are in some form of detention. According to a March 2020 report from the Prison Policy Initiative, the US criminal justice system detains almost 2.3 million people in various facilities in the US and its territories. Chief … Continue reading Defending the Fifth Freedom
Similarly, 2020 made an indelible impression on the history of our country, and it has left us collectively exhausted. Many will remember it as the year we were locked down, Zoomed out, and either lonely or wanting to be alone. We lost loved ones, icons, and champions. We were confronted with furloughs and loss of … Continue reading A New Year of Hope
Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer; and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including … Continue reading Can a Patron Who Gets Sick Sue the Library?
A crew of six explorers—library patrons playing as a gnome, two half-elves, two humans, and a wood elf—learned this lesson during their weekly online game, led by Greenfield (Mass.) Public Library (GPL) Assistant Jeremiah Rood. Spoiler alert: The adventurers went on to slaughter the monster, as well as the campaign’s goblin king, before reaching the … Continue reading Escape for the Isolated
Monique Sugimoto, archivist and local history librarian at Peninsula Center Library, a branch of PVLD in Rolling Hills Estates, California, was quarantined at home in March like the rest of her staff and patrons when she sent a photo of her feline home office companion to her team and asked them to share their own … Continue reading Collecting Coronavirus Stories
“The history of segregated library service is almost forgotten, but we must be reminded that some of the first sit-ins and civil rights demonstrations took place in libraries, because so many libraries followed Jim Crow laws that offered separate and unequal library service to Blacks or excluded them altogether. “Today, in an era where we … Continue reading Black Caucus of the ALA Celebrates 50 Years
Thanks to an idea from MCPS middle school librarian Kelly Passek and a partnership with Wing, the first commercial drone delivery service in the US, any of the 600 or so households that have a student in the district and that fall within Wing’s delivery zone can request a book through the school system’s library … Continue reading The Great Outdoors
I was reminded of the words of the late US Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” When I was eventually elected to the VLA vice presidency, I established the VLA Librarians of Color (LOC) Forum with that goal in mind—to provide more seats at … Continue reading More Seats at the Table
