In those early days, libraries grappled with the same issues as everyone else: closed buildings, plans put on hold, and diminished access. With this special report, we take a look at some libraries’ behind-the-scenes decisions to keep their communities connected and missions fulfilled. On the following pages, you’ll find stories about: early-pandemic adaptations and innovations … Continue reading Three Years Later
The library served as a hub for the school’s approximately 400 students and faculty. It had separate spaces for elementary and high school students to study, check out books, and use computers. Maria and its aftermath claimed most of the library’s collections. Of an estimated 4,000–5,000 books, 90% were no longer usable. “Everything was full … Continue reading A Perfect Storm
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
Unfortunately, Jackson has also faced more than its fair share of water crises. In late August, heavy rain caused the Pearl River, which runs through the city, to flood. Water from its largest water treatment plant, already running on backup pumps before this flood, couldn’t keep up. Many of Jackson’s libraries, businesses, and homes were … Continue reading Boiling Point
As any library staffer who has gone through a building renovation knows, significant behind-the-scenes work goes into updating or overhauling a facility. From working with architects to communicating with committees to soliciting community feedback, rethinking a library doesn’t happen overnight. On Episode 75, the podcast team focuses on library design and architecture. First, American Libraries … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Rethinking Your Space
“We saw how hard it was for [residents] to get electricity, rent an apartment, open a bank account, or pick up their children from school” without them, says Damaris Gonzalez, an immigration rights organizer with the nonprofit Texas Organizing Project (TOP), which has been advocating for enhanced library cards in the state. These cards are … Continue reading ID Made Easier
Along the Gulf Coast, several communities lost power and flooded, and high winds led to downed trees and roof damage. “The parish got hit pretty hard,” says Barry Bradford, director of the six-branch Tangipahoa (La.) Parish Library (TPL) system. “The eye of the storm went up I-55, which runs the length of the parish, and … Continue reading Libraries Rebound in the Wake of Hurricane Ida
First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart speaks with Heather Hart, manager of Salt Lake City Public Library’s Sprague branch, about renovations that were made to the 93-year-old, English Tudor–style library after a flood destroyed much of the building in 2017. Next, Morehart talks with Sean Ngo from architecture firm DLR … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Library Architecture and Design
In the aftermath, American Libraries tried to make sense of the tragedy and our nation’s response, and consider their implications for libraries and American Library Association members. Our 2001 and 2002 reporting covered topics related to collections destroyed in the attacks, communities dealing with Islamophobia, restrictions imposed on civil liberties, and what librarian eyewitnesses remembered … Continue reading Special Report: The Legacy of 9/11
Kathleen D. Roe, chief of archival services at New York State Archives in Albany at the time and now retired, says her team was prepared to deal with wet or dusty records or damaged collections. “We pretty quickly found out that either collections were pretty much okay because they were in a safe building that … Continue reading What Was Lost
Take the Cologne Archives in Germany, for example. The archives building was constructed in 1971 to hold myriad materials, some of which date to 922 AD. The building was located in downtown Cologne next to a tunnel that was being excavated for a subway line. On March 3, 2009, construction workers noticed large cracks appearing in … Continue reading Responding to a Threat
Public Libraries and Resilient Cities Edited by Michael Dudley Resilience is the art of being able to bounce back from disaster. The uniting thesis of these essays is that public libraries are crucial to this process. Dudley makes the point that climate change guarantees near-future crises; other essays use relatively recent disasters, such as Hurricane … Continue reading Disasters in Libraries
