Transforming Culture

March 1, 2023

These incidents make it more critical than ever that we examine how we center whiteness in our culture—and especially in our workplaces—in ways that erase and exclude certain groups of people. Academic libraries can start by examining how white supremacy culture is embedded in our work environments. Author and racial equity trainer Tema Okun identifies … Continue reading Transforming Culture



Joslyn Dixon (left), executive director of Oak Park (Ill.) Public Library, poses with author Caseen Gaines in the LLX Marketplace.

2023 LibLearnX Wrap-Up

February 15, 2023

At ALA’s second-annual LibLearnX, presenters shared different approaches and a refreshed outlook for dealing with the swell of book bans and censorship attempts happening across the country. Authors and illustrators took to the stage to offer stories of hope and struggle and showed the power of centering narratives from those who are Black, Indigenous, and … Continue reading 2023 LibLearnX Wrap-Up


Episode 80: Reading Romance

Call Number Podcast: Reading Romance

February 13, 2023

In Episode 80, Call Number is head-over-heels for romance. First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Jill Maneikis, deputy director of special events at Boston Public Library, where more than 100 couples have rented the library’s new $200, one-hour wedding venue. Next, American Libraries associate editor and Call Number host Diana Panuncial talks … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Reading Romance


Clint Smith

Our Collective Histories

January 29, 2023

Smith discussed his journey in crafting his narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021), and his upcoming poetry collection, Above Ground (Little, Brown and Company, March), at his January 29 featured speaker session at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX … Continue reading Our Collective Histories



Willie Mae Brown

Taking Care of Our Future

January 28, 2023

Brown spoke of her catalytic experience seeing Martin Luther King Jr. and the importance of telling one’s story at her keynote speaker session January 28 at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans.  Brown’s debut novel, My Selma (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January), recounts her experience growing up in Selma, Alabama, during … Continue reading Taking Care of Our Future


Autherine Lucy Foster

Another Hidden Figure in Library History

January 20, 2023

Here’s what I found in my research—which involved 1,200 newspaper and periodical articles—when I looked into her story. After graduating in 1952 from the historically Black college and university of Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, Lucy and her friend Pollie Myers decided to apply to the all-white University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Because neither identified … Continue reading Another Hidden Figure in Library History



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


A member of Brooklyn Public Library's senior debate program participates in a debate hosted during the library's 2022 Older Americans Celebration Fair.

Making a Statement

January 3, 2023

“Kids are very strong critical thinkers,” says the University of California, Berkeley, sophomore. “They’re natural at questioning the status quo.” Yet Tong says not many spaces exist for children to participate in conversations about social justice. In 2019, as a high school junior, Tong approached San José (Calif.) Public Library (SJPL) staffers with a programming … Continue reading Making a Statement