This is one of the scenarios library workers were asked to ponder during “Upholding Trans Patron Privacy and Information Access,” presented January 21 at the American Library Association’s 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore. Privacy is “not just a service aspect,” said Glen J. Benedict, access services librarian at the University of the District of Colombia … Continue reading Protecting Trans Patrons
“I wanted to inspire people with or without disabilities,” said Armstrong, who wrote the book about her experience as a person with Down syndrome. Armstrong, alongside her mother Cara, discussed I Am A Masterpiece! (Random House Books for Young Readers, January) and the importance of belonging during their January 21 featured speaker session at the … Continue reading ‘Do Say Hello’
An estimated 200 people attended the 6:30 a.m. celebration on January 21 at ALA’s 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore. This year would have marked King’s 95th birthday. More than 20 library leaders from across the profession took the stage to read passages from King’s speech at the 1967 National Conference for New Politics in Chicago, an … Continue reading ‘We Need the Doers’
“I’m very grateful that I was able to speak and tell the story of our family,” Trejo said. “This book, with every page, with every word, with every picture, just illustrates how family’s everything. If you have that—everything else could not be lined up correctly in life—but if you have that, you’re winning.” Trejo discussed … Continue reading ‘Family Is Everything’
She started the Race Card Project with 200 postcards—printed at Kinko’s on her way to taking her kids to soccer practice—inviting whoever picked them up to share their thoughts on race, in exactly six words. She dropped them at a variety of venues while on a book tour. More than 500,000 personal narratives later, the … Continue reading Six Words, Countless Conversations
First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Call Number host Diana Panuncial speaks with David Thomas and Tonya Thomas, both chefs and food historians. The husband-and-wife duo is behind Baltimore’s H3irloom Food Group, a culinary organization with a mission of uplifting the Black food narrative through catering and educational events. They discuss their cooking journeys and … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Good Morning, Baltimore!
Phan had volunteered for essential duties, including monitoring the parks that remained open, and had become busier than ever as people turned increasingly to outdoor activities. In January 2021, his work took him to central Kentucky, where NPS had recently acquired Camp Nelson, a former US Army base that was once a destination for many … Continue reading In Their Own Words
So what can we do? First, take inventory of your organization’s DEI interventions. This can include antibias training sessions, antiracism book clubs, climate surveys, land acknowledgements, diversity residency cohorts, and revised collection policies. Second, ask tough questions. Why has progress so far been measured in inches instead of miles? Can any of these approaches meaningfully … Continue reading A New Ethic of Accountability
To achieve equity in youth services, we must build an authentic foundation that centers historically marginalized youth and families. This process is worth a closer look so that we can think more critically about the programs and services we offer. Let’s consider an example: A library in a community with a large Vietnamese population distributes … Continue reading Committing to Equity
However, in the days, months, and years afterward, tenured academic librarians may start to feel a lack of motivation, support, and career guidance. Mentoring programs customarily focus on early-career librarians, and many people begin to wonder, “What next?” To answer that question, we’ve highlighted strategies for dealing with posttenure burnout. Be intentional about your time. … Continue reading Fighting Posttenure Fatigue
First, poets and prison reform activists Reginald Dwayne Betts and Randall Horton talked with former ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall back in an interview conducted last July. Betts and Horton, who were formerly incarcerated, now spearhead respective literary program: Betts founded Freedom Reads, which installs 500-book Freedom Libraries in prisons and juvenile detention centers, … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Services for the Incarcerated
CALA President Vincci Kwong attributes the group’s longevity to the relationships members form with one another. “Sometimes you feel isolated at your library because you don’t have a lot of people who are Asian American,” she says. “[In CALA,] people serve on committees, and we form a bond and stay together and still network after … Continue reading CALA Turns 50
