Call Number Podcast: Bringing Films and Series to the Library

April 21, 2023

American Libraries associate editor and Call Number host Diana Panuncial speaks with Hope Harms, eResources librarian at Johnson County (Kans.) Library to learn more about her library’s journey navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Kanopy, and supporting today’s job seekers and learners. Call Number with American Libraries Podcast · Bonus Episode: Bringing Films and Series to the … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Bringing Films and Series to the Library


Javier Barrios, Hilary Swett, Lauren O’Connor at the Writers Guild Foundation’s Shavelson-Webb Library in Los Angeles

Bookend: Flipping the Script

March 1, 2023

The library’s ephemera provides an illuminating look at Tinseltown and a record of the guild and its members: a Cold War–era FBI file on blacklisted screenwriting couple Hugo Butler and Jean Rouverol, two lifetime achievement awards given to seven-time Oscar recipient Billy Wilder, and screenwriter Linda Woolverton’s correspondence related to the development of Disney’s animated … Continue reading Bookend: Flipping the Script


Brooke Windsor⁠, teen services librarian at Stratford Public Library (SPL) in Ontario⁠, speaks at "Outside and Around Town: The Magic of Harry Potter and the Stratford Adventure” at the 2022 American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.

Embarking on a Quest

June 26, 2022

Windsor did so by developing a game that invited players to visit Stratford’s local businesses to complete challenges and ultimately win prizes. Harry Potter and the Stratford Adventure was a hit that more than 70 patrons participated in during its three-week run. Windsor detailed the framework of her game and how librarians could implement similar … Continue reading Embarking on a Quest


Rhone Talsma

Newsmaker: Rhone Talsma

February 1, 2022

On January 26, Talsma earned a spot in Jeopardy! history when he unseated fellow contestant Amy Schneider, who had racked up a 40-game winning streak, the second highest on the iconic game show. Talsma, multimedia librarian at Chicago Ridge (Ill.) Public Library, was the most recent in an impressive line of successful library contestants that … Continue reading Newsmaker: Rhone Talsma



T-Kay Sangwand, digital collection development librarian at UCLA Library and host of radio show The Archive of Feelings.

Bookend: The Right Track

November 1, 2021

Sangwand’s monthly show on nonprofit internet station dublab features curated sets that often highlight albums from countries she has visited; she started her record collection while studying in Brazil in 2007. One of her favorite sets kicks off with “A Dream of Los Angeles with Clear Blue Skies” by the Life Force Trio—a quintessential local … Continue reading Bookend: The Right Track


The Internet Archive’s Understanding 9/11 video archive features footage from 20 news outlets spanning the period from the morning of September 11 to September 17, 2001.

Archives of an Attack

September 1, 2021

One explanation for the staying power of these memories is that we witnessed them in real time, on television. New York City–based morning programs like NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America and local news channels broadcast the attacks to the country as they unfolded, giving viewers direct access to the raw tragedy and sensory … Continue reading Archives of an Attack


Stanley Tucci

His Life through Food

June 26, 2021

Twenty-five years ago, he wrote, directed, and starred in Big Night, a scrumptiously shot cult classic that introduced filmgoers to Primo and Secondo, brothers running an Italian restaurant in 1950s New Jersey, and their timpano, an encased, baked pasta dish as painstaking as it was showstopping. These days Tucci is hosting the CNN travelogue show … Continue reading His Life through Food


Danny Trejo

The Man behind the Image

June 23, 2021

Trejo charts his unconventional rise to stardom in his new book, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood (Atria Books, 2021), cowritten with actor and friend Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve, Sons of Anarchy, Grounded for Life). The pair discussed the book, their relationship, Trejo’s life, and their admiration for libraries during a … Continue reading The Man behind the Image


Dispatches with Carli Spina

Inclusive Media

May 3, 2021

The tech company Cisco predicts that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all internet traffic. In recent years, large libraries have jumped on this trend, producing recorded author events, tutorials, and promotional videos; since the pandemic began, the popularity of online videos has exploded even further. Ubiquitous as it is, much video content … Continue reading Inclusive Media


National Library Week with Honorary Chair Natalie Portman, April 4-10, 2021

Newsmaker: Natalie Portman

April 5, 2021

As honorary chair of National Library Week, April 4–10, Portman is highlighting the role that libraries, librarians, and library workers play in serving their communities, especially during challenging times. Portman spoke with American Libraries about her love of reading, her new picture book for kids, and what libraries mean to her and her family. You … Continue reading Newsmaker: Natalie Portman


Emmanuel Acho

Uncomfortable Conversations

January 24, 2021

“In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, as a Black man, I realized I had to do something,” the Fox Sports analyst and former National Football League (NFL) linebacker told attendees at a Featured Speaker session of the American Library Association’s 2021 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits Virtual on January 24. “It’s my job … Continue reading Uncomfortable Conversations