gift guide Archives | American Libraries Magazine

2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Alison Marcotte | November 29, 2023

Gifts under $20 This Is My Bookstore 2024 Wall Calendar ($14.99) With Chronicle Books’ This Is My Bookstore 2024 Wall Calendar, avid readers can begin each month discovering a new bookstore from around the world. This 12-by-12-inch calendar will sate their wanderlust and make them feel part of a global literary community. … Continue reading 2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2022 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Lara Ewen | December 7, 2022

Gifts Under $10 “Read Banned Books” Bookmark ($4) Let LeVar Burton save your place with this colorful, two-by-seven-inch, matte-coated card stock bookmark by HereNowWow. It features collage portrait imagery with text printed on the front, and shipping is free. “I’m with the Banned” Sticker ($4.49) Rock star librarians can use … Continue reading 2022 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2021 gift guide items (clockwise from top left: sweatshirt, puzzle, playing cards, READ sweatshirt, messenger bag, coasters)

2021 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Lara Ewen | November 23, 2021

Gifts under $10 James Baldwin bookmark ($3.99) Save your place and make your mark with this handmade paper bookmark from KLigg Co. The two-by-six-inch design is crafted from 16-point paper and features Baldwin’s quote, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” … Continue reading 2021 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Lara Ewen | December 1, 2020

Gifts under $10 Checking You Out Card ($5.50) This letterpress-printed card from Power and Light Press presents the perfect opportunity to tell someone special how you feel. The 3.5-by-5-inch library card comes in a compostable manila-colored sleeve and a pool-blue envelope. Librarians Saving Your Ass Since 300 B.C.E. Patch ($6) This kick-ass … Continue reading 2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2019 Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

2019 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Lara Ewen | December 2, 2019

Gifts under $20 Great Writers Page Flags ($6.50) Lost? Let world-renowned authors help you find your place. This set of 240 page flags from Girl of All Work features illustrations of Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oscar Wilde. Star Wars Princess Leia READ pouch ($12) Princess Leia—or General … Continue reading 2019 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Lara Ewen | November 29, 2018

Gifts Under $10 Writersblok Black Bookmark Pen ($3) This dual-purpose pen takes notes and keeps your place. The matte black exterior lies flat inside books and holds a brass ink cartridge—perfect for the moment inspiration strikes. Bloom Bookmark Set ($5) Bring some bright blooms to your bookshelf with this set of six floral bookmarks. … Continue reading 2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Alison Marcotte | December 8, 2017

Gifts Under $20 “Cool Story, Poe” Mug ($16) This 15-oz. ceramic mug features the star of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” giving a twist on the deadpan “cool story, bro” rejoinder. Perfect for the sarcastic coffee-drinker. Novel Teas ($12.50) In addition to providing a great pun, these Sri Lankan black teas are perfect for … Continue reading 2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

2016 American Libraries Gift Guide items

2016 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Alison Marcotte | December 8, 2016

Gifts Under $20 Banned Books Matchbox Set ($8) For the librarian who appreciates banned books—and has a dark sense of humor—Out of Print’s Banned Books Matchbox Set includes the regularly challenged classics Slaughterhouse-Five, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Black Beauty, Song of Solomon, and, of course, Fahrenheit 451. Each tiny matchbox has a message on the back about … Continue reading 2016 Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers

By Alison Marcotte | December 3, 2015

1. Literary Candles ($11) Readers can bring their favorite books to life with Etsy artist Callie Meaney’s literary candles. Whether it be the scent of the ocean breeze at Jay Gatsby’s shoreline, the freshly laundered socks of Dobby the House Elf, or the blue spruce from the Narnia forest, From the Page soy candles bring … Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers →

Latest Library Links

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“Over 1.2 million school-aged children were identified as experiencing homelessness during the 2021–2022 school year. Kids who are experiencing homelessness and their caregivers can benefit greatly from the services libraries offer, including computer and printing access, programs and classes, books and other materials, as well as a place to spend time when their housing situation may not be safe or comfortable. Every school district in the U.S. is required by federal law to have a homeless student liaison, usually called a McKinney-Vento liaison. The good news is that it’s usually pretty easy to find your McKinney-Vento liaison.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 2
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“As early as 2003, certain university libraries in the US developed virtual libraries in the online video game Second Life and offered a variety of services, marking the first practical research on metaverse libraries. The metaverse is regaining popularity nearly two decades later, and technological circumstances have improved. Today’s metaverse is a collection of new technologies, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), gaming, networking, etc. VR and AR are two of the most important metaverse enabling technologies, and their use in university libraries is growing.”

College & Research Libraries, Nov.
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Christina Caron writes: “On social media, Mychal Threets was spreading the gospel of ‘library joy’ to hundreds of thousands of followers. But at his job, as a supervisor at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif., he was facing new challenges. Over a year, Threets filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations. Like Threets, librarians around the country are struggling to reconcile their desire to serve their communities with their need for self-preservation.”

New York Times, Oct. 31
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Megan Bennett writes: “From the iconic to the incendiary, political messages like these have emblazoned buttons and pins since the start of US elections. Since 2012, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been archiving political buttons. The collection now spans thousands of items over a century’s worth of campaigns and causes. The collection has approximately 4,800 buttons and pins and 200 stickers. Most fit into one of three categories: campaigns (local and national), sociopolitical movements, and community organizations like unions.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Cindy Hohl writes: “Recognizing all of humanity in libraries requires a thoughtful approach and a humble spirit. I believe that we, as information professionals, have been called to this work because of our shared values. Every day, library workers provide a vital public function. We are entrusted to serve our communities, and we know that the best way to serve the public good is to welcome everyone into libraries to access accurate information.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Anne Ford writes: “For Susan Brown, December 17, 2004, was a perfectly normal day—until she saw the elevator doors open. Brown, director of Transylvania University’s J. Douglas Gay Jr./Frances Carrick Thomas Library in Lexington, Kentucky, was walking past the staff elevator on the library’s main level when the doors parted and she reflexively glanced inside. Her gaze locked on the great red books held by two young men inside. On the 20th anniversary of what became known as the Transy book heist, American Libraries looks back at one of the most brazen and puzzling thefts ever to take place in an academic library.

American Libraries feature, Nov./Dec.
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Chase Hunter writes: “Chabot College Library and Learning Center in Hayward, California, held a ceremonial opening last week, but students have already gone so often that it’s quickly become a campus cornerstone. More than 35,000 Chabot College students have visited the new library and learning center—the tallest building on campus—this semester, already surpassing last year’s total. The new building’s geometric clean lines and splashes of orange—the school’s color—over a chrome exterior is attracting students in a way that Chabot College hasn’t experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Mercury News (San Jose, California), Oct. 28

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