Although not all the suicides in Herriman were gun related, Schow notes, statistically the use of firearms is the most common method of suicide in the country. According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 51% of suicides in 2017 were committed with guns. The goal in giving away gun locks is to prevent the impulsive … Continue reading Under Lock and Key for Safety’s Sake
A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in December 2018 reviewed 22 studies estimating that more than 30% of college students face food insecurity amid the rising costs of higher education. The report estimates that there are nearly 2 million at-risk students—most often they are first-generation college students, low income, or single parents. A … Continue reading Food for Thought
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, for instance, hosts Connections4Health, a program in which college student volunteers refer patrons to health resources, including those that address food insecurity, transportation, housing, and immigration concerns. In Ithaca, New York, Tompkins County Public Library teams up with Cornell University and Ithaca College for Ballet and Books, in which college students … Continue reading Exercise Your Resources
As a first step, a three-member ALA Workplace Wellness Advisory Committee and I collaborated with the American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) to renew the wellness website started by former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Thanks to graduate students in Roy’s School of Information class at University of Texas at Austin, the site has been … Continue reading Immerse Yourself in Wellness
I’ve similarly struggled to develop a regular practice of reflecting on my work, though I can now see why it’s so valuable. Reflective practice is the act of looking back on what you did so that you can learn from it and inform what you do in the future. Many of us do this informally … Continue reading To Move Forward, Look Back
That’s what it took to come up with the idea of the Zombie Pandemic Preparedness Workshop, held October 25 at Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library’s (GCPL) Suwanee branch. The workshop taught attendees how to plan and prepare for a real-life pandemic. Participants learned crucial tips such as the importance of having an emergency supply kit … Continue reading Library Zombie Workshop Is a No-Brainer Success
What made you want to write this book? Being both a yoga teacher and a former children’s librarian, I have a unique understanding of how naturally yoga and storytime can fit together to provide children with opportunities for embodied play. I wrote this book to share how fun and simple it can be to use … Continue reading A Conversation with Author Katie Scherrer
It may be difficult for us to remember as adults, but for young children, movement is a learning process that requires intense concentration. A child’s early physical and sensory experiences help build pathways that will shape how he or she thinks, learns, and views the world. Movement is among the brain’s top priorities. Eventually, many … Continue reading Stories, Songs, and Stretches
Oberlander is one of an increasing number of academic library directors who oversees what are variously called “reflection rooms” or “meditation rooms.” Around the US, students are using these spaces for prayer, yoga, scripture study, or simply for an escape between tough classes. It is a recent and growing trend for colleges, where a rising … Continue reading A Space Apart
“As this nation’s opioid crisis has exploded, the staff at the public library … have become first responders,” NPR’s Scott Simon told listeners. “And I gather the librarians there have been obliged to become involved in a way that—well, become involved in a way librarians aren’t usually asked to become involved.” What Simon didn’t say—but … Continue reading Saving Lives in the Stacks
Participants sit in comfortable chairs arranged in a circle, and Allen sounds a low bell to begin. Overhead, sunlight sifts through the double windows as the meditators silently listen to the sounds of the bell and their own in-breaths and out-breaths. Then, while a recording of a meditation by Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh … Continue reading Mindful Librarianship
Library directors and staffers in all parts of the country and in all types of libraries continue to be concerned about challenging patrons who sometimes adversely affect library services, including people who are homeless, have a mental illness, or abuse substances. But what follows are real experiences seen firsthand or recounted by library employees—security concerns that … Continue reading New Trends in Library Security
