Food for Thought

May 1, 2019

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


Noah Lenstra

Exercise Your Resources

May 1, 2019

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


Loida Garcia-Febo

Immerse Yourself in Wellness

January 2, 2019

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



Library Zombie Workshop Is a No-Brainer Success

October 30, 2018

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



Stories, Songs, and Stretches

January 2, 2018

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


Librarians Megan Donald (left) and Emily Tichenor of Tulsa (Okla.) Community College sit in the meditation room at the West Campus Library. Photo: Tulsa (Okla.) Community College.

A Space Apart

January 2, 2018

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


opioid abuse

Saving Lives in the Stacks

June 21, 2017

“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


Mindfulness for Librarians

Mindful Librarianship

June 1, 2017

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


Vaping

New Trends in Library Security

June 1, 2017

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