I Love My Librarian Award Archives | American Libraries Magazine

A collection of headshots of the 2024 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

Meet the 2024 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

By Chase Ollis | December 18, 2023

“While much of the national conversation surrounding libraries has fixated on book censorship, and as library workers across the US continue to face historic levels of intimidation and harassment, librarians’ efforts to empower their patrons and provide vital services for their communities shines a spotlight on the enduring value of libraries in our society,” said … Continue reading Meet the 2024 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees →

A collection of headshots of the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

Meet the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

By Chase Ollis | January 17, 2023

“Even in these unprecedented times, and as our nation’s library workers face historic levels of intimidation and harassment due to an ongoing wave of book censorship, librarians continue to empower their patrons, teach critical literacy skills, promote inclusion in their space and collections, and provide vital services for their communities,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani‘opua … Continue reading Meet the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees →

I Love My Librarian Awards Celebrated Virtually

By Chase Ollis | January 22, 2022

This year’s recipients include three academic librarians, three school librarians, and four public librarians, including one prison librarian. “These 10 honorees are inspiring examples of what is possible in our profession,” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong during the ceremony’s opening remarks. “Their stories are a testament to the profound leadership, compassion, and expertise … Continue reading I Love My Librarian Awards Celebrated Virtually →

Composite of headshots of the 2022 I Love My Librarian honorees

Meet the 2022 I Love My Librarian Award Winners

By Chase Ollis | January 10, 2022

“Even in these unprecedented times, our nation’s librarians continue to empower their patrons, promote inclusion in their spaces and collections, and provide essential services for their communities,” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong in a statement. “Congratulations to this year’s I Love My Librarian Award winners, who impact the lives of those they serve … Continue reading Meet the 2022 I Love My Librarian Award Winners →

Introducing LibLearnX

By Greg Landgraf | January 3, 2022

That planning comes to fruition when LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience debuts as an online event January 21–24. (ALA’s Executive Board voted in September to cancel the planned in-person component in San Antonio because of the ongoing pandemic and surge of COVID-19 variants, as well as the size, scope, and location of the event.) LibLearnX … Continue reading Introducing LibLearnX →

I Love My Librarian Awards Goes Virtual

By Amy Carlton | January 23, 2021

ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. opened the ceremony by noting that “these 10 individuals exemplify the leadership, expertise, and dedication of our nation’s librarians” and remarking on the challenging and unprecedented circumstances that required librarians to go above and beyond for their communities in 2020. ALA Past President and I Love My Librarian Award … Continue reading I Love My Librarian Awards Goes Virtual →

Meet the 2021 I Love My Librarian Award Winners

January 11, 2021

“During an unprecedentedly challenging year, librarians have risen to the occasion, providing much-needed resources to their communities from a safe distance,” said ALA President Julius C. Jefferson Jr. “Congratulations to this year’s I Love My Librarian Award winners, who have worked tirelessly to assist, engage, and empower the people they serve.” Honorees will each receive … Continue reading Meet the 2021 I Love My Librarian Award Winners →

Homa Naficy at the 2020 I Love My Librarian Award Ceremony

I Love My Librarian Awards

By Amy Carlton | January 25, 2020

This year’s recipients include three academic, three public, and four school librarians, each nominated by peers and patrons and chosen from nearly 2,000 submissions. The event was livestreamed on Facebook. ALA President Wanda Kay Brown opened the event with a tribute to the honorees. “Their stories are a testament to the profound leadership, compassion, and … Continue reading I Love My Librarian Awards →

Meet the I Love My Librarian Award Winners

December 10, 2019

“Our nation’s librarians serve the needs and aspirations of their communities by promoting education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and engagement,” said ALA President Wanda Kay Brown. “Congratulations to this year’s I Love My Librarian Award recipients, who represent the highest qualities in social service and transform lives every day.” Winners will each receive a $5,000 cash … Continue reading Meet the I Love My Librarian Award Winners →

2018 I Love My Librarian Winners Announced

December 4, 2018

“Our nation’s librarians work tirelessly and selflessly to better lives in their communities,” American Library Association (ALA) President Loida Garcia-Febo said in a December 3 statement. “I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to this year’s I Love My Librarian Award recipients. I stand in awe of their contributions to transforming lives through courage, … Continue reading 2018 I Love My Librarian Winners Announced →

I Love My Librarian Award Winners Announced

November 30, 2017

“This year’s I Love My Librarian Award recipients are true leaders who are inspiring and implementing strategies to better their communities,” said Jim Neal, president of the American Library Association (ALA). “Whether it’s fostering inclusion and diversity or mentoring youth, these librarians are expanding beyond their traditional roles and providing more opportunities to meet the … Continue reading I Love My Librarian Award Winners Announced →

I Love My Librarian Award Winners Announced

November 30, 2016

Winners were selected from nearly 1,100 nominations. Library users detailed how their favorite librarians working in public, school, college, community college, or university libraries helped to improve the quality of their lives by connecting them to information, opportunities, and critical technology. “The I Love My Librarian Award is an incredible opportunity to acknowledge librarians as experts … Continue reading I Love My Librarian Award Winners Announced →

Latest Library Links

1d

Genevieve Trainor writes: “The Guinness World Record holder for Most Prolific Book Thief is Ottumwa (Iowa’s) Stephen Blumberg. The 23,600 volumes he accumulated between the 1970s and his arrest in March of 1990 were all stashed in his 17-room home. Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, got involved with Blumberg as part of the FBI’s efforts to return the stolen manuscripts and rare books to their museums and libraries. Referred to as the Omaha Project, the information science proving ground involved four weeks, 44 catalogers and reference librarians and 600 volunteer hours to determine who might be the rightful owners.”

Little Village (Dubuque, Iowa), Dec. 4
2d

Casey Newton writes: “At the moment, no one knows for sure whether the large language models that are now under development will achieve superintelligence and transform the world. And in that uncertainty, two primary camps of criticism have emerged. The first camp, which I associate with the external critics, holds that artificial intelligence (AI) is fake and sucks. The second camp, which I associate more with the internal critics, believes that AI is real and dangerous. Today I want to lay out why I believe AI is real and dangerous.”

Platformer, Dec. 5
2d

Latia Ward writes: “One way to keep current with what students think of the library and its services is through Student Library Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are a way to gather feedback and reinforce the library as a welcoming place. How do librarians create a welcoming environment within Student Library Advisory Committee meetings? Librarians create a welcoming environment through community, purpose, and dedicated space.” Also see part 1 of this blog post.

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 13, Dec. 5
2d

Eleanor Hecks writes: “Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead of all at once, so the most important features remain available when some components encounter an error.”

Smashing Magazine, Dec. 6
3d

Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
3d

Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
4d

Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9

View more Latest Library Links