Institute of Museum and Library Services Archives | Page 5 of 5

The Open Ebooks Initiative

By James LaRue | July 17, 2015

In brief, this three-way partnership between the New York Public Library (NYPL), DPLA, and First Book (with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services) seeks to make free ebooks accessible to low-income children between the ages of 0 and 18. The books will be made available through the NYPL Library Simplified app (available in … Continue reading The Open Ebooks Initiative →

Chicago Is Among Five Library Medalists Named by IMLS

By Beverly Goldberg | April 24, 2014

CPL’s distinction is the culmination of several particularly innovative years for the 80-branch system. In fall 2012 the system opened a joint public–high school library facility that made the cover of American Libraries’ September/October 2012 issue. In that same issue, CPL’s prototype Innovation Lab received a shout out. Since then, freelance AL blogger Timothy Inklebarger … Continue reading Chicago Is Among Five Library Medalists Named by IMLS →

LIS on the Job

By Abigail Wise | December 16, 2013

Due to loss of funding over the years, many libraries opted to hire less expensive staff members who were not certified librarians. Now, even though people with the title “librarian” make up one-third of library staff, only half of all libraries reported having a credentialed librarian on staff in 2010, according to the Public Libraries … Continue reading LIS on the Job →

Latest Library Links

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“The 37th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony was held July 25 during San Diego Comic-Con. Named for the pioneering comics creator and graphic novelist Will Eisner, the awards were given out in 32 categories for works published in 2024. Topping the winners is Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham (First Second/Macmillan), which took home the trophies for Best Graphic Album–New, Best Publication for Teens, and Best Writer for Yang.”

San Diego Comic-Con, July 25
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Jill Replogle writes: “Last year, the virtual book club at the Huntington Beach (Calif.) Public Library voted to discuss the The Guncle during its May 2025 meeting. A month before the book club meeting, library staff were told to remove the book from the club’s discussion calendar, according to several sources. It’s one of several indications, they say, of what’s sometimes called ‘soft’ or ‘quiet’ censorship. The incident is an indication that the book battles in this conservative beach town are far from over—despite a special election in June in which voters rebuked the City Council’s conservative agenda for the library.”

LAist, July 21, June 11
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Lucy Podmore writes: “High School Voter Registration Week will be celebrated nationally this year the week of September 23–27, a date close enough to fit with our Freedom to Read Week [an alternative approach to Banned Books Week from October 5–11] activities. Where I live, it is state law that public high schools offer two opportunities for students to register to vote, so this opportunity helps me fulfill this requirement. We have always hosted voter registration drives on my campus, but this year I am providing an opportunity for my students to lead these drives.”

Knowledge Quest, July 24
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Daniel Pfeiffer writes: “It has been a brutal summer for artificial intelligence (AI) news and commentary. Though I have deep reservations about the trajectory we’re on, I do at least feel good about the work that librarians are undertaking in this field, such as organizing communities of practice, incorporating AI into information literacy instruction, and finding thoughtful uses of it. Such applications underscore that librarians have an important role in shepherding this technology, and we need more AI-literate librarians to enter these conversations and decisionmaking processes.” Pfeiffer recommends new reports and research to help librarians gain that literacy.

Choice 360: LibTech Insights, July 28, July 14, July 7, June 9
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Rachel McRady writes: “Dan Pelzer read more than 5,000 books throughout the course of his life, including one classic he called ‘pure torture.’ Pelzer, who died on July 1 at the age of 92, left his friends and family a 109-page handwritten list of all the books he’s read since 1962. Pelzer’s family scanned the list and created a website sharing his reads, What Dan Read. In a post shared on the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Facebook page, Pelzer’s daughter, Marci, wrote, ‘ALL of his books were Columbus Metropolitan Library books. Nobody loved the library more than Dan.’”

People, July 22; Columbus Metropolitan Library, July 21
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Greg Landgraf writes: “Libraries are having a Hollywood moment, as several documentarians have recently turned their lenses towards libraries, librarians, and intellectual freedom issues. Some of these films made their mark at the recent ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, on PBS, at the Sundance Film Festival, and even at the Oscars, where The ABCs of Book Banning was nominated last year for Best Documentary Short Film. Below you can read about some favorites (and find out how to watch them).”

American Libraries Online, July 28
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ALA has launched the ALA Learning Library, a member-exclusive collection of free professional development resources. Introduced at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference, the ALA Learning Library will help members easily access a large and growing of eLearning events that are only available to them. In addition to demonstrating the value of membership to current members, the new library also helps promote membership to nonmembers who want to take advantage of the professional development offerings.

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, July 23

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