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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 →

2022 LibLearnX Wrap-Up

By Alison Marcotte | February 1, 2022

The lineup also included familiar ALA conference components: high-profile speakers, networking opportunities, and celebrations of libraries, books, and authors. Originally scheduled to be held in person in San Antonio, the conference shifted to an all-virtual format because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers get personal US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) opened the conference in … Continue reading 2022 LibLearnX Wrap-Up →

Wrapped in a Mystery

By Carrie Smith | January 25, 2022

Tamaki discussed her new novel, Cold (Roaring Brook Press, February), at the American Library Association’s (ALA) LibLearnX virtual conference on January 24. She said that as she read and researched the genre, she discovered that the mystery format “plays really well into the things that I’m interested in writing about,” she said in conversation with … Continue reading Wrapped in a Mystery →

Council III: Actions and Updates

By Judy Czarnik | January 25, 2022

Libré Booker, an Executive Board member, motioned to extend the meeting for an additional 30 minutes. The motion was defeated. The agenda for Council III (CD#8.3) was adopted. Memorials were read for Barbara Froling Immroth (M#1), Mary Redmond (M#2), Kenya S. Flash (M#3), Manuel Urrizola (M#4), Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin (M#5), Teri Lesesne (M#6), and Lauren D. … Continue reading Council III: Actions and Updates →

Representation ‘Is Only a Start’

By Terra Dankowski | January 25, 2022

“Thank you for being our community anchors. Thank you for being our explorers, protectors, and curators of information. Thank you for being our defenders in the struggle against censorship,” Kaepernick told attendees at the start of “Voices of Change,” the closing session of the American Library Association’s inaugural LibLearnX virtual conference on January 24. “And … Continue reading Representation ‘Is Only a Start’ →

How to Be Queer in Texas

By Sallyann Price | January 24, 2022

The state climate can be openly hostile to queer people: The nonprofit Movement Advancement Project has ranked Texas “low” when it comes to policies relating to sexual orientation and “negative” on policies related to gender identity. How, then, has the lived experience of queer librarians and library workers compared with expectations? Arro Smith, technical services … Continue reading How to Be Queer in Texas →

Voting Rights Are Equal Rights

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | January 24, 2022

The celebration’s theme this year focused on King’s 1957 speech “Give Us the Ballot—We Will Transform the South,” which he delivered to 25,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom demonstration. The event was organized to urge the federal government to fulfill the three-year-old Brown v. Board of … Continue reading Voting Rights Are Equal Rights →

Sarah Evans, Lacy Molina, and Lance Simpson

Reconnecting over the Airwaves

By Carrie Smith | January 24, 2022

In “Raise Up Radio: Connecting Families, Libraries, and Radio for Educational Equity,” a January 23 session at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX virtual conference, Evans and Simpson, along with Lacy Molina, a UNT student and project assistant, shared details about the early stages of the Raise Up Radio project. The initiative aims to address some … Continue reading Reconnecting over the Airwaves →

2022 Youth Media Award Winners

January 24, 2022

A list of all the 2022 award winners follows: John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: The Last Cuentista, written by Donna Barba Higuera, is the 2022 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Levine Querido. Four Newbery Honor Books also were named: Red, White, and Whole, written by Rajani … Continue reading 2022 Youth Media Award Winners →

Making Sense of Our Collective Grief

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | January 23, 2022

“None of us saw this coming,” said Woodson. “One day we walked into our classrooms, we walked into our libraries, we walked into our jobs, and the next day we didn’t.” This abrupt and significant change exposed what we’ve taken for granted. “We had just expected the next day to be there—just as the previous … Continue reading Making Sense of Our Collective Grief →

Headshots of panelists at Curating for Inclusion session at LibLearnX

The Public Interest

By Sallyann Price | January 23, 2022

What are the obligations of a public or private university to its local and global community? How have public libraries extended a sense of welcome to their patrons while safeguarding their rarest and most special collections? A panel of two public librarians and one academic librarian (moderated by architect Sindu Meier) discussed these questions during … Continue reading The Public Interest →

2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

January 23, 2022

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (Little, Brown and Company) by Tom Lin as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (Random House) by Hanif Abdurraqib as the winner of the … Continue reading 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced →

Latest Library Links

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Bobbi L. Newman writes: “This week, an article from the BBC caught my attention: ‘Without support, many menopausal workers are quitting their jobs.’ Supporting employees going through menopause is important for those experiencing it and for everyone’s wellbeing. It reflects a commitment to employee wellbeing and a strategic approach to workforce management. Libraries can adopt strategies to support employees experiencing menopause, enhancing their wellbeing and workplace productivity. Remember, with all wellbeing, the goal is to support and empower staff to make the choices that best improve their health. Here are some practical approaches.”

Librarian by Day, Apr. 19; BBC, Apr. 9
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Libraries have a long history of helping to deliver on a wide variety of development goals, from literacy and school readiness to research productivity and urban cohesion. Their unique potential has been recognized not just by the governments or others that traditionally fund them, but also by a range of other funders, private and public alike. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has created a dataset to help librarians easily discover examples of private philanthropic grants, as well as other funding sources, that other libraries have been able to leverage.”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Apr. 22
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Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
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ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
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In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16

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