Joslyn Dixon (left), executive director of Oak Park (Ill.) Public Library, poses with author Caseen Gaines in the LLX Marketplace.

2023 LibLearnX Wrap-Up

February 15, 2023

At ALA’s second-annual LibLearnX, presenters shared different approaches and a refreshed outlook for dealing with the swell of book bans and censorship attempts happening across the country. Authors and illustrators took to the stage to offer stories of hope and struggle and showed the power of centering narratives from those who are Black, Indigenous, and … Continue reading 2023 LibLearnX Wrap-Up


Life-Changing Learning

January 31, 2023

Murphy, product management director at Gale, moderated “All Together Now: Changing Lives through Library Adult Education and Learning Resources,” a January 29 session sponsored by Gale at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans. Joining her to discuss why adult learning programs are critical and how libraries can help serve these patrons … Continue reading Life-Changing Learning


Ani DiFranco discusses her new children's book, The Knowing, at the 2023 LibLearnX Conference in New Orleans.

Exploring Identity

January 31, 2023

Or, as she described it, a “community instigator”—connecting people and their shared experiences through music. “I realized that I’m not alone, I’m not an aberration,” she said. “That thing just goes in a circle, and then that circle becomes bigger than me. It becomes this spiraling thing that starts to hold us all. And it’s … Continue reading Exploring Identity


Amanda Vazquez (left), director at Dubuque County (Iowa) District Library, and Sukrit Goswami (right), director at Haverford Township (Pa.) Free Library, discuss how libraries can protect themselves from challenges at the American Library Association's 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans on January 29.

Same Fight, New Tactics

January 31, 2023

“This is the obstacle we face—and money and time is not something libraries have a lot of,” said Peter Coyl, director and CEO of Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library, at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans on January 29. “If you’re experiencing lots of challenges, it’s possible that it’s something that’s … Continue reading Same Fight, New Tactics


‘A Lens of Care’

January 30, 2023

An estimated 200 people attended the 6:30 a.m. celebration Sunday, January 29, at ALA’s 2023 LibLearnX conference. Twenty library leaders from across the profession took the stage to read passages from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., focusing on the civil rights leader’s time in Chicago in 1966, when he shifted the movement’s efforts … Continue reading ‘A Lens of Care’


2023 Youth Media Award Winners

January 30, 2023

A list of all the 2023 award winners follows: John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Freewater, written by Amina Luqman-Dawson, is the 2023 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: Iveliz Explains It All, written by … Continue reading 2023 Youth Media Award Winners



Clint Smith

Our Collective Histories

January 29, 2023

Smith discussed his journey in crafting his narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown and Company, 2021), and his upcoming poetry collection, Above Ground (Little, Brown and Company, March), at his January 29 featured speaker session at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX … Continue reading Our Collective Histories


From left: Librarians Lesley Garrett, Candice Wing-yee Mack, and Elizabeth Martinez discuss organizing and activism at the American Library Association's 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans on January 29.

Get Organized

January 29, 2023

At “Library Workers: Organize and Activate,” a January 29 session at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans, panelists described the campaigns—and injustices—that compelled them to first get involved with activism within the profession. The program, moderated by ALA President Lessa Kanani‘opua Pelayo-Lozada and ALA President-Elect Emily Drabinski, touched upon panelists’ … Continue reading Get Organized


Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, during her session at the 2023 LibLearnX Conference in New Orleans

Big Print Helps Young Readers

January 29, 2023

That quote from a ninth grader was collected as researchers studied the effects of large-print books on youth literacy. In collaboration with Thorndike Press, Project Tomorrow—a national nonprofit supporting K–12 education—found positive results after introducing large print to students in grades 3–12, particularly those who struggled with reading. Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans discussed the … Continue reading Big Print Helps Young Readers



ALA logo

ALA Council II: Memorials and Resolutions

January 29, 2023

The agenda for Council III (CD#8.3) as amended with the point of order introduced by Libré Booker, ALA Executive Board member, was approved. Memorials were read for Deanna Bowling Marcum (M#1), Robert C. Delgadillo (M#2), Menahem Schmelzer (M#3), Barratt Wilkins (M#4), Betty Lee Sung (M#5), David Philip Norris (M#6), and Devona Pendergrass (M#7). A tribute … Continue reading ALA Council II: Memorials and Resolutions