national library week Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Book Bans a Focus of State of America’s Libraries 2022 Report

April 4, 2022

The report summarizes library trends and outlines statistics and issues affecting libraries during the previous calendar year. It comes out annually during National Library Week, this year April 3–9. Book challenges Library staff in every state faced an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 729 challenges to … Continue reading Book Bans a Focus of State of America’s Libraries 2022 Report →

New ALA Poll Shows Voters Oppose Book Bans

March 24, 2022

The poll, conducted March 1–6, surveyed 1,000 voters and 472 parents of children in public schools. It is the first to view the issue of book bans through the lens of public and school libraries. The poll’s results demonstrate that voters have a high regard for librarians and recognize the critical role libraries play in … Continue reading New ALA Poll Shows Voters Oppose Book Bans →

Photo of actor and comedian Molly Shannon, who spoke at LibLearnX.

Molly Shannon: Superstar

By Sallyann Price | January 23, 2022

“I have so much respect for what you do and for writers in general,” Shannon told Sweeney. “I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, ever. Way harder than performing.” The hardest chapter to write, she said, was the one detailing the tragic car accident that defined her childhood, claiming the lives … Continue reading Molly Shannon: Superstar →

Molly Shannon Announced as National Library Week Honorary Chair

January 20, 2022

Molly Shannon, multiple Emmy-nominated and Spirit Award–winning actress and comedian will help celebrate our nation’s libraries as the honorary chair of National Library Week. Shannon will highlight the ways libraries serve to connect communities to books, resources, programs, and each other. Shannon said she is “honored” to serve as honorary chair. “My mom was a … Continue reading Molly Shannon Announced as National Library Week Honorary Chair →

National Library Week with Honorary Chair Natalie Portman, April 4-10, 2021

Newsmaker: Natalie Portman

By Phil Morehart | April 5, 2021

As honorary chair of National Library Week, April 4–10, Portman is highlighting the role that libraries, librarians, and library workers play in serving their communities, especially during challenging times. Portman spoke with American Libraries about her love of reading, her new picture book for kids, and what libraries mean to her and her family. You … Continue reading Newsmaker: Natalie Portman →

2021 State of America's Libraries Special Report (graphic featuring illustrated figures wearing masks, buildings, and icons representing library services and community during the pandemic)

ALA Releases State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID-19

April 5, 2021

Like many public institutions forced to close their doors, libraries adapted to a new way of doing business. Closures did not prevent library workers and libraries from serving their communities. Instead, shuttered physical spaces fueled significant innovation and opportunities to assist and support patrons and students remotely. As most libraries were closed to in-person visits, … Continue reading ALA Releases State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID-19 →

Natalie Portman Will Be National Library Week Honorary Chair

December 7, 2020

Portman is an Academy Award–winning actor, director, producer, and activist whose film credits include Black Swan, Jackie, and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. A lifelong fan of books, she shares on her Instagram feed titles that she’s reading—as part of Natalie Portman’s Book Club—using the hashtag #WhatNatReads. Natalie Portman’s Fables (Feiwel and Friends, 2020) … Continue reading Natalie Portman Will Be National Library Week Honorary Chair →

ALA National Library Workers Day Statement

April 21, 2020

The American Library Association stands in solidarity with and support of library workers. As we said last month when we recommended and urged all libraries to close to the public, “The health of our library workers and the communities we serve is of utmost and equal importance.” Since that time, we have been buoyed by … Continue reading ALA National Library Workers Day Statement →

State of America’s Libraries 2020

April 20, 2020

Although the report focuses on 2019, libraries are shown to be on the front lines addressing societal and community challenges—a role they are certainly playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many libraries serve as first responders that take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2020 →

Telling Stories On and Off the Ice

By Sallyann Price | January 26, 2020

The “ShibSibs”—recently announced as honorary co-chairs of National Library Week—spoke about their collaboration, their inspirations, and their shared love of storytelling in a January 26 Auditorium Speaker Series session at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting. Their novel Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist (forthcoming in May), the first in a series of mysteries for middle-grade … Continue reading Telling Stories On and Off the Ice →

National Library Workers Day 2019

By Alison Marcotte | April 9, 2019

April 9 is National Library Workers Day, a day to recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of library support staff and librarians. To celebrate library workers, the American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA–APA) asked patrons to nominate stellar library workers from their libraries. Below are some of the nominations included in the Galaxy of Stars on … Continue reading National Library Workers Day 2019 →

The State of America’s Libraries 2019

April 7, 2019

The report finds that library workers are on the front lines addressing community challenges. Many serve as first responders who take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as career counselors, social workers, teachers, and technology instructors, library staffers give special care to adopt programs … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2019 →

Latest Library Links

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Ashley White writes: “Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has created an online tip line to report books found in libraries that residents think are inappropriate to stop the “taxpayer-subsided sexualization of children.” Landry, who is running for governor in 2023, announced the tip line in a Facebook post on Wednesday with few details. In the post, he said he met with residents in Slidell who “want to protect the children” in St. Tammany Parish.”

Lafayette Daily Advertiser, December 1; Facebook, November 29
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Leanne Ellis writes: “I still recall with a shudder the second school library I worked at in NYC: a small, cramped space that needed to be weeded, and worst of all, a collection organized by category like a bookstore. The problem wasn’t the intention of my predecessor; she arranged the books according to a system that made sense to her. But the result was the problem because it made sense only to her. And therein is the fault with genrifying our libraries on the shelves; a title one person might classify as a mystery might be considered romance to another.”

Knowledge Quest, November 29
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Ewa Wojciechowska writes: “For those looking to program with purpose, the entire process begins and ends with your community. Similarly to how we perform diversity audits on our collections, it’s important to also take a critical eye to the programs and services we offer. As professionals we understand that every community is different and has different needs, and that our offerings ought to be tailored to those needs. It can be easy to go on “auto-pilot” when it comes to programming, but we should remember to look at all programs from time to time to evaluate their effectiveness.”

ALSC Blog, December 3
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The American Library Association invites library workers to apply for the Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant, an annual award supporting innovative and meaningful community engagement efforts in libraries. Applications will be accepted between December 1, 2022, and February 1, 2023. View the full award guidelines and apply online at www.ala.org/LTCEG. The Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant recognizes, promotes and supports innovative and meaningful community engagement efforts in libraries. It will provide two grants of $2,000 for a school, public, academic, tribal or special library to expand its community engagement efforts.

ALA, December 1
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The work of medical librarians is essential and varied. They provide information and resources that can improve patient care, promote public health, and support medical education and research. And their responsibilities are constantly evolving with technology and the implementation of new programming. In Episode 77 of Call Number, we highlight two initiatives presented at the 2022 Medical Library Association Annual Conference: Virtual reality programs that teach health science concepts in a new and engaging way at Augusta University in Georgia, and a specialized book club for pediatric hospital staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

AL: The Scoop, November 30
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Khamosh Pathak writes: “Canva started out as a humble, online-accessible graphics tool. But slowly, it has morphed into so much more. It’s closer now to a digital publishing suite, constantly evolving based on the needs of its users. Every couple of weeks, there are both new features and new use cases added. You can even use Canva to create websites for free. Canva is filled with many small, interesting features that all have a huge impact on usability, but aren’t found in the most obvious of places. Here are eight such hidden features you need to know about.”

Lifehacker, November 15
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Chris Stokel-Walker writes: “Almost from the time the first tweet was posted in 2006, Twitter has played an important role in world events. The platform has been used to record everything from the Arab Spring to the ongoing war in Ukraine. It’s also captured our public conversations for years. But experts are worried that if Elon Musk tanks the company, these rich seams of media and conversation could be lost forever. Given his admission to employees in a November 10 call that Twitter could face bankruptcy, it’s a real and present risk.”

MIT Technology Review, November 11

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