“The Association’s membership is called on at this moment to interrupt the systemic information poverty that is going on in American’s detention facilities,” she said. As ALA prepares to revise its Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions for the first time since 1992, Hall was joined in conversation by a panel of advocates who are fighting for … Continue reading ‘Our Access Point to the Humanity We Cannot Touch’
At the core of library work are stories. We listen to our patrons’ stories when we perform a reference interview, readers’ advisory, or a community needs assessment. We interpret these stories to supply our users with the best information and resources to fit their situation. Often, this is simple, but other times this requires close … Continue reading An Uphill Battle
May is Older Americans Month. 1963 Year President John F. Kennedy established Senior Citizens Month, now called Older Americans Month. 2030 Year when all baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—will be at least 65 years old. 43% Percentage of baby boomers in the US who visited a public library or bookmobile over a 12-month … Continue reading By the Numbers: Older Americans Month
At the March 23 Opening Session of PLA 2022 in Portland, Oregon, PLA President and Richland (S.C.) Library Executive Director Melanie Huggins addressed a masked and gleeful crowd and acknowledged these “rough last two years.” “We have navigated challenges and risks in our personal and professional lives, but you made it a priority to be … Continue reading Speaking Up
In March 2021, Gail Borden Public Library District (GBPLD) received a grant contract from the Illinois Department of Public Health with a budget of up to $415,000 to create the Elgin Area Pandemic Assistance Team. Part of the department’s Pandemic Health Navigator Program, the project connects people with community and municipal resources that address pandemic-induced … Continue reading Relief for Renters
My eight-branch library system in the Denver metro area serves about 655,000 people across much of Arapahoe County, covering a diverse social landscape: lower-income communities, rural Coloradans, a county jail, and a variety of residential and commercial interests. Various groups within our libraries administer programming work collaboratively to meet the particular needs of children and … Continue reading Broadening Outreach
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
In fact, the number of minority-owned small businesses that reported trying and failing to get a loan to help with the pandemic was 60% greater than nonminority-owned small businesses, according to an August 2020 study by the US Chamber of Commerce and MetLife. Additionally, minority-owned small businesses were almost 10% more likely to report that … Continue reading Big Ideas for Small Business
“We talked about how we could make things better in our neighborhood,” says Patricia Uttaro, director of RPL and Monroe County Library System. “We have been doing a lot of work with our library on social justice and conversations on race. We wanted to find a solution there.” RPL collaborated with Foodlink, a local nonprofit … Continue reading Cafés with a Conscience
Ghada Kanafini Elturk, a Lebanese American who was then working as community and cultural outreach librarian at Boulder (Colo.) Public Library, described the hostility against Muslims and Arab Americans in the months after the attacks. “Those Americans who are not familiar with my culture do not show respect,” she told American Libraries reporter Ron Chepesiuk … Continue reading Understanding the Other
“Portland and Multnomah County really treasure their music and libraries, so it was a natural fit,” says Shawn Cunningham, director of communications and strategic initiatives at MCL, about the Library Music Project, which offers more than 250 locally produced albums to stream or download. The service also provided MCL with a gateway into the local … Continue reading Stream On
“[During the pandemic], the definition of outreach was put to the test,” Zimmerman said. She detailed the ways in which libraries across the country pivoted in their outreach and service methods: offering contactless deliveries and curbside services, repurposing outreach vans to become delivery vehicles and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, making phone calls to connect with seniors … Continue reading Getting Back into the Community
