A woman seated at a table in front of a microphone speaks to the audience. A man, one of her co-presenters, looks at the ahead and listens with his hands folded in front of him.

A Garden in the Desert

July 2, 2025

The collaborative, grassroots Community Book Gardens (CBG) initiative aims to transform deserts into landscapes where local storytelling flourishes by helping communities to create their own books. A panel of librarians and literacy advocates talked about the CBG model at “Community Book Gardens: Helping the Underrepresented Write and Publish Their Own Stories,” a June 29 session … Continue reading A Garden in the Desert


Seated at a table, a man in a patterned shirt and glasses speaks into the microphone he's holding and gestures with the other hand, while a man in a suit next to him watches him intently.

Civic Lessons

June 30, 2025

During “Priority One: Local Government Engagement” at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia on June 29, Straus led a conversation with two library directors whose systems had won the Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize and their local mayors about how to build a strong and trusting working relationship between … Continue reading Civic Lessons


Theresa Chmara, general counsel of the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Foundation, at LibLearnX in January 2020. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

The Case for Intellectual Freedom

June 29, 2025

Theresa Chmara, general counsel for ALA’s Freedom to Read Foundation, and Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, dove into some of these cases and the legal arguments underlying them at “Censorship in the Courts: Current Litigation throughout the United States,” a session of ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. “One … Continue reading The Case for Intellectual Freedom


A woman with long hair seated at a table next to a bearded man with a ventilator gestures as she speaks. Both have laptops open in front of them on the table.

Adaptive Arcade

June 29, 2025

Spohn, the former COO of AbleGamers and current director of the Mount Sinai Back to Life Center, and Vicki Karlovsky, inclusion coordinator at Deerfield (Ill.) Public Library (DPL), discussed how libraries can bring that experience to a wider audience in “Adaptive Arcade at the Library: Video Games are for Everyone,” a June 29 session at … Continue reading Adaptive Arcade


Eva Shapiro, associate director of early literacy programs and services for New York Public Library, speaks at the American Library Association's 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia on June 28.

Craving Connection

June 29, 2025

“We can’t imagine a better third space than the library,” Shapiro told attendees of “Infant Programming Reimagined: Connecting Caregivers and Communities through Libraries,” a June 28 session at the American Library Association’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. She and copresenters from NYPL discussed ways to make the library more welcoming and inclusive of … Continue reading Craving Connection


Roswell Encina, chief communications officer at the Library of Congress, and Hawa Jalloh, librarian at Prince George’s County (Md.) Memorial Library System, at a panel on influencer marketing at ALA's 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Influencer Marketing Can Be Good as Hell

June 28, 2025

A tweeted invitation from then-Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, teasing the world’s largest collection of a single instrument, did the trick. Lizzo’s scheduled tour turned into a three-hour visit as she sampled centuries-old flutes; the viral moment involved an impromptu performance with a crystal model made for James Madison in 1813. Then there was the … Continue reading Influencer Marketing Can Be Good as Hell


Banning the Book Bans

June 2, 2025

That relief has been a long time coming for Hickson, who retired late last year from her job as media specialist at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, New Jersey. Just three years earlier, she had been called a pedophile and a pornographer at a public school-board meeting by a group of parents demanding to … Continue reading Banning the Book Bans


Author Leanne Su holds up a paperback book with a blue cover and the title and her name in yellow.

Going to Press

June 2, 2025

“We’ve always had a hardcore group of local writers,” says Erin Helmrich, librarian at AADL. The library first launched a program to provide support, learning, and advice for local emerging writers. That program, she says, “started the idea percolating of how else we could support the local writing community.” And so emerged Fifth Avenue Press, … Continue reading Going to Press


Tote bag featuring the Los Angeles skyline, with palm trees, reading "Summer Reading with LA Public Library."

By the Numbers: Summer Reading

June 2, 2025

99% Percentage of public libraries that offer a summer reading program for kids, teens, or adults, according to the Public Library Association’s 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Report. 61% Percentage of school-age kids who enjoy summer reading, according to the 2024 Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report. 20% Percentage of school-year gains in … Continue reading By the Numbers: Summer Reading


Three photos depicting students cooking at Edible Alphabet, a program of Free Library of Philadelphia's Culinary Literacy Center.

Bookend: Eat and Greet

June 2, 2025

Welcome to Edible Alphabet, the flagship series of Free Library of Philadelphia’s (FLP) Culinary Literacy Center. Since 2015, the program has convened those learning English as a second language (ESL)—many from the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia—to practice conversation and cook a recipe under the direction of an ESL … Continue reading Bookend: Eat and Greet


Headshots of David Quick (left) and Benjamin Stokes

Press 1 for Engagement

June 2, 2025

Over the past five years, DC Public Library (DCPL) has partnered with Playful City Lab, a game design initiative from American University (AU) in Washington, D.C. Together, we developed a project called Engaging Beyond Our Walls, which has yielded a budget-friendly platform and toolkit that facilitates storytelling through text messages and audio. Staffers at more … Continue reading Press 1 for Engagement


Award winner Jessica Gleason speaking at the awards ceremony podium

Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

May 1, 2025

On January 24, the American Library Association (ALA) presented the awards as part of the LibLearnX conference in Phoenix (watch the video here). Among the recipients were four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians, each nominated by community members for their expertise, dedication, and impact. Awardees received $5,000, as well as complimentary … Continue reading Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees