Those great big red books were four double-size, incalculably valuable folios of John James Audubon’s 1838 Birds of America. Fewer than 200 sets exist. Brown realized that one of them was probably being stolen from her library. On the 20th anniversary of what became known as the Transy book heist, American Libraries looks back at … Continue reading Stolen Pages
Benjes-Small addressed dozens of attendees at “‘It’s Not Okay. It’s Not Normal’: Sexual Harassment of Librarians and Implications for the Field,” a July 1 program held at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. Spurred by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Benjes-Small and Jennifer Resor-Whicker, university librarian at Radford (Va.) … Continue reading It’s Not Okay
First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski pays a visit to the Sulzer Regional branch of Chicago Public Library, which hosts a repair café every month. At these events, participants bring household items in need of mending to the library. Volunteers with toolkits fix the items, sparing them from the landfill. Next, members of ALA’s … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Sustainability Strategies
According to the 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study from Urban Librarians Unite, nearly 70% of respondents shared that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons, while 22% indicated that they experienced similar behavior from coworkers. When working with patrons, many libraries employ trauma-informed care, a practice popular in health care and social work. It … Continue reading Culture of Care
Opioid overdoses remain a significant health crisis not just in the US but also Canada. An estimated 32,630 Canadians died from an apparent opioid-related overdose between 2016 and 2022, with the number of deaths accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of those fatalities occurred in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. In western … Continue reading Opioid Outreach
Public liability insurance. This covers the building and grounds, the contents of the building, library vehicles, and any accidents involving patrons on library property. It’s important to have adequate coverage in the event of a major claim. It’s also important that a library not be under- or overinsured. If underinsured, the library will have to … Continue reading Covering Your Bases
Since it first reopened some locations for curbside service on May 18, Shreve Memorial Library (SML) in Shreveport, Louisiana, has had to close branches on 20 occasions because staffers were exhibiting symptoms or had tested positive for COVID-19. The first closure occurred on May 26 when SML was only offering curbside, but SML continued to … Continue reading Reclosing … after Reopening
This incident took place at the library where one of us, Jarrett Dapier, worked as a readers’ advisor and program coordinator serving teens. (He was not present but has seen cellphone footage of the incident.) Calling the police when a patron is disruptive may seem like a library’s only course of action. But often, the … Continue reading When Not to Call the Cops
For example, Toledo–Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library (TLCPL) has announced that when it reopens after its COVID-19 shutdown, many of the security staff members in its branches will no longer carry arms or wear uniforms. In addition, TLCPL is forming a public safety working group that will “attempt to untangle complex questions about what safety … Continue reading Rethinking Police Presence
The response might seem like an obvious “yes.” But for many public libraries the answer is more nuanced. In October 2018, Emergent BioSolutions, the company that manufactures the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan (generic name: naloxone), issued a press release offering two free doses of Narcan to every public library and YMCA in the US. … Continue reading Narcan or No?
“Our president and immediate past president were there, and we were going to show a united face of leadership. This was my introduction to the association,” Carroll says. “I got on and introduced myself, and next thing you know, I saw the N-word in the chat. Then I saw it again. And I thought, ‘Someone … Continue reading “A Civilized Term for Hate Crime”
It’s an unprecedented situation. Conservators, who are experienced in diagnosing and repairing collection damage, say that historical information on sanitizing library materials is lacking. Besides a bit of anecdotal evidence from a 2019 Smithsonian Magazine article, there’s very little historical data available, says Evan Knight, preservation specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners: “There’s … Continue reading How to Sanitize Collections in a Pandemic
