Author and education professor Dr. Bettina Love (left) speaks with Sophia Fifner, president and CEO of the Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Club at the Public Library Association conference on April 4.Photo: Kinser Studios

‘Going for Broke’

April 5, 2024

“And by Uncle Jimmy, I mean the James Baldwin,” Love, a bestselling author and education activist, said April 4 during her Big Ideas session at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. In 1963, the novelist and civil rights activist said to a group of New York City educators, “To any citizen of this country who figures … Continue reading ‘Going for Broke’


A photo of Meridian (Idaho) Library District's Tiny Library.

By the Numbers: Recycling

March 1, 2024

75% Percentage of recycled material required for each item featured in Mattapoisett (Mass.) Free Public Library’s RE-ART show, held in September 2023. Among the pieces local artists submitted: a robe constructed with upcycled quilts and a purse made from a vintage book. 1,000 Number of volunteers who support the annual book sale hosted by Friends … Continue reading By the Numbers: Recycling


Aaron LaFromboise, Martha Hickson, Vicki Selander, Chelsea Price, and Marilynn Lance-Robb

One of a Kind

November 1, 2023

At many of the country’s 4,000 rural library systems, staffers are operating by themselves, or nearly so. Solo librarianship can take a variety of forms. It can be a sole employee, a full-time employee managing part-timers or volunteers, or librarians working with small or spread-out teams. As libraries continue to recover from the worst of … Continue reading One of a Kind


American Library Association logo

ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility

March 3, 2022

The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that its Libraries Transforming Communities project will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. “[The] Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities [grant] represents an important next … Continue reading ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility


Conversations Creating Change

November 1, 2021

In September 2020, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs Office announced it would provide nearly $2 million in grants to small and rural libraries of all types to help them address pressing concerns in their communities. Through this Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries grant program, more than 600 libraries … Continue reading Conversations Creating Change


Social Media for Small Libraries

June 25, 2021

“Social Media for Small and Rural Libraries,” a June 25 program sponsored by the Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual, offered easy ways for such libraries to engage patrons online without breaking the bank or overwhelming employees. Suzanne Macaulay, cochair of ARSL’s … Continue reading Social Media for Small Libraries


Little Libraries, Big Problems

January 24, 2021

In “Small and Rural Libraries: A Candid Discussion,” Kathy Zappitello, executive director of Conneaut (Ohio) Public Library and president of the Association of Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL); Bailee Hutchinson, branch manager at Altus (Okla.) Public Library and ARSL vice-president; Jennifer Pearson, director of Marshall County (Tenn.) Memorial Library and ARSL past-president; and Kate Laughlin, … Continue reading Little Libraries, Big Problems


Talihina (Okla.) Public Library participates in Play Streets on September 7, 2017. Photo: Talihina (Okla.) Public Library

Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being

October 6, 2020

The event opened with a meme-filled presentation from author and librarian William Ottens (Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks) and closed with a keynote from renowned librarian and literary critic Nancy Pearl (The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, with Jeff Schwager). The sessions … Continue reading Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being


Dewey Decibel: Small and Rural Libraries

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Small and Rural Libraries

September 15, 2020

In Episode 54, Dewey Decibel speaks with Jefferson, as well as two librarians whose work was showcased on his tour. First, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries Senior Editor Phil Morehart discusses small-library concerns with Corey Christians, director of Yavapai County (Ariz.) Free Library District. Next, Morehart talks with Stacey Russell, interim executive director of … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Small and Rural Libraries


Graves County (Ky.) Public Library's bookmobile. Photo: Graves County (Ky.) Public Library

By the Numbers: Rural and Small Libraries

September 1, 2020

1982 Year the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) was founded by Bernard Vavrek, director of the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship at Clarion (Pa.) University. 5 Number of days the ARSL Conference will take place, September 28–October 2. Previously scheduled for Wichita, Kansas, the conference has switched to a virtual format. … Continue reading By the Numbers: Rural and Small Libraries


From left: Punxsutawney Phil, 134 years old and living at the Punxsutawney (Pa.) Memorial Library since the 1970s, inside his burrow; at the front of the library, visitors can see Phil's Burrow through the viewing window. Photos: Punxsutawney (Pa.) Memorial Library

Burrowed in Books

January 31, 2020

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in January 2020. You read that correctly. When Phil isn’t swarmed by media and visitors clamoring for his shadow-dependent spring predictions on Groundhog Day every February 2—in 2019, 25,000 people gathered before the stump at Gobbler’s Knob—the well-known woodchuck lives in a burrow at the front of Punxsutawney … Continue reading Burrowed in Books


Ginny Evans (Photo: Brent Alexander)

Bookend: Library of Delight

March 1, 2015

Evans loves involvement with the community. “We don’t have an arts council, we don’t have a chamber of commerce, we have little Delight library.” The declaration signing party was so successful, Evans told Stripling that she plans to repeat it “for at least another 15 years” when she’ll be ready to retire. She’s 73.