State of America's Libraries 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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

State of America’s Libraries 2018

April 9, 2018

During this time of rapid social change, libraries of all types are providing welcoming spaces to an increasingly diverse population; working with the community to offer social service support and health resources, career, and small business development assistance; and combating fake news by providing tools to assess and evaluate news sources. The function of libraries … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2018 →

State of America’s Libraries 2017

April 10, 2017

The term “fake news” is recent, but the skills needed to evaluate information are not. Librarians provide users with expertise and the training needed to evaluate the quality of information in all formats. The report shows that the library community continues to share best practices to help fuel efforts to combat disinformation. With the massive … Continue reading State of America’s Libraries 2017 →

The State of America’s Libraries 2016

April 11, 2016

This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in the ALA’s The State of America’s Libraries 2016 report, released April 11 in recognition of National Library Week, April 10–16. The report shows that libraries of all types add value in five key areas: education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and engagement. Local and national … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2016 →

The State of America’s Libraries 2015

April 13, 2015

This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2015, made available during National Library Week, April 12–18, both as an American Libraries digital supplement, as well as on the ALA website at ala.org/americas-libraries and as a PDF file. As society continues to change the way … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2015 →

The State of America’s Libraries, 2014

April 14, 2014

On April 13, the American Library Association released its report on the 2014 State of America’s Libraries during National Library Week, April 13–19, detailing library trends of the past year. Its findings include: More than 90% of the respondents in an independent national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries, 2014 →

Latest Library Links

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ALA has selected 50 participants for its 2024 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. Emerging Leaders will take part in a virtual day-long session during LibLearnX in January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Nov. 27
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Stephi Smith writes: “Celia Hamilton wanted to identify further with her Chinese heritage. Her adoptive parents are not Chinese, and she says this left her feeling like she missed out on some aspects of her cultural background. To connect with that part of her identity, Hamilton crafted a traditional garment—inspired by the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e—as one of three teens selected for Carmel Clay (Ind.) Public Library (CCPL)’s teen artists-in-residence program. CCPL is one of a handful of libraries across the US that have created teen artist-in-residence programs with a goal of bolstering youth interest in the arts.

American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.
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Carrie Russell writes: “Why do librarians and teachers—the very professionals who specialize in information literacy, equitable access to information, and the advancement of learning—have so many anxieties and misconceptions about copyright? Many of us harbor an unfounded fear of copyright litigation. ‘Better safe than sorry’ is a frequent assertion. But that attitude can keep users and creators of copyright-protected content from engaging in personal and educational activities that are unlikely to infringe copyright law. That excess caution is, consequently, contrary to the values of librarianship, teaching, and the goals of copyright.
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ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table is seeking nominations for the 2024 Eli M. Oboler Award. The award honors a literary work or series of works in the area of intellectual freedom, including matters of ethical, political, or social concerns. The article must have been published on the local, state, or national level in English or English translation in the 2022 or 2023 calendar years. The submission deadline is January 2, 2024.

Intellectual Freedom Round Table
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Maya Pontone writes: “A rare manuscript featuring 2,500 pages of detailed illustrations and text documenting the history and culture of 16th-century Mexico is now available online. The Digital Florentine Codex, a seven-year project by Los Angeles’s Getty Research Institute, features new transcriptions and translations, updated summaries, searchable texts and images, and more. Although Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún is frequently credited as the primary author, the manuscript was created with the help of numerous elders, grammarians, artists, and scribes from the Nahua community. As a result, the codex maintains an important Indigenous perspective.”

Hyperallergic, Nov. 9
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Sam Wineburg and Michael Caulfield write: “Recent headlines warn of sophisticated, AI-driven deepfakes. But low-tech, cheap fakes are the Swiss army knife in the propagandist’s tool belt. Changing a date, altering a location or even repurposing a clip from a video game and passing it off as battlefield combat require little know-how yet effectively sow confusion. The good news is that you can avoid being taken in by these ruses—not by examining the evidence closely, which is liable to mislead you, but by waiting until trusted sources verify what you’re looking at. This is often hard to do, however.”

The Conversation, Nov. 16
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Amanda Melcher writes: “Wayfinding is a fundamental aspect of effectively using a multi-function space. Libraries, with their complicated classification systems, multiple service points, and varying number of distinct collections housed in different areas/floors, exemplify the complex job that signage must accomplish. The University of Montevallo (Ala.) Carmichael Library’s partnership with a graphic design class to modernize library wayfinding was a win-win: it provided a user-centered design for the library and a real-world graphic design job for the students.”

The Journal of Creative Library Practice, Nov. 20

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