veterans Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Four members of the US Army on an airfield

By the Numbers: Veterans

By Terra Dankowski | November 1, 2022

Veterans Day is November 11. 19 million Current number of US veterans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The figure refers to living people who have actively served in the armed forces. 115,000 Number of collections—which often include oral history recordings, manuscripts, and photographic materials related to an individual service member—held by the Veterans … Continue reading By the Numbers: Veterans →

Serving Those Who Have Served

By Terra Dankowski | June 27, 2021

“I left active duty in 1987 as part of the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act. Basically it was peace time and they wanted to get people out to save money, so I left early and gave back double that time in reserves,” she said. “And when I came back to Illinois, there wasn’t work. So I … Continue reading Serving Those Who Have Served →

From left: Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Cranston (R.I.) Public Library Director Ed Garcia, and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden at Cranston Public Library. Photo: Ed Garcia

Stories That Stand the Test of Time

By Ed Garcia | November 11, 2019

Housed in the library’s American Folklife Center, the VHP collects and preserves interviews and remembrances of US military veterans from World War I through the present. VHP also includes memoirs and collections of original photographs, letters, diaries, maps, and other historical documents that capture the diverse experiences of veterans from every state. Hayden’s goal for … Continue reading Stories That Stand the Test of Time →

Detail from program flier for Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library's World War I programming.

Bridging Past and Present

By James C. Scott, Sarah LeMire, and Tom Adamich | November 9, 2018

Beginning in 2016, Library of America (LOA) awarded grants to 120 libraries around the country as part of its World War I and America program. The grants were created to support library programming that would bring together US veterans and their communities through shared exploration of firsthand writings from WWI. To establish the connection between … Continue reading Bridging Past and Present →

A volunteer (left) helps a veteran at San Francisco Public Library’s Veterans Resource Center. The center is part of the Veterans Connect @ the Library program. Photo: Jason Doiy

Bridging the Gap for Vets

By Timothy Inklebarger | March 1, 2017

At Novato, for example, one retired Air Force officer who volunteers at the library has become someone whom vets can not only get information from but can also communicate with, according to Kevin Graves, a Bay Area coordinator with the California Department of Veterans Affairs. “Vets come in every week just to speak to him, … Continue reading Bridging the Gap for Vets →

Helping Veterans

By Alan S. Inouye | August 26, 2016

While collecting information for this document last week, I had the pleasure of visiting a Veterans Resource Center—one of 10 in the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system—at the LAPL’s Exposition Park branch. Many thanks to LAPL Adult Service Librarian Edwin Rodarte and veteran volunteers Paola Martinez and Veronica Hansel for briefing me and answering … Continue reading Helping Veterans →

From Boots to Books

By Tracey Howerton | May 23, 2014

Herbst served in the US Army from January 2001 to March 2009, including two deployments during the Iraq War. It was during this time that he developed his love of reading. Herbst would visit the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation tents (MWRs) on base when time permitted. MWRs often housed small libraries that contained books donated … Continue reading From Boots to Books →

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ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services will host “Libraries Respond: Racial Healing and Transforming Communities through Mental Health Practices,” a virtual panel discussion, on February 25 at 3 p.m. Central. The 90-minute event will feature mental health professional Grace Le sharing her expertise on how mental health can impact our individual journeys towards racial healing, and a moderated panel of ALA leaders sharing perspectives and experiences on collective community healing towards racial equity and our roles in our library spaces. Register to receive the Zoom link.

ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and outreach Services
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Michelle Reed and Tova Gaster write: “Neo-Censorship in US Libraries: An Investigation into Digital Content Suppression, a new Library Futures report, dives into an underreported area of library censorship—database bans that restrict youth access to ebooks, research resources, and other digital content. While bans on beloved print books are often more visible, challenges to databases and digital collections risk restricting children from viewing a wide range of content—from breast cancer awareness to resources for identifying and reporting sexual abuse.”

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