You are browsing archives for
Patrons display their new enhanced library cards at an April 6 sign-up event at the Fairbanks branch of Harris County (Tex.) Public Library. The cards offer another form of ID. Photo: Nancy Hu/Harris County (Tex.) Public Library Photo identification is an essential part of American life. But for large swaths of the populace, photo IDs can […]
Play areas next to desks give caregivers flexibility at Henrico County (Va.) Public Library’s Fairfield branch. Photo: Chris Cunningham Photography In January, images of some unusual new workstations at Fairfield Area Library—part of Henrico County (Va.) Public Library (HCPL)—went viral on social media and across national and international news media. What caught people’s attention: the […]
George Saunders Photo: Zach Krahmer George Saunders is best known for his dystopic short stories that satirize—and humanize—the absurdities of our shared reality. His forthcoming collection Liberation Day (Random House, October) is no exception, exploring themes of power, ethics, and justice amid backdrops of a hailstorm, a tyrannical government, and an underground theme park. American […]
This movie poster is one of 3,000 items in the Witchcraft Collection at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Photo: Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 19thCentury in which Halloween was popularized in the US, thanks in part to the arrival of Irish and Scottish immigrants. Halloween has its roots in the […]
RAR-Atlanta leaders (left to right) Sarah Cruz, Hannah Griggs, and Devin Cowens. Photo: Dessa Lohrey The gear library of the Radical Adventure Riders Atlanta chapter (RAR-ATL) isn’t the first of its kind for cycling gear, but it is one of the most organized and accessible. In researching other groups that loan cycling gear, “we hadn’t […]
Fall is my favorite time of the year. The air turns crisp; holy days and holidays—both religious and secular—come in quick succession; hope for the school year abounds; and heritage, awareness, and history months are in full swing. Embracing these celebrations, identities, and hopes is foundational to our shared core values of diversity, lifelong learning, […]
Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer, and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including […]
Registrants browse the ribbon bar at the 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Photo: EPNAC From June 23 to 28, the American Library Association (ALA) held its 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition, its first major in-person conference since the pandemic began. Participants’ eagerness to gather and reconnect was palpable and seen in the […]
Daphene Keys, public services librarian at Houston Community College, poses with the Baker & Taylor mascots. Photo: EPNAC The American Library Association’s (ALA) 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition returned to Washington, D.C., June 23–28, and the mood in the exhibit hall was only slightly subdued compared with previous in-person conferences. This year’s attendance of just […]
Students from universities in several countries participate in calligraphy tutorials through City University of Hong Kong and learn how to parse historical East Asian texts. Two libraries earned this year’s American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects. The winning entries include a program that teaches information literacy through calligraphy and a […]
Photo: Kieran Kesner Celeste Ng’s third novel, Our Missing Hearts, tells a story that may not feel as speculative as we might wish: When an economic crisis hits the United States, fear and racism poison society, and people look for a scapegoat. Under the guise of national security, a law called PACT—the Preserving American Culture […]
Exhibit hall candids from the American Library Association’s 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C.Photos: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries The exhibit hall at this year’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., boasted the usual fan favorites—books, author talks, new product demos, robots, mascots, and all the swag fit for a canvas bag. Attendees weren’t exactly sure […]
Over the past few years, we have been asked to be brave as we do things that once would have been unthinkable. We have had to be brave while defending intellectual freedom and the right to read. We have had to be brave taking on the role of disaster workers in response to COVID-19. And […]
In this third and final installment of my columns on the pervasiveness of adult low literacy, I feel an urgent need to call out how race, gender, and class coincide—and collide—when it comes to reading ability. This topic is especially critical at a moment marked by de facto and de jure attacks on women’s bodies […]
Photo: EPNAC Pulling from his experiences living in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots following the Rodney King verdict, actor John Cho has written Troublemaker (Little, Brown and Company), his debut middle-grade novel. The book, released in March, follows 12-year-old Jordan in the wake of the riots while he balances school and complicated family dynamics. […]
After two years of pandemic-imposed social distancing and virtual meetings, librarians will once again gather in person at the profession’s largest event. The American Library Association’s (ALA) 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition returns to Washington, D.C., June 23–28. In addition to the face-to-face networking opportunities that so many have missed, Annual will offer a full […]
This year marks 100 years since the Newbery Medal—the world’s first children’s book award—was instituted. To celebrate this centennial, American Libraries covers the history of the award, offers a timeline of events, and talks with previous Newbery winners. In “100 Years of the Newbery Medal,” we look at the legacy, challenges, and future of this […]
Fenton T. Newbery (left), a direct descendent of John Newbery, watches author Arthur Bowie Chrisman receive the 1926 Newbery Medal for Shen of the Sea from Nina C. Brotherton, chair of ALA’s Children’s Librarians Section, as Frederic G. Melcher (right) looks on. Photo: ALA Archives For 100 years, the shiny John Newbery Medal seal that […]
From left, Lois Lowry, Cynthia Kadohata, Tae Keller, and Jerry Craft. American Libraries interviewed Jerry Craft, Cynthia Kadohata, Tae Keller, and Lois Lowry about their past Newbery Medals in honor of the award’s 100th anniversary. Jerry Craft Recipient of the 2020 Newbery Medal for New Kid How did you react when you learned you had […]
1922The first Newbery Medal is awarded to The Story of Mankind, written and illustrated by Dutch American historian and journalist Hendrik Willem van Loon. 1928Dhan Gopal Mukerji becomes the first person of color and the first Asian American author to win the Newbery. Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon is set in his homeland of […]
