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Photo: Willis Bretz From outside, Downtown Reno Library of Washoe County (Nev.) Library System looks like a big square brown box. “There’s no pizazz out front,” says Kristen Ryan, branch manager. So when people walk inside and find a lush central atrium with an abundance of philodendrons, spotted begonias, and other greenery; several towering trees; […]
By Megan Bennett | July 24, 2024 Photos: EPANC The weather report at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition, held June 27–July 2 in San Diego, was all smiles. Here are some of the week’s picture-perfect moments. Clockwise from top: Haley White, reference department manager at Springfield-Greene County (Mo.) Library District, takes […]
Photo: Brett Alan Photography Kelley Woolley remembers visiting San Diego Zoo and its Safari Park as a kid. The big cats, giraffes, and koalas were often her first stops. She recalls watching elephants do tricks and riding the now-closed monorail, which offered great views of the tiger habitat. “I’ve been a huge animal person my […]
Pickleball Librarian Drew Evans poses on the court. Photo: Ken Doll Photography Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, with participation more than doubling to 9 million players between 2020 and 2022. Drew Evans, a retired law librarian who has previously worked at Kansas State University in […]
Kathleen Donahoe, robot archive processing archivist at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), poses with a selection of robots in CMU’s archive. Photo: Heather Mull How do you archive a robot? This is the question that Kathleen Donahoe, robot archive processing archivist at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Libraries in Pittsburgh, and a team of archivists, roboticists, and […]
Photo: Aaron Clamage All signs pointed to Philip Espe joining the Marines. The 34-year-old comes from a long line of military family members. But he also had a calling in music. Espe studied clarinet performance, earned a master’s of music in orchestral conducting, and directed community and youth orchestras. He used those skills when serving […]
Photo: James Jelin Whether it’s snickerdoodles, peach cobbler, or cheese dip, many home cooks want to be remembered for their signature dish. Some have even gone as far as incorporating those foods into their final resting place. “Food connects us to someone we miss,” says Rosie Grant, digital librarian for American Jewish University in Los […]
Snapshots from ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.Photos: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries The atmosphere was charged at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. At the center of it all, as usual, was its popular Library Marketplace. Thousands of attendees marveled at the rows of vendor booths that hosted […]
Jenny Robb at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University in Columbus. Photo: Stephen Takacs Jenny Robb says we are living in the golden age of cartoons and comics. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have graphic novels for a children’s audience,” says Robb, head curator of the Billy Ireland […]
Sandy Himel is associate professor and head of government information and the Cajun and Creole Music Collection at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Photo: Doug Dugas/University of Louisiana at Lafayette In 1950s southern Louisiana and southeast Texas, a new kind of music filled hopping dance halls: swamp pop. The genre, typified by electric guitars, pianos, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Suzanne Noruschat, Southern California studies specialist for USC Libraries Special Collections. Photo: Anne-Marie Maxwell Long before the popularity of true-crime podcasts, there was True Detective, a pulp magazine published from 1924 to 1995 that, at its peak, chronicled real-life crimes for millions of readers. Edward S. Sullivan, an editor for The Los Angeles Examiner and […]
From left: Molly Watson, youth services librarian at Cynthiana-Harrison County (Ky.) Public Library; Hank the Horse; and Hank’s owner Tammi Regan of Equinox Stables. Photo: Molly Evely Photography Cynthiana–Harrison County (Ky.) Public Library’s (CHCPL) first in-person program since before the pandemic made a big impression—a headline-grabbing, 1,300-pound impression, to be exact. Hank, a Tennessee Walker–breed […]
T-Kay Sangwand, digital collection development librarian at UCLA Library and host of radio show The Archive of Feelings.Photo: Amanda Lopez When T-Kay Sangwand named her radio show The Archive of Feelings, she wasn’t just being cute. In addition to being a DJ, Sangwand is librarian for digital collection development at UCLA Library, where she helms […]
Tenzin Kalsang, children’s librarian at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library’s Williamsburg branch, performs Tibetan storytimes for users around the world. Photo: Todd Boebel When Tenzin Kalsang, children’s librarian at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library’s (BPL) Williamsburg branch, started an online series of bilingual storytimes in April 2020, the native Tibetan speaker couldn’t have predicted she’d become an […]
Ellen Keith, director of the Chicago History Museum Library, displays items related to the Great Chicago Fire. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries Nearly 150 years after it leveled 18,000 buildings and killed 300 people, the Great Chicago Fire (October 8–10, 1871) lives on—in the city’s tourist attractions, sports team names, and soon in a Chicago History […]
Monique Sugimoto, librarian and archivist for Palos Verdes Library District’s Local History Center, points out over the coast. Photo: Erik Jay From housing former military installations to settling neighborhood squabbles over lighthouse design to becoming overpopulated with wild peacocks, Palos Verdes Peninsula, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles, is full of history. Monique Sugimoto, […]
Amy Schindler, director of archives and special collections at University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Libraries, holds a magic book from the Omaha (Neb.) Magical Society collection. Photo: University of Nebraska at Omaha One day, the magic collection vanished—and then reappeared. That is, the Omaha (Neb.) Magical Society moved its 1,200 magic-related books and materials […]
Top: Puppeteer Morgan Matens (left) and Children’s Librarian Greg Hall pose with puppets from Nashville Public Library’s in-house troupe, Wishing Chair Productions. Below: Scenes from their viral Facebook video “Curbside Baby.” Photo: Samantha Saldana/Nashville Public Library (Matens and Hall) When Greg Hall and Morgan Matens met and fell in love as graduate students over a […]
