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Photo: University Library Special Collections and Archives/University of California, Santa Cruz International Workers’ Day is May 1. 8Date in April that National Library Workers Day was celebrated this year. Since 2004, it has been commemorated on the Tuesday of National Library Week. 25,000Number of library workers represented by the American Federation of State, County, and […]
Lucie Faulknor (left) and Dawn Logsdon, codirectors of the PBS Independent Lens documentary Free for All: The Public Library For filmmaker Dawn Logsdon, summers in the 1960s and 1970s were filled with road trips in her family’s Volkswagen. A common stop on those travels included public libraries, which meant that by age 12, she had […]
Inside the Haskell Library, a black line on the floor marks the border between the United States and Canada, which patrons from both countries can freely move across. courtesy of Sylvie Boudreau For more than a century, Canadians have used nothing but a narrow sidewalk to cross their national border into Vermont and enter the […]
During a February 2025 meeting of the Huntington Beach, California, City Council, former NFL player Chris Kluwe spoke out against installation of a plaque referencing MAGA to commemorate the town library’s 50th anniversary. Former NFL player Chris Kluwe put down the pigskin in 2013, when he retired from professional football after eight seasons with the […]
In 1979, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library became one of the first libraries to start a tool lending program. Today, library patrons can choose from dozens of household options, from lawn mowers to miter saws, cold-press juicers to knife sharpeners. Public libraries continue to adopt this model, with Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library launching its first tool […]
1989ALA creates the Task Force on the Environment, timed with Earth Day’s 20th anniversary in 1990. The task force is now part of the Sustainability Round Table (SustainRT). 1990ALA introduces Environmental Issues to its Policy Manual, urging librarians and library governing boards to “collect and provide information [to patrons] on the condition of our Earth, its […]
James W. Lewis The American Library Association (ALA) recently received the largest gift in its 150-year history: a $25 million bequest from Washington, D.C.–based financial advisor James W. Lewis. The bequest from Lewis, whose love for libraries dates back to his childhood in North Carolina, will provide needs-based scholarships for those training to be librarians. […]
Brown County (Wis.) Library, East branch American Libraries is accepting submissions for the 2025 Library Design Showcase, our annual feature celebrating new and newly renovated libraries of all types and sizes. The showcase will appear in the September/October issue. We are looking for examples of innovative library architecture that address patrons’ needs in unique and […]
Doreen Horstin, manager of San Francisco Public Library’s Park branch, adds a book to the Read to Recovery shelves, which provide free addiction recovery materials to patrons. Photo: Jaime Wong/San Francisco Public Library Every day in public libraries across San Francisco, patrons find their way to a discreet shelf and pick up titles including Alcoholics Anonymous’ […]
Teens arrange food at charcuterie classes held by Carroll County (Md.) Public Library’s Exploration Commons. At these classes, teens laser-cut wood to create serving boards and learn how to present edible items.Photo: Exploration Commons, Carroll County (Md.) Public Library It’s not every day you find a group of teens gathered around a table at a […]
Color-corrective glasses, like those sold by EnChroma (pictured), are available for checkout at a growing number of libraries for patrons who experience color blindness.Photo: Adam Rogers Libraries are often gateways to new experiences, and a growing number are now offering patrons the chance to see the world in full color—literally. In recent years, libraries of […]
Photo: Arizona State University Library, Special Collections American Library Association’s LibLearnX Conference in Phoenix will take place Jan. 24–27. 28,000Number of Indigenous artists represented in the Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives (BJBLA), located within the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Like the museum, BJBLA’s holdings include traditional and contemporary American Indian artists’ art, written works, […]
Members of Totoket Valley Elementary School’s (TVES) intergenerational book club, comprising 4th-graders from TVES and residents from North Branford Senior Center in Northford, Connecticut, complete an activity based on the book Mr. Ferris and His Wheel in 2023. Photo: Shelly Thompson On a Wednesday in February 2023, anyone stopping by the North Branford Senior Center in […]
St. Louis (Mo.) County Library, in partnership with the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, distributes diapers at its six library locations. Photo: St. Louis (Mo.) County Library What would you do to keep your child clean, dry, and healthy? Skip meals? Miss bill payments? Take on an extra job? For nearly half of US families […]
Vernon Area Public Library District in Lincolnshire, Illinois, worked with municipal leaders to create a self-guided exhibit titled Know Your Local Government. Photo: Vernon Area Public Library District in Lincolnshire, Illinois Noting the public’s eroding faith in the election process and its growing mistrust of many information sources, staffers at Vernon Area Public Library District […]
Welcome to the 2024 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries throughout North America. Like the profession itself, library facilities are in a constant state of rebirth and reimagination. Libraries have evolved from places devoted strictly to scholarship and materials collection to true third spaces, where diverse communities come together […]
The American Library Association (ALA) and the International Interior Design Association are pleased to present the winners of the 2024 Library Interior Design Awards. Submissions, open to any library worldwide, are judged by industry professionals based on aesthetics, design, creativity, and function. Of the selected projects, one is named Best of Competition. The winners were […]
New English Canaan (1637) by Thomas Morton The year 2023 was another record-breaker for book bans. The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented 1,247 attempts to censor library books and other materials—most of which were works by or about people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, or both. Since these […]
Illustration: Tom Deja Sonya Knisley, head of children’s services at Clark County (Ohio) Public Library (CCPL), has seen it happen over and over again. Someone walks into her location and applies for a library card—with one obvious aim. “As soon as they get their card, they immediately place a hold on a ghost-hunting kit,” Knisley […]
Photo: ©SewcreamStudio/Adobe Stock Social workers who connect patrons to needed physical and emotional care. Quiet rooms for rest and relaxation. Robotic pets that purr away patrons’ anxieties. And grief groups to support patrons over the holidays. Over the past decade, mental health support in libraries has grown more inventive, specific, and widespread. Institutions continue to […]
