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Ani DiFranco Photo credit: GMD Three When the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on live music, Grammy Award–winning musician and activist Ani DiFranco found another outlet for her artistry: children’s literature. DiFranco, who released a bestselling memoir in 2019, published her debut children’s book, The Knowing (Penguin Random House), in March. She describes the book […]
A Croatian national has been arrested for allegedly operating NetWire, a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) marketed on cybercrime forums since 2012 as a stealthy way to spy on infected systems and siphon passwords. The arrest coincided with a seizure of the NetWire sales website by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While the defendant […]
Join me in congratulating Dinah Handel on her promotion to Digital Library Services Manager! Dinah has served as Digitization Services Manager on the Product and Service Management (PSM) team in Digital Library Systems and Services (DLSS) since January 2018. Over the past five years, Dinah has steadily developed into a high-performing member of the team […]
The existence of libraries ensures that knowledge and technology are available to everyone, not just to those who can afford them. Libraries have survived and thrived through the expansion of digital media, the rise of e-books, and all digital transformation. Reconfiguring their spaces to be more social, and more functional and by offering more programs […]
The domain name registrar Freenom, whose free domain names have long been a draw for spammers and phishers, has stopped allowing new domain name registrations. The move comes after the Dutch registrar was sued by Meta, which alleges the company ignores abuse complaints about phishing websites while monetizing traffic to those abusive domains. Freenom’s website […]
The Biden administration today issued its vision for beefing up the nation’s collective cybersecurity posture, including calls for legislation establishing liability for software products and services that are sold with little regard for security. The White House’s new national cybersecurity strategy also envisions a more active role by cloud providers and the U.S. military in […]
While some people still primarily associate libraries with books, they offer so much more! Libraries are often a resource hub for the community where passionate, friendly, and helpful library professionals work. Libraries have much more to offer than just books. Libraries offer access to technology, the internet, meeting rooms & creative spaces, and endless resources […]
Illustration: Gaby FeBland This March marks three years since COVID- 19 brought the country to a standstill. While the pandemic is still ongoing—tens of thousands of cases continue to be recorded daily in the US—the effects it has had on our everyday lives, and our libraries, have abated and become somewhat normalized. In those early […]
Illustration: Gaby FeBland When COVID-19 shuttered businesses, schools, and public spaces in March 2020, we knew little about the virus and how long it would last. But even in the absence of answers, library workers did what they do best: shared information, pivoted programs and services, and tried to plug noticeable equity gaps. Three years […]
Illustration: Gaby FeBland At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ari Brooks wasn’t sure how to move forward with her library’s fundraising efforts. In a milieu of uncertainty caused by worldwide shutdowns, Brooks, executive director of Friends of the Library, Montgomery County (FOLMC) in Maryland, didn’t know if it was insensitive to ask the community […]
Illustration: Gaby FeBland In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the Puerto Rican coastal city of Humacao. Much of The Palmas Academy (TPA), a K–12 school serving kids from across the island, was left damaged or destroyed—including its library. The library served as a hub for the school’s approximately 400 students and faculty. It had separate […]
Photo: ©kite_rin/Adobe Stock The work of medical librarians is essential and varied. Housed within academic medical libraries, hospitals, corporate libraries, and insurance companies, medical librarians provide information and resources to improve patient care, promote public health, and support medical education and research. Responsibilities are constantly evolving with technology and new programming. American Libraries spoke with […]
Photo: ©Rawpixel/Adobe Stock The world needs learners who can think for themselves and solve problems in creative ways, not blindly accept and reproduce facts. A good school librarian can use learning centers to help young people develop these attributes.Learning centers, or stations, aren’t a new concept in education. Many classroom educators already use them, often […]
Patrons of Thomas County (Ga.) Public Library System use litter cleanup kits they checked out. The initiative, launched in 2020, has been popular with groups of all sizes.Photo: Keep Thomas County Beautiful Nearly 50 billion pieces of litter are scattered along US roadways and waterways, according to a 2020 study by the nonprofit Keep America […]
With a grant from the National Library of Medicine, Pickens County (S.C.) Library System created medical wellness kits, including blood pressure kits, for checkout. Photo: Pickens County (S.C.) Library System Julie Lepore noticed that many of her patrons were feeling isolated following COVID-19 exposures, positive tests, or caring for sick family members. “We’re a fairly […]
Each phone in Las Vegas–Clark County (Nev.) Library District’s Cellphone Lending Program was loaded with more than 50 social service provider contacts. Photos: ©carballo/Adobe Stock (person); Las Vegas-Clark County (Nev.) Library District (phone) When Las Vegas–Clark County (Nev.) Library District (LVCCLD) closed its doors at the start of the pandemic, the technological barriers that existed […]
Photo: Calvin Gavion Few details go unnoticed by Clint Smith: His child’s first hiccup. The way his grandfather’s house still smells like his late grandmother’s hair. The eroding coastline in his home state of Louisiana. His poetry collection Counting Descent won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the […]
Image: Shutterstock.com Three different cybercriminal groups claimed access to internal networks at communications giant T-Mobile in more than 100 separate incidents throughout 2022, new data suggests. In each case, the goal of the attackers was the same: Phish T-Mobile employees for access to internal company tools, and then convert that access into a cybercrime service […]
Web hosting giant GoDaddy made headlines this month when it disclosed that a multi-year breach allowed intruders to steal company source code, siphon customer and employee login credentials, and foist malware on customer websites. Media coverage understandably focused on GoDaddy’s admission that it suffered three different cyberattacks over as many years at the hands of […]
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in drag (Franklin High yearbook 1977, page 165) Tennessee legislators in the State Senate have voted to move forward SB 0003, a bill which will criminalize performance in drag. The bill is not particularly long nor difficult to understand, so I’m going to include the relevant bits here: SECTION 1. Tennessee […]
