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Author Leanne Su holds up her sci-fi novel, Peri Peri Paprika, published in 2024 by Fifth Avenue Press, the imprint of Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library. Photo: Lia Giannotti Libraries typically provide books—not publish them. But eight years ago, Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library (AADL) had some voices it wanted the world to hear. “We’ve […]
A young presenter shares slides about the history of basketball at Vestavia Hills (Ala.) Library’s summer 2024 PowerPoint Party. Photo: Derek Anderson/Vestavia Hills (Ala.) Library At Hewitt (Tex.) Public Library (HPL), teens enthusiastically shared slideshows on the history of roads and the comparative merits of doors and wheels. None of this was schoolwork. PowerPoint is […]
Des Moines (Iowa) University students play The Euphorigen Investigation, an escape room designed to help people better understand misinformation, as part of MisinfoDay in October 2024. Photo: Des Moines (Iowa) University Misinformation: It seems to be everywhere, is getting increasingly sophisticated, and can have dangerous consequences. So how do librarians adapt their instruction to keep […]
99%Percentage of public libraries that offer a summer reading program for kids, teens, or adults, according to the Public Library Association’s 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Report. 61%Percentage of school-age kids who enjoy summer reading, according to the 2024 Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report. 20%Percentage of school-year gains in reading that students […]
Johnson City (Tenn.) Public Library Marketing Coordinator Hannah Kiger (right) pours barley into the first batch of the 1895 lager at Johnson City Brewing Company in April 2020.Photo: Johnson City Public Library While creating one of their in-house brews, employees at Johnson City (Tenn.) Brewing Company brought in some unexpected assistants to pour barley into […]
Fourth-grade students at George A. Jackson Elementary School in Jericho, New York, work on podcasts. The project was spearheaded by their librarian and teachers.Photo: Lauren Kawasaki At George A. Jackson Elementary School in Jericho, New York, educators wanted to help students discover the power of their voices. During the 2023–2024 school year, as part of a […]
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 […]
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, […]
With small businesses employing almost half the US workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public libraries’ support for those businesses, and the entrepreneurs who start them, makes a significant contribution to our country’s economy. 5.5 millionThe record-breaking number of new businesses started in 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. 50%Approximate number of […]
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 […]
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 […]
At Jacksonville (Ala.) State University’s Houston Cole Library, students used augmented reality to complete a treasure hunt–themed orientation. With Gen Z in its higher-education years and Gen Alpha fast approaching, academic libraries are seeking ways to reach tech-savvy students. “College students, being digital natives, are more inclined to engage with technology-driven learning tools,” says Yingqi Tang, […]
Ted Quiballo (right), instructional technologies librarian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, shows interns for World Relief Chicagoland’s youth summer program how to use a 3D scanner. For nearly a decade, Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, and the Chicago office of the national nonprofit World Relief have worked together to offer free summer programming […]
A 1981 concert flier for Dr. Cool and Cold Crush Brothers, archived in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library. 1,000Number of event fliers in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library (CUL) in Ithaca, New York. These handmade fliers, made between 1976 and 1984, advertise early live performances by genre trailblazers like Grandmaster Flash […]
At Roanoke (Va.) Public Libraries’ 2023 Flip the Fair event, elementary school students discuss a research presentation on microbiology with a graduate student from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Photo: Amber Lowery On a school morning last September, small groups of 5th-graders crowded around tools connected to scientific research—a microscope, a robotic camera, and even a […]
