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The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the digital divide now that learning, work, and much of our daily life has moved online. As a result, the imperative to pass broadband legislation in Congress is greater than ever. In recent months, the House and Senate have introduced several bills that include provisions to ensure libraries are equipped to address the digital needs of their communities, and the American Library Association (ALA) has supported many of them. Marijke Visser and Kevin Maher of ALA's Public Policy and Advocacy Office detail the bills that library advocates should watch....
AL: The Scoop, July 15
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Strong libraries are essential to the recovery of communities devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help guide communities, library workers, and library supporters along the path to recovery, on July 15 ALA launched a curated, online repository of tools, guides, and resources.
The ALA COVID-19 Recovery website includes everything from the latest information on safely reopening libraries to funding opportunities available on the local, state, and federal level. It will be updated often and replace the existing COVID-19 Response page that has served the community through the pandemic thus far. The online resource center is arranged into four sections: Advocacy and Policy; Education; Data and Research; and Guidance Content and Protocol....
ALA News, July 15
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How you and your staff react to a threat is paramount to the success of your response. The inability to react effectively may damage your facility or collections and could contribute to injury or death. This excerpt from Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery: A How-to-Do-It Manual for Librarians (ALA Neal-Schuman) provides planning tools for libraries....
American Libraries feature, July/Aug.
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As colleges and universities gear up for distance learning or a limited return to campus, streaming media is emerging as a key tool. These products for libraries focus on films, art, and music and make streaming a valuable resource for both independent study and structured lessons, on and off campus.... American Libraries column, July/Aug.
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Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe writes: “Almost every discussion I have about Unsub, whether with librarians or publishers, at some point turns to assumptions about what decisions librarians will or will not make with respect to retaining subscriptions if they turn away from the Big Deal model for subscribing to journal content. Today I share the results of looking at the retained title lists from seven libraries that walked away from Elsevier’s Big Deal package.”...
Scholarly Kitchen, May 19, July 14
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The US Department of Homeland Security has rescinded its July 6 policy directive that would have required international students
to take at least some in-person college coursework in order to remain in the US. The government agreed to rescind the policy to resolve a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
Inside Higher Ed, July 7, 9, 15
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On July 6, Mozilla announced that it would not seek US Supreme Court review of the D.C. Circuit decision in Mozilla et al. v. FCC, which challenged the FCC's 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom order. Mozilla and its partners in the litigation say they are hoping for net neutrality to move forward at the state level as well as through Congress or a future administration's FCC....
Mozilla Open Policy and Advocacy Blog, July 6; AL: The Scoop, Feb. 4, 2019
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The Summersville (W.Va.) Public Library is returning to curbside-only service after an incident involving a patron refusing to wear a mask. Staff members said a patron who was asked to wear a mask in the library allegedly became agitated and took it off before walking down the aisles coughing on books and computers, according to a Facebook post by the library. The library said the person then became aggressive and began verbally abusing staff....
WCHS-TV Charleston, July 9; Summersville Public Library Facebook page, July 9
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In a
June 22 statement, University of Oregon Libraries promised to review its special collections, amplify marginalized voices, change its recruitment and hiring practices, and cover three New Deal-era murals in Knight Library that contain racist content before students resume classes in the fall. Conversely, the National Coalition against Censorship is asking University of Kentucky
to cancel its plans to remove a similar mural depicting aspects of Kentucky history, including slavery. In 2018, the university commissioned an installation by Karyn Olivier, a noted Black artist, that was painted above the mural and is intended as a response to it....
University of Oregon Daily Emerald, July 14; National Coalition against Censorship, July 1
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Georgia Tech Library in Atlanta has created an online resource with access to academic and popular materials on social justice, racial and ethnic histories in the United States, LGBTQ+ stories, and other interconnected issues.
The Black Lives Matter Reading Room includes links to research, videos, free resources, books and lectures by Georgia Tech faculty, and on-campus resources for students....
Georgia Tech, July 7
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Cast members from the new Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club, based on the bestselling book series by Ann M. Martin, recorded a video PSA in support of libraries. The PSA highlights how libraries offer great entertainment the whole family can enjoy together, including books, movies, music, video games, and online programs. A
resource page lets libraries spread the word by sharing the video on websites and social media....
ALA Communications and Marketing Office, July 15
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Laura Sackton writes: “If you’re an audiobook fan, full-cast audiobooks are like treating yourself to a Broadway show: When they’re done well, they are absolutely unforgettable. A cast of talented voice actors can bring books to life in truly remarkable ways. These are some of the best new full-cast audiobooks that have come out in the past few years.”...
Book Riot, July 15
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