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For its Halloween-themed episode, Call Number with American Libraries looks at the enduring appeal of zombies and the role libraries have had in continuing their mythos. Episode guests include Ben Rubin, horror studies collection coordinator at University of Pittsburgh Library System, who speaks about the George A. Romero Archival Collection; Amy Dennis, programming and public relations librarian at Tom Green County (Tex.) Library System, who describes her library’s zombie doll program for youth; and Seanan McGuire (aka Mira Grant), author of the Newsflesh trilogy of zombie novels....
AL: The Scoop, Oct. 19
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Forty-five books have been selected for the longlist of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, the
American Library Association (ALA) announced October 18. The
list of 23 fiction and 22 nonfiction selections is available on the awards’ website. The six-title shortlist will be chosen from the longlist and announced November 8, and two medal winners will be named January 23 during ALA’s first annual LibLearnX conference. The awards are funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and administered by Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association....
Booklist, Oct. 18
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Registration for ALA’s inaugural LibLearnX conference, to be held virtually January 21–24, 2022, is now open. The conference will feature real-time learning opportunities, networking activities, more than 100 exhibitors, and content on topics including career development, community outreach, digital equity, mental health, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Learn more about the event at
alaliblearnx.org....
ALA Conference Services, Oct. 15
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ALA announced the return of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program, which seeks to recruit diverse LIS faculty members. The program, to be run in partnership with University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, will recruit a cohort of 8-10 racially and ethnically diverse doctoral students focused on advancing racial equity and social justice in library and information science curricula. “There have been many discussions about the lack of diversity in the profession, and that includes the classrooms as well,” said Kevin Strowder, director of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, in an October 14 statement.
An information session for the fellowship will take place November 3; applications for the program open November 4....
ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Oct. 14
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The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) has received $3.6 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the American Rescue Plan to help Native cultural organizations recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 18,
ATALM and NEH announced in a press release that this money has been earmarked for subgrants for up to 175 Native cultural institutions and their partners. Awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and may be used to rehire furloughed employees, prepare facilities for reopening, document cultural practices, and create new exhibits and programs.
Applications open October 20....
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, Oct. 18
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Dorany Pineda writes: “Gary Paulsen, the acclaimed and prolific author of page-turning children’s novels of adventure and survival, including Dogsong and The Winter Room as well as Hatchet, died suddenly last Wednesday at his home in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported. Throughout his life, Paulsen wrote more than 100 books, sold more than 35 million copies, and was a three-time John Newbery Medal finalist. Teachers and librarians in Los Angeles and beyond were saddened by the news but expressed deep gratitude to a man whose inspiring, plot-driven stories captivated readers young and old. ‘Hatchet was something that was so out of the ordinary,’ said Damitri Boone, children’s librarian at the Inglewood (Calif.) Public Library.”...
Los Angeles Times, Oct. 19
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Suzie Glassman writes: “My daughter is part of the
15–20% of students and adults living with a language-based learning disability. Once we diagnosed her dyslexia, I understood she needed the help of assistive technology to learn at a rate on par with her classmates, but I wasn’t sure where to start. In honor of
Dyslexia Awareness Month this October, I reached out to several assistive technology experts to find out what technology they recommend for facilitating and improving reading, writing, spelling, and math.”...
Wired, Oct. 16; International Dyslexia Association
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Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia write: “So often educators favor fiction for read-alouds, book talks, book clubs, classroom instruction, and special assignments. They seem to believe that young readers prefer fiction, and yet wide-ranging research clearly shows that many students enjoy nonfiction as much as or more than fiction. To help students make sense of the wide world of nonfiction, we advocate the Five Kinds of Nonfiction classification system.”...
MiddleWeb, Oct. 13
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K. W. Colyard writes: “The most influential sci-fi books of all time have shaped not just science fiction and its myriad subgenres, but horror, fantasy, and manga, as well. Filmmakers have drawn inspiration for the stories between their covers, and real-world STEM developments have been made in their names. Without these books, for better or worse, our world would not be what it is today.”...
Book Riot, Oct. 12
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Kristen A. Graham writes: “The Philadelphia School District, with 200-plus schools, employed 176 certified school librarians in 1991. Today, that number is fewer than 10. Philadelphia has the
worst ratio of school librarians in the country. Building 21’s new homespun library has no budget, no librarian, and was built entirely with used and new books donated or purchased cheaply at yard sales or through online marketplace sites. Though it lacks computers, a digital circulation system, or any of the sophisticated bells and whistles that are the hallmarks of better-resourced schools, the Building 21 library feels like a gift, says Simone Burrell, a recent graduate.”...
Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 16; Jan. 24, 2020
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Hannah Arata writes: “It’s that time again! We rounded up some great library craft videos from across the internet that are perfect for Halloween. Whether they are doing in-person events or take-and-make kits, these libraries share their creative crafts for the spooky season.”...
Programming Librarian, Oct. 15
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Jeff Somers writes: “Every now and then a particular TV show takes over and commands the all-seeing eye of pop culture for weeks or months at a time—think the first season of Stranger Things, or the height of Game of Thrones. Right now, that show is Squid Game, which has become the most successful Netflix series of all time, not to mention the latest in a wave of South Korean cultural exports captivating a global audience. Some of these 13 books served as inspiration for the series, capture its bleak understanding of the ways social and economic forces conspire to crush the life out of us, and some are similarly pitch-black stories about desperate people fighting for survival in one sense or another.”...
Lifehacker, Oct. 18
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