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The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced grants totaling nearly $5.3 million through three programs to support and improve library services of Native American, Native Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian organizations. A total of 146 organizations received grants, including the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma for its Pawnee Portal and Pawnee Nation Library; the Hula Preservation Society for a project to develop an Indigenous-centered controlled vocabulary and finding aids for 40 oral histories; and the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians for educational materials on Kumeyaay language and culture....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Aug. 18
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ALA, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Public Library Association have approved the final draft of
Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity: A Framework, a guide for developing personal, organizational, institutional, and systems-level knowledge and understanding of the nature of racism and its many manifestations. The framework is intended as both a theoretical and a practical tool that can provide the grounding needed to effect changes in thinking, behavior, and practice that will improve outcomes for racialized and minoritized populations....
ALA, Aug. 23
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Emily Mroczek-Bayci writes: “In a time where book challenges and new bills restricting access to books are sweeping the country, it is easy to feel helpless—whether you are immediately affected or not. For those library professionals who are not personally facing book bans and challenges, there are still ways to prepare yourself if something happens in your community and to support library professionals and educators who are affected.”...
ALSC Blog, Aug. 25
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Karin Greenberg writes: “Summer is a reading marathon for me. Each year, as I prepare to go back to my high school library, I take stock of titles I’ve read that might engage my students. I’m not always successful at motivating resistant teenage readers but with the right content (narrative nonfiction seems to be a favorite genre) I stand a better chance of creating interest. Here are four books I think high school students will enjoy.”...
Knowledge Quest blog, Aug. 30
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Diana Castillo and Kelly McElroy write: “While unions have long existed for library workers in public, academic, and school workplaces, this is an unusual moment after decades of stagnant union membership. Several significant campaigns representing library workers occurred in 2021, including several that came out of shifts in institutional policy or state law making it easier to organize. Whether or not these positive trends continue, 2022 offers an opportunity to reflect on organized labor in libraries.”...
In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Aug. 24
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Sarah Matusek writes: “Calls to ban books—from classrooms and library stacks—are on the rise, but they aren’t new. Direct dialogue with parents often resolves book concerns, though they’ve been rare, says librarian Martha Hickson, in her 18th year at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, New Jersey. What is new: having to defend not just titles for teens, but herself. Backlash began at a school board meeting last September during Banned Books Week. A local parent claimed the school library’s inclusion of certain books with sexual references was an effort to ‘groom’ students as potential victims of pedophilia.”...
The Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 22
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Rachel Scheier writes: “As public buildings, often with long hours, libraries have become orderly havens for people with nowhere else to go. In recent years, amid unrelenting demand for safety-net services, libraries have been asked by community leaders to formalize that role, expanding beyond books and computers to providing onsite outreach and support for people living on the streets. Librarians, in turn, have been called on to play the role of welfare workers, first responders, therapists, and security guards. Librarians are divided about those evolving duties.”...
California Healthline, Aug. 22
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Abby Yochelson writes: “The phrase ‘books are weapons in the war of ideas’ was coined by the publisher W. W. Norton, but it was made popular by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II to contrast with Nazis burning books. One of the best ideas was the distribution of a special series of Armed Services Editions to service personnel during the war. Booksellers, publishers, authors, librarians, and critics formed the Council on Books in Wartime to produce more than 122 million paperbacks for free distribution to US service members from 1943–1947. This program helped to transform the nature of publishing after the war.”...
Library of Congress: From the Catbird Seat, Aug. 25
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Matthew Wallaker writes: “Screens and eyes—partners in the relationship between us and our computers. Yet they seem to be at war with each other sometimes, don’t they? Computers use a font that’s too small, your eyesight changes, you get headaches and stress, and you can’t stand staring at a screen anymore. If you often have to squint your eyes to read what’s on your screen or take breaks to rest your eyes constantly, you should adjust your computer accessibility settings.”...
MakeUseOf, Aug. 30
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Pranay Parab writes: “Whether you use a PC, Mac, or iPad, keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time. While most of us know at least a few useful shortcuts, there are tons to learn, and each platform has so many it’s nearly impossible to remember them all anyway. Instead of missing out, use these excellent utilities to discover the best keyboard shortcuts for your needs, for every one of your devices and their apps.”...
Lifehacker, Aug. 24
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Isle McElroy writes: “Last week, a debate erupted on Twitter over J. D. Salinger’s 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye. A person posted a video on Twitter calling
Holden Caulfield a first-generation incel and proto–school shooter; defenders of Caulfield claimed he was a grieving abuse victim—a teenager!—who deserved our utmost sympathy. He’s part of an esteemed class of literary characters: troubled outsiders. He also isn’t real, a detail that both sides of the argument seemed to forget. Since he isn’t real, there’s nothing wrong with hating the guy. Nothing wrong with loving him, either.”...
Vulture, Aug. 23
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Leticia Urieta writes: “I have always been drawn to the uncanny, to the strange that doesn’t feel strange, to the stories that can frighten us at the same time that they reveal the brutal truths of our realities. Stories that are considered strange or surreal, where fantastic, magical, or even horrific things happen to disrupt accepted realities, often feel strange because they force people to experience the very real strangeness of everyday violences. These are stories and words that I come back to again and again, to read, to learn from, and to teach in my own workshops and programs.”...
Electric Lit, Aug. 29
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