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Alison Marcotte writes: “Giving gifts feels great, but shopping for them can be stressful. We’re here to help you reduce the anxiety and bring some of the fun back this holiday season. Our roundup of bookish gifts focuses on presents to entertain, delight, and inspire the family, friends, and colleagues on your list. And to help reduce the pressure on your wallet, items start at $10, and everything is under $50.”...
American Libraries feature, Nov. 25
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Ana Ndumu writes: “For more than a century, American libraries of all types have helped immigrants integrate, worked with municipalities to cultivate welcoming communities, and supported laws to shape our immigration system. With immigrants making up 13.8% of our population, the US is more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse than ever before. But for many library workers, staying abreast of the fraught immigration policy landscape is challenging. Laws shift rapidly, with initiatives introduced or eliminated according to political agendas. Here are additional resources library workers can use to educate themselves or network with others administering to immigrant communities.”...
American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.
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Cass Balzer writes: “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 with young children, the answer is: All of the above and more. A National Diaper Bank Network study found that in 2023, an unprecedented 47% of families with young children nationwide struggled to afford diapers. In response, libraries have stepped up to distribute these critical supplies. Though they can be challenging to fund and coordinate, these programs are immensely popular and—for many communities—vital.”...
American Libraries Trend, Nov./Dec.
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Megan Janicki writes: “More than half of all public libraries each year apply for E-Rate funding to support the broadband capacity needed to serve our communities nationwide. Recent legal challenges threaten this program.
Consumers’ Research has brought suits against the Federal Communications Commission in several appellate courts across the country, alleging that the Universal Service Fund [of which E-Rate is a part] contribution factor is unconstitutional. Now, the case is headed to the Supreme Court.” To contribute to amicus briefs ALA anticipates filing in support of the E-Rate, email
mjanicki@ala.org with stories about what the funding has meant for your community....
Public Libraries Online, Nov. 22; Broadband Breakfast, Aug. 6
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ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Writers Guild Initiative are hosting a series of writer’s workshops to help librarians reflect on experiences, share insights, identify a path forward, and make their voices heard. The workshops will pair 25 librarians with professional film and television writers. All librarians are invited to
apply by December 16. Participants will be randomly selected for the four-session online series taking place from February 1 through March 8, 2025....
Office for Intellectual Freedom, Nov. 26
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Kathleen Hughes writes: “In this episode of FYI: The Public Libraries Podcast, we share inspiring stories of library joy. Ten stories in under 20 minutes! Inspired by Mychal Threets’ focus on celebrating joy in libraries, this episode highlights moments from library workers across the country that capture the magic, connection, and transformation that happen in libraries every day.”...
Public Libraries Online, Nov. 25
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The Urban Libraries Council’s (ULC)
2024 Library Insights Report, which captures trends in patron engagement with library programs and services, found strong increases in library usage last year. The survey found that libraries recorded an average 24% increase in visits in 2023 compared to the year before, a trend expected to have continued in 2024. Room reservations among libraries surveyed increased by 52% and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, and program attendance increased by 53%. The report reflects survey responses from 115 ULC member libraries, representing almost 2,300 locations serving more than 87.5 million people in the US and Canada....
Urban Libraries Council, Nov. 19
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Ashley Belanger writes: “Late November 20, the US Department of Justice (DOJ)
filed its proposed
final judgment, officially recommending a broad range of remedies to end Google's search monopoly. Predictably, Google is not happy with the DOJ's plan, which requires the company to sell its Chrome browser [and may impact Android and artificial intelligence endeavors]. Google will have plenty of time to argue against the DOJ's proposed judgment before final revisions are filed by March 7, 2025.”...
Ars Technica, Nov. 21
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Abigail Goben writes: “If you have followed me on Mastodon in the past two years, you may have seen a post of Today’s Survey Demographics. I started this one day when yet another survey hit one of the myriad professional listservs I lurk on, in order to be publicly annoyed at how quickly I could be re-identified from the ‘entirely anonymous’ survey that had been distributed. What else is social media for? Then about 15 months ago, I started capturing the survey instruments to see what the demographic question trends really were and the variety of risks surveyors were introducing.”...
Hedgehog Librarian, Nov. 20
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Jessamyn West writes: “My drop-in time work used to be a lot of teaching basic skills. Then for a time it was teaching people about software, [and then] social media, then mobile phones. Lately the major thing I do is something I call ‘How do I connect this to that?’ Each of these things is not just a ‘read the help pages’ situation because it involves multiple interrelated systems. Understanding how these things work together is the main skill that’s required to help people troubleshoot. Here are a few concepts that are useful.”...
Librarian.net, Nov. 23
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“Some public libraries in Japan will trial sales of new books from fiscal year 2025 to fill the void caused by a nationwide decline in the number of physical bookstores, industry officials said. The program is aimed at increasing opportunities for people to buy books, particularly the elderly who may be unfamiliar with the process of using online shopping sites. The trial will be conducted in a number of libraries by TRC Library Service Inc., which provides library services for local governments and others, in conjunction with book wholesaler Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc.”...
Kyodo News, Nov. 23
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“So, you saw Wicked on the big screen and you loved it! The soaring vocals of the cast transported you to a land somewhere over the rainbow and you want more. But the next movie installment won't come out for another 365 days! What's a fan like you to do until then? Follow the yellow brick road to these reads to grant your wish of escaping into a wonderful world.”...
Quincy (Ill.) Public Library, Nov.
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