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Megan Bennett writes: “Theater for young audiences may not receive the same recognition as productions by Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams, but it deserves its time in the spotlight, says Caelin Ross, performing arts librarian at Arizona State University (ASU) Library in Tempe. Ross oversees ASU’s Theatre for Youth and Community Collection. The collection, which Ross estimates to be approximately 5,000 linear feet, holds research materials like curricula and books, as well as scripts, production design samples, sketches, and costumes.”...
American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
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Megan Bennett writes: “Growing up in remote, rural areas, singer-songwriter Neko Case found that her love of reading provided an escape. In her memoir, The Harder I Fight the More I Love You (Hachette, January), she recalls repeatedly flipping through the same October 1972 issue of Mad magazine, poring over her stepdad’s collection of archaeology books, and forcing herself to finish David Copperfield. American Libraries spoke with Case about writing her first book and the role libraries have played in her life.”...
American Libraries Trend, Jan./Feb.
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The US Department of Defense (DOD) Education Activity announced on February 7 that it would remove and review “books potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics” in DOD schools, and suppress programs, activities and holidays related to those topics. Additionally, ALA has received confidential reports that library workers on military installations are being forced to remove books from shelves, take down displays about Black History Month and cancel cultural events. Among
the books removed from DOD schools is Freckleface Strawberry, a picture book by actor Julianne Moore about a girl who dislikes her freckles....
ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office and American Association of School Librarians, Feb. 14; Stars and Stripes, Feb. 7; Variety, Feb. 16
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Daniel G. Tracy, Elizabeth A. Budd, and Thomas H. Teper write: “With increasing requirements for open access (OA) by funders, academic libraries have begun piloting so-called ‘transformative agreements’ with publishers. This study documents the broad success of two transformative agreement pilots at a large research university and argues that the growth of such agreements could help transition a broad proportion of research to OA at the university and within the consortium. The success of these agreements was true across disciplines and stages of career seniority.”...
Library Resources and Technical Services, Jan.
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K.A. Holt writes: “As a young person I struggled to find any kind of personal representation. I read voraciously, not realizing I was searching for visibility, for recognition, for relevance. When I was unable to find any relevant reflections, I began to morph into who I thought I should be; who I thought would find acceptance and relevance. I stayed cloaked in this carefully constructed camouflage until [one art history professor interrupted me as I parroted] an Old Dude’s Accepted Opinion. No. I want you to tell me how this piece makes YOU feel, not how someone else has told you to feel about it.”...
Knowledge Quest, Feb. 14
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Ann Schimke writes: “Elizabeth (Colo.) School District officials say they have returned to school libraries 19 books they removed last fall. But most students won’t be able to read or check out the books, which include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. That’s because the district decided to make the returned books available only to a small number of people—specifically,
plaintiffs in a recent lawsuit against the district over the book removals. Those allowed access to the books include two district students, and members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and their children.”...
Chalkbeat Colorado, Feb. 12; Dec. 19, 2024
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Suzan Karabakal writes: “As a UX research and design student at the School of Information, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to conduct user research on Library Search, the University of Michigan Library’s discovery layer, last summer. My goal was to uncover how novice users approach Library Search features and functions, and to identify design opportunities to improve student experiences. After conducting interviews with librarians in the Learning and Teaching division, student employees who provide ‘Ask a Librarian’ services, and undergraduate students, I compiled a list of five key findings and five key design recommendations.”...
University of Michigan Library, Feb. 13
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Michelle
Reed and Tova Gaster write: “Neo-Censorship in US Libraries: An Investigation into Digital Content Suppression, a new report from Library Futures, dives into an underreported area of library censorship—database bans that restrict youth access to ebooks, research resources, and other digital content. While bans on beloved print books are often more visible, challenges to databases and digital collections risk restricting children from viewing a wide range of content—from breast cancer awareness to resources for identifying and reporting sexual abuse.”...
Library Futures, Feb. 13
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María Evelia Emerson writes: “Diversity audits, like much of librarianship, are not a simple box to check off once complete. Collections, as well as other programs and services, need to be consistently revisited in order to stay abreast of current trends and make sure that libraries strive to be as inclusive as possible. Although this requires time (something few librarians have an abundance of), without consistent check-ins, reviews, and feedback, collections and services are at risk of catering to a specific group of people, without taking into account the variety and differences of experiences and needs that make up our society.”...
Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Jan.
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Elizabeth Coen and Mary Manning write: “In the winter of 2023, we reimagined the curricular design of an undergraduate survey course at the University of Houston called American Drama. We wanted students to think deeply about the nature of representation in American theatre, and whose voices are traditionally privileged in play anthologies and theatrical productions and whose voices are not. We also wanted students to examine these privileges and gaps through primary and secondary source research—through group discovery and ‘play’ in the archives and in the stacks.”...
TPS Collective, Feb. 14
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Pranay Parab writes: “Google's recent foray into artificial intelligence (AI) isn't going to stop anytime soon. While you can hide Google Workspace's Gemini buttons and prompts for now, you can't actually stop the company from continuing to build its apps around a technology that revolves around getting its hands on as much data as possible. I rely on Google Docs for collaboration, but the company's AI push has got me looking for alternatives, even if Google currently denies using your data to train its models. On that note, these are the best AI-free, encrypted alternatives to Google Docs.”...
Lifehacker, Feb. 13
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Elisa Shoenberger writes: “These days, it seems that humor and murder mysteries go together like cookies and milk. With films like Knives Out and See How They Run and television shows like Only Murders in the Building, it seems that murder mysteries with a lot of humor are fashionable right now. Plus, we’re going to get the film adaptation of Richard Osman’s delightful The Thursday Murder Club later this year. I’ve put together a list of recently published humorous murder mystery books.”...
Book Riot, Feb. 17
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