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Kevin Maher writes: “With so much going on in government, now is the time to take stock of progress on library priorities, particularly when it comes to federal funding and the upcoming budget showdown.
Here’s where things stand with federal budgeting for FY2026.” Maher explains the status and importance of appropriations bills, recissions, the recent reconciliation bill, reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and recent court cases for federal library funding....
AL: The Scoop, July 15
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Len Bryan writes: “People generally fall into one of two camps when it comes to weeding library collections.
They may approach weeding with great enthusiasm and a desire to clean up the collection and make it more accessible for students, make the space more inviting, create places for displays, and secure additional library funding.
Or they might have great dread and trepidation, afraid they are going to throw away something that someone might need someday, that they may never get the funding needed to replace weeded books, and of possible pushback from teachers or parents about the process.”...
Knowledge Quest, July 14
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Caelin Ross writes: “Librarians are trained to believe that if information exists, is published, and we can access it, then it’s ours to use. The idea that Indigenous communities might have sovereignty over how their knowledge is shared, taught, or represented often comes as a genuine surprise.
And how uncomfortable it is for white folks who are allies to analyze their relationship to information critically.
We cannot assume that there is always a ‘better’ way to be more inclusive; sometimes, it’s better to stay in our lane.”...
ACRLog, July 9
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Susan Maguire writes: “At this year’s ALA Annual Conference, Booklist and LibraryReads teamed up for the popular Read ’n’ Rave, where superstar librarians scour the exhibit hall floor to find the books you’ll want to know about for late summer and fall.
If you missed the event, or if you had trouble keeping up with the rapid-fire raving (can’t blame you!), here’s a list of the books everyone talked about.”...
Booklist Online, June 30
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Michael Blackwell, Jennie Rose Halperin, Catherine Mason, and Carmi Parker write: “The data forces us to conclude, reluctantly, that not only does print still offer libraries a far better bang-per-book than digital, but that for most popular titles, digital collections are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Some smaller and independent publishers are, however, now more likely to be present in the market and offer some hope for long-term and cost-effective holdings.” ReadersFirst has
additional data and analysis that was cut for space from the published article....
Computers in Libraries, Vol.
45, No. 6, July/Aug.; ReadersFirst, July 7
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Brandon Jarvis writes: “The Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission presented a
report to members of the General Assembly July 14 about books that are being removed from school libraries across Virginia.
The report found that some school divisions are misinterpreting a
2022 law to justify removing titles.
The law requires schools to notify parents if their children’s instructional materials include sexually explicit content.
It does not require districts to remove books when a parent withholds consent; instead, schools are expected to provide alternative, non-explicit materials for those students.” ...
Virginia Scope, July 14; Virginia Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission, July 14
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David Lemmons writes: “The gray area of whether a source is useful or whether you can trust it has become grayer and grayer over time, with the advent of accessing most of our information online.
Checklists, like
CRAAP,
RADAR, and
SIFT, are designed to help students navigate this gray area and are very commonly used across library instruction sessions.
For me, though, the simplification afforded by this checklist approach misses a lot of the nuance.
So, instead of relying on a specific checklist, I follow an approach I call asking crucial questions.”...
Info Literal, July 9
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Chelsea Heinbach writes: “The Librarian Parlor team knows how important it is to foster connection and community with fellow researchers, so we developed
Research Community Bingo as an open resource that can be adapted for various contexts.
I tested Research Community Bingo at my institution, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
After a brief introduction explaining the rules, participants received their bingo cards and began mingling.
The energy in the room quickly shifted from initial hesitation to enthusiastic conversations.”...
The Librarian Parlor, July 11
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Geraldine Castro writes: “Sonia Beatriz Hernández never imagined she would one day be using a computer to digitize memories that included her.
A transgender woman and a senior citizen, she learned everything she knows about being an archivist at her current job.
Hernández is part of the Trans Memory Archive of Argentina (Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina), an initiative that not only preserves the history of gender and sexual dissidence, but has also inspired others throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to create their own collections.”...
Wired, July 13
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Tony Phillips writes: “Copying data from an image into a Google Sheets file manually can be time-consuming and increases the chance of typos. Luckily, you can extract the information into your spreadsheet in just a few simple steps using the Optical Character Recognition tool in Google Drive. Here's how.”...
How-to Geek, July 9
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James Folta writes: “Last week a Silicon Valley startup announced a new kind of e-reader that you can wear on your face.
Maybe it’s because I don’t often want to read while lying fully flat on my back with my arms at my side, but I don’t see a ton of utility for these book goggles.
How do these new glasses stack up against all the other technology we already have to access text? Here is my definitive [and comedic] ranking of ways to get text into your brain,” from books and smartphones to refrigerator magnets and wax tablets....
Literary Hub, July 15
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