Public Libraries Celebrate Juneteenth
This weekend, public libraries around the country are celebrating Juneteenth and Black freedom with events, discussions, book recommendations and more.
PLA Contributor Author Archive
Email: publiclibrariesonline@gmail.com
GIS-Mapping Exchange Grant Program
The GIS-Mapping Exchange is seeking applications from public libraries, for funding ($1500-$5000) to partner with local geospatial data professionals.
The Conversation Around Policing and Public Libraries
Police interference is often justified under the pretense that it keeps people safe, a reasoning that has been called into question in libraries across America, especially in recent years.
Beyond Yuck and Yum: Programming with Picture Books about Food
When brainstorming ways to include food in library programming, it’s easy to think about the traditional ways in which food has been included in library programming – nutrition, cooking, and gardening/farming. What if food in library programming could build communities around food? What if it could start conversations about culture and food equity?
Policing and Social Justice in Libraries
Catherine Hollerbach, Chief Operating Officer, Anne Arundel County (MD) Public Library, and Michelle Hamiel, Chief Operating Officer for Public Services, Prince George’s County Memorial Library (MD), presented a program at PLA 2022 called ‘Policing and Social Justice in Libraries.’ In this program they examined “the role that police officers and security guards play in making […]
Helping Patrons Keep Up in the Digital Age–Promising Practices in Libraries
Adults need digital literacy to access essential information, compete for jobs, and participate in education. These needs existed long before 2020, but were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic as adults with developing digital literacy skills had difficulty accessing unemployment benefits, participating in virtual doctors’ appointments, and registering for COVID-19 tests and vaccinations. During the pandemic, […]
Advancing Digital Equity by Expanding Tribal Library Access to E-Rate
Since the federal E-Rate program was established in 1996, public libraries across the nation have saved close to $2 billion in telecommunications and internet access costs. However, the program has largely failed to reach communities with some of the worst broadband access in the nation. Nearly 7 in every 10 residents on rural tribal lands remain without access to high-capacity broadband, and yet only about 12 percent of tribal libraries report receiving E-Rate funds.
Asexuality On the Shelves
What is asexuality? While it’s most often described as “not being sexually attracted to others,” it is far more complex than those few words indicate. What else? Approximately one per cent of the population is asexual (or ace) and it is an orientation, akin to lesbianism or bisexuality. It’s also important to understand that a […]
We All Win — Training and Advancement for Non-MLS Library Workers
There is a shift happening in East Bay Libraries, in California. One after another, hiring managers are inviting librarian candidates to the interview
table who do not have a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS).
Missing Karen
Karen Blumenthal (1959-2020) was a journalist, a teacher, a historian, a biographer, a master needle-pointer, a cookie-maker, a proud Texas native, a much-loved wife and mother, an enthusiastic Dallas sports fan, a passionate public library supporter, a tireless fund-raiser, and a dedicated civic volunteer.
Readers Advisory Reimagined
How do we create sustainable RA practices that empower staff and embed Readers’ Advisory fully into libraries?
2021 Public Library Staff & Diversity Survey
PLA invites all US public libraries to complete the 2021 Public Library Staff & Diversity Survey! The deadline has been extended to January 14, 2022.
A Salute to the Schneider
Since 2004, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Schneider Family Book Award has been given annually to honor an author or illustrator for a work that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Prizes are bestowed in the categories of Young Children, Middle School, and Teen.
Cursed — A Conversation with Karol Ruth Silverstein
Since 2004, ALA’s Schneider Family Book Award has honored an author or illustrator for a title that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. In 2020, the “teen” category prize went to screenwriter and first-time novelist Karol Ruth Silverstein’s Cursed, published in 2019 by Charlesbridge Teen. Readers meet 14-year-old […]
Define & Design: The Bookstore Model of Customer Service
We have often looked to retail to borrow marketing, merchandising, and materials arrangement ideas, but few of us have considered the other bookstore model—the deliberate design of customer service transactions—for inspiration in understanding how the consumer environment has changed around us. Strengthening the interpersonal components of user experience is something every library can and should do, especially in these most uncertain of times.
