The international library community is rallying around its peers and colleagues in the United States as they endure challenging times that have seen the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under attack by President Trump and Dr. Carla Hayden fired as the Librarian of Congress.
Alexis Chanthachack, assistant director of Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon, Massachusetts, knows how difficult it can be to find activities and events—especially in rural areas—that are welcoming to autistic youth. That immediacy led the mother of two sons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to become the driving force behind the library’s accessibility work—work that led the library to receive a Libraries Transforming Communities Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant from the American Library Association to enhance accessibility for patrons on the autism spectrum.
Our latest report on book bans happening across the the U.S. and efforts to fight them includes news from Tennessee and Texas, as well as a look at the banning of a picture book by the beloved author of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Broadway came to the library when cast members from the musical “Hamilton” paid a visit to Las Vegas-Clark County Library District’s Hip-Hop Storytime.
Author Dave Eggers visited Minnesota earlier this month to join students, parents, and teachers in protest over book bans at St. Francis Area Schools about 40 miles north of Minneapolis.
Libraries across the country are having their funding slashed—with more planned in the future. It’s time to let Washington know that we’re fed up with it. The best way for any Congressmember to demonstrate their commitment to library funding is to sign on to “Dear Appropriator” letters in support of libraries. These letters close tomorrow, May 20, so we need to act now and urge them to sign.
In episode 18 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra, two high school students from Texas who are participants in “On Our Minds,” an award-winning podcast series about the teenage experience from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. The new season asks teens, “Who Inspires You?” For Zahra and Misra, it was their school librarian who is beloved on campus for being a proponent of reading banned books. Zahra and Misra join the show to discuss working with PBS News, podcasting, journalism, banned books, and of course, how they library.
This September, Roadtrip Nation is sending three people across the U.S. in a green RV to meet librarians, community leaders, and innovators who’ve built careers helping others access knowledge and opportunity. Along the way, they will gain real-world insights, career inspiration, and invaluable mentorship—all while being filmed the Roadtrip Nation television series on PBS. And you can be part of it.
Miriam Tuliao, senior library marketing manager at Penguin Random House and an adjunct library science instructor at Queens College, City University of New York and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, will run 18 miles on Global Running Day (June 4) to raise funds for the American Library Association’s Spectrum Scholarship Program. This is her 18th consecutive year organizing an athletic fundraiser for the program.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Libraries play a critical and often overlooked role in helping their patrons and communities address mental health challenges. Libraries in Texas are taking this responsibility to heart, and one did so with help from the American Library Association.
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