September/October 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

2021 LIBRARY DESIGN SHOWCASE p. 20

SPECIAL REPORT: The Legacy of 9/11 p. 28 ALA Award Winners p. 40

PLUS: Colson Whitehead, NASA Librarian, Birdwatching Practical and concise, ALA TechSource publications help you stay on top of • Current and emerging technologies • Time-saving strategies • Key job-specifi c skills •  e latest tools, systems, and resources

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AT alatechsource.org September/October 2021

American Libraries | Volume 52 #9/10 | ISSN 0002-9769 2021 SPECIAL REPORT LIBRARY THE LEGACY OF DESIGN SHOWCASE 9/11 The year’s most impressive new and renovated libraries | p. 20 How the attacks BY Phil Morehart affected the library world | p. 28 ALA/AIA Library Building Awards 30 What Was Lost A look at the winners | p. 26 The libraries and treasures destroyed on 9/11—and the archival work that came next 36 Archives of BY Terra Dankowski an Attack Librarians and 33 Understanding historians work the Other to collect digital Librarians who ephemera from 9/11 fought ignorance BY Phil Morehart with information BY Sallyann Price 38 Defenders of Patron Privacy 34 A Safe Haven After challenging in the Sea the Patriot Act, Tiny Canadian library four librarians plays unexpected role reflect on privacy during chaotic week in the digital age BY Amy Carlton BY Sanhita SinhaRoy

40 2021 ALA Award Winners Honoring excellence and leadership in the profession

ON THE COVER: Stanley A. Milner Library, Edmonton (Alberta) Public Library. Photo: Andrew Latreille 12 56 10

UP FRONT TRENDS PERSPECTIVES 3 From the 10 Programming on the Fly ACADEMIC INSIGHTS Editor Birdwatching programs foster 46 LIS and the Next Crisis New Spaces to community during the pandemic BY Emily J. M. Knox Outer Space BY Sallyann Price DISPATCHES BY Sanhita SinhaRoy 12 Stream On 47 Head in the Cloud? Amplifying local sounds BY Jarrod Bogucki ALA BY Bill Furbee YOUTH MATTERS 4 From the 14 The Twitching Hour 48 The Switch to Genrefication President Libraries use live video platform BY Julia Torres A Seat for All to engage teens, early adults BY Patricia “Patty” BY Diana Panuncial ON MY MIND M. Wong 49 Stop Source-Shaming SPOTLIGHT BY Lynn Silipigni Connaway 5 From the 16 Confronting History and Joyce Valenza Executive Tulsa library educates on race massacre Director BY Kimberly Johnson and Jennifer Greb LIBRARIAN’S LIBRARY The Pivot and 50 Design Inspiration the Path NEWSMAKER BY Araceli Méndez Hintermeister BY Tracie D. Hall 18 Colson Whitehead Pulitzer Prize–winning author SOLUTIONS 6 Update discusses the divided self What’s happening BY Donna Seaman 52 On the Map at ALA GIS software for spatial humanities PLUS and interactive exhibits 11 By the Numbers BY Carrie Smith 17 Global Reach 19 Noted & Quoted PEOPLE 54 Announcements

THE BOOKEND 56 18 Over the Moon

Geico 35 | OCLC Cover 4 | American Library Association Booklist Cover 3 | JobLIST 15 | TechSource Cover 2 THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Address: 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300 Chicago, IL 60601 New Spaces to Outer Space Website: americanlibraries.org Email: [email protected] Phone: 800-545-2433 plus extension Career Ads: JobLIST.ala.org s many library buildings have reopened to the public over the past year and a half, some EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Carving Sanhita SinhaRoy pumpkins patrons and students were greeted with Favorite [email protected] | x4219 fall newly renovated or constructed facilities. We MANAGING EDITOR A tradition? feature 11 of them here in our annual Library Design Terra Dankowski Pumpkin beer [email protected] | x5282 and the Showcase (cover story, p. 20). Senior Editor Phil More- SENIOR EDITORS World Series hart looks at the innovative designs that have emerged. Making apple Amy Carlton Twenty years after the September 11 attacks, “the butter from [email protected] | x5105 scratch Phil Morehart losses of that day still feel incalculable,” we write in [email protected] | x4218 Horror movie marathons our special report “The Legacy of 9/11” (p. 28). While Sanhita SinhaRoy ASSOCIATE EDITOR to prep for many of us continue trying to make sense of the trag- Cider mill Sallyann Price Halloween visits [email protected] | x4213 edy and heal, our team explores the lasting effects of EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE September 11 on libraries and library workers in this Carrie Smith anniversary year. One of the articles you’ll find in this Pumpkin [email protected] | x4216 chucking package is by Senior Editor Amy Carlton, who writes ART DIRECTOR Rebecca Lomax Neighborhood a heartwarming story about a small Canadian library [email protected] | x4217 costume parade that found itself playing an unexpected role when Breaking out CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 6,500 travelers descended on its town after the attacks my sweaters Anne Ford Lucas McGranahan Gaining an (“A Safe Haven in the Sea,” p. 34). Apple picking hour of sleep ADVERTISING In our Newsmaker section this issue (p. 18), Booklist Michael Stack [email protected] | 847-367-7120 adult books editor Donna Seaman talks with Pulitzer Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement. ALA reserves the right to refuse advertising. Prize–winning author Colson Whitehead about his first PUBLISHING DEPARTMENT heist novel, Harlem Shuffle, and about how as primal First log fire in the fireplace Mary Mackay Eating beings we must all “reconcile our base instincts and our Associate Executive Director caramel higher selves.” Mary Jo Bolduc apples Rights, Permissions, Reprints | x5416 Looking even higher are the birdwatchers among us. Making MEMBERSHIP Birding has exploded in popularity during the pan- pumpkin Melissa Kay Walling, Director Recovery and demic, writes Associate Editor Sallyann Price. In “Pro- bread ADVISORY COMMITTEE Sian Brannon (Chair), Jason K. Alston, Shanna Hollich, gramming on the Fly” (p. 10), she reports on the ways Jasmina Jusic, Shelley O’Rourke, Emily Wagner renewal are in which libraries are partnering with local groups and Committee associates: Lori Bryan and Peter J. Egler loaning materials to support these fledgling enthusiasts. Editorial policy: ALA Policy Manual, section A.8.2 prominent Space travel has been in the news of late, and while INDEXED Available full text from ProQuest, EBSCO Publishing, H. W. Wilson, themes in most of us are not part of the jet (propulsion) set, jour- LexisNexis, Information Access, JSTOR.­ this issue, ney with us to our Bookend (“Over the Moon,” p. 56), SUBSCRIBE where we speak with Sheva Moore, video librarian and Libraries and other institutions: $75/year, 6 issues, US, Canada, and Mexico; international: $85. Subscription price for individuals included as libraries researcher at Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters in ALA membership dues. Call 800-545-2433, email membership@ in Washington, D.C. Moore provided footage for the ala.org, or visit ala.org. Claim missing issues: ALA Member Relations connect us to and Services. Allow six weeks. Single issues $7.50, with 30% discount 2016 film Hidden Figures and received a screen credit for five or more; contact Carrie Smith, 800-545-2433 x4216 or our past and for her work, which she calls a “career highlight.” [email protected] As this issue demonstrates, libraries continue to play PUBLISHED carry us into American Libraries (ISSN 0002-9769) is published 6 times a critical role in preserving—and connecting us to— yearly with occasional supplements by the American Library Association (ALA). Printed in USA. Periodicals postage paid at the future. our past and building for the future. Chicago, Illinois, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Personal members: Send address changes to American Libraries, c/o Membership Records, ALA, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601. ©2021 American Library Association. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced or republished without written permission from the publisher.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 3 from the PRESIDENT

A Seat for All Acknowledging the past and committing to the future

LA’s recent Annual Conference was just in the characters of the books on our shelves full of insights, but one resonates but also in the people who work in libraries. with me as I write this column. Unfortunately, books featuring diverse stories, Charles Person, the youngest of the people, and themes are among those most original Freedom Riders and a key challenged by patrons. The very books Dias is Afigure in the US civil rights movement, lamented advocating for are the ones that most frequently that when he began his journey, he was not per- end up on the annual Top 10 Most Challenged mitted to have a library card. “There was no seat Books list compiled by ALA’s Office for Intellec- for me at the Atlanta Public Library,” he said. “So tual Freedom (bit.ly/Top10Challenged). The I boarded my bus to help change America.” office reported that more than 273 titles were Patricia “Patty” It’s a striking reminder that in our all- challenged or banned in 2020, with increasing M. Wong too-recent past, entire groups were denied demands to remove books that address racism access to the institutions we serve. That’s why and racial justice or those that share BIPOC during Library Card Sign-Up Month (bit.ly/ stories. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content LibCardSignUp), celebrated each September, also dominated the list. I am calling on all of us to recognize the errors September marks Banned Books Week, an of the past and commit to fighting for improved annual event celebrating the freedom to read. access for groups that may still be excluded, such This year it will be held September 26–October 2 as people experiencing homelessness and undoc- and chaired by author Jason Reynolds, who umented immigrants. wrote two of 2020’s most challenged books. “Any As we promote the value of a library card time we eliminate or wall off certain narratives, this month (and throughout the year), we do so we are not getting a whole picture of the world with the conviction that access to libraries opens in which we live,” he said recently (bit.ly/BBW- worlds of opportunities. But we can also hold in Reynolds). Indeed, diverse books have two key our minds the legacy of longstanding discrimi- roles: First, they allow all human beings to see The nation in libraries against Black and Indigenous themselves reflected in books, and second, they celebrations people and communities of color, and pledge to allow everyone to learn about people who are combat its legacy in our profession. not like themselves. these next We must push for local policies that eliminate Equity and access are the heart of my few months barriers that can potentially inhibit library ser- priorities as ALA president, and the celebrations vice, such as requiring a permanent residence for these next few months give us an opportunity to give us an a library card, late fees, and limited service hours. reflect on how we fulfill our commitment to our opportunity to This year’s honorary chair of Library Card core values. Let’s acknowledge that while Sign-Up Month is Marley Dias, the young activist librarianship has a significant history of segrega- reflect on how and writer who rose to prominence in 2015 when tion and racism, there is a crucial, real-time need we fulfill our she launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks hashtag for us, individually and collectively, to provide to draw attention to the fact that most protag- equitable access and service to all. commitment onists in the elementary school books she was to our reading were white boys. Her involvement with PATRICIA “PATTY” M. WONG is city librarian at our work is particularly resonant at this moment, profession’s Santa Monica (Calif.) Public Library. She will begin when the conversation about access to libraries her role as city librarian of Santa Clara (Calif.) City core values. must include discussion of representation, not Library in October.

4 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org from the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Pivot and the Path Charting ALA’s plan for transformation

here is a symbol called nkyinkyim in financial position that is $5 million better than the Adinkra iconography of Ghana our position last July. (bit.ly/AL-Adinkra) that translates to There is a Zen proverb that says, “The obstacle the proverb “life’s journey is twisted.” is the path.” This wisdom in many ways under- This primary mark in the West African girds the road to transformation envisioned by Tvisual vocabulary reminds us that persistence the pivot strategy, with its direct emphasis on requires versatility. revenue diversification and stability along with I visualize nkyinkyim’s lines moving one direc- membership engagement and growth. tion, then the opposite whenever I hear the word ALA’s operational strategy must center the “pivot,” by now one of the most overused (and indicators most critical to its stewardship capac- Tracie D. Hall misused) terms bandied about since the start of ity, financial health, and member engagement the pandemic. as it works to expand the reach and effectiveness For the LIS sector, where our mission is more of libraries in helping generate socioeconomic important than ever despite changes in exter- mobility and justice in their communities; nal conditions and internal resources, business achieve information and digital access (includ- strategist Eric Ries’s definition of an institutional ing universal broadband); build equity, diver- pivot as “making a change in strategy without a sity, and inclusion in the LIS workforce and change in vision” is still particularly salient. practice; and preserve library services. Almost a year ago, guided by member leaders By bright-lining and connecting revenue and and staff, ALA began work on a pivot strategy. membership, the Association recognizes the Titled “The Pathway to Transformation,” the need to optimize the ways its programs and five-year plan culminates in 2026—the year operations work together and strengthen its rela- ALA turns 150—and is guided by ALA’s mis- tionships with and between members, as well as sion (bit.ly/ALAmission­ ), core values (bit.ly/ with nonmembers and advocates. ALACoreValues), and a commitment to deepen- Achieving the envisioned transformation will ing ALA’s equity, diversity, inclusion, and social require intensive assessment of ALA’s current There’s a ­justice–centered work and impact. program outcomes and deeper investment in the In those early days of planning, the largest ALA–Allied Professional Association to expand its clear need to liabilities the Association faced included aging capacity to advocate for the “mutual professional strengthen revenue streams and ensuing deficits; static interests of librarians and other library workers.” membership numbers further affected by the My next column will look at the new strategy ALA’s pandemic; and gaps in public visibility as well as and the contexts that informed it. Until then, I relationships reach in the LIS sector. These gaps existed despite leave you with author Octavia E. Butler’s seminal the Association’s defining leadership in intellec- instruction on directing the pivot and shaping with and tual freedom, copyright and intellectual property the path of change, from Parable of the Talents: between issues, protecting the right to read, advocating “Alter the speed / Or the direction of Change. / for ubiquitous and free information and digital Vary the scope of Change. / Recombine the seeds members, as access, and, for the past 23 years, being the single of Change. / Transmute the impact of ­Change. / well as with largest driver of diversity in the LIS workforce. ­Seize Change, / Use it. / ­­Adapt and grow.” nonmembers Rather than shift away from the liabilities, ALA’s new pivot strategy meets them head on TRACIE D. HALL is executive director of the American and advocates. and has already guided the Association to a Library Association. Reach her at [email protected].

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 5 House Supports Federal Funding for Libraries in FY 2022 n July 15, the US House Committee on Appropri- Wong continued: “Congress is getting the message that ations approved substantial increases in federal libraries of all kinds are key to the vitality of communities. Ofunding for libraries. The Library Services and Tech- If the past year has taught us anything it’s that America’s nology Act (LSTA), administered by the Institute of Museum libraries are nimble enough to meet changing local needs and Library Services (IMLS), saw an increase of $9 million, and foster community resilience. Federal support for libraries resulting in a total of $206.5 million for the nation’s primary is a good investment in communities. We look forward to a source of federal funding for libraries. The increase for LSTA, similarly robust increase for libraries in the Senate.” if it holds in the final bill, would be the eighth-consecutive “ALA credits the success in the House to ALA advocates, increase for libraries. Innovative Approaches to Literacy who generated more than 100 signatures from members of (IAL), a program designed to support effective school library Congress from both parties in support of annual Dear Appro- literacy initiatives, saw a $3 million increase, for a total of priator letters for LSTA and IAL,” Wong said. $31 million for the program. The House Committee on Appropriations also provid- “ALA is delighted to see the continued strong support for ed increases for several additional programs benefitting libraries from the House Appropriations Committee,” said libraries and library patrons, including IMLS, the Nation- ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong in a July 15 statement. al Library of Medicine, Federal Pell Grants, and funds to “The increased funding for Native American libraries, as well strengthen HBCUs, Asian American and Pacific Islander– as institutions such as HBCUs [historically Black colleges and serving institutions, and Latinx-serving institutions. Funding universities] that serve diverse groups, is evidence that appro- for Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the priators are investing in libraries’ ability to deliver on equitable Government Publishing Office was included in subcommittee access to information and economic opportunity.” bills approved earlier.

Apply for Open Chapter Relations; Conference; Consti- in Librarianship, Intellectual Freedom, Committee Roles tution and Bylaws; Office for Diversity, International Relations, Public Aware- ALA is seeking volunteers to serve on Literacy, and Outreach Services Advi- ness, Publishing, Resolutions, and Sus- Association, Council, and joint commit- sory (including four subcommittees); tainability, as well as the expanded Policy tees for the 2022–2024 term, beginning Election; Office for Human Resource Monitoring and Council Orientation July 1, 2022. ALA President-Elect Lessa Development and Recruitment Advisory; committees. Candidates are also sought Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada will make Information Technology Advisory; Office for the ALA–Children’s Book Council committee appointments in consultation for Information Technology Policy Advi- Joint Committee. with both the Committee on Appoint- sory; Literacy; Membership; Public and Members who wish to volunteer ments (for ALA and joint committee Cultural Programs Advisory; Research should fill out the online form (bit. ly/ appointments) and the Committee and Statistics; Rural, Native, and Tribal AL-volunteer) by September 30. Stay on Committees (for Council commit- Libraries of All Kinds; Scholarship and tuned to bit.ly/AL-committees for tee appointments). Initial committee Study Grants; Training, Orientation, and information on a virtual volunteer fair on appointments will be approved by the Leadership Development; and the newly September 14. ALA Executive Board in January 2022, created Code of Conduct committee. with notifications sent to appointed indi- Volunteers are sought for the follow- 2021 Spectrum viduals throughout spring 2022. ing Council committees: Budget Analysis Scholarships Announced Volunteers are sought for the follow- and Review, Diversity, Education, Legis- In July, ALA’s Office for Diversity, Lit- ing ALA committees: Accreditation; lation, Library Advocacy, Organization, eracy, and Outreach Services awarded American Libraries Advisory; Awards; Professional Ethics, Status of Women the 2021 Spectrum Scholarships to

6 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org SEPT. Library Card Sign-Up Month ALA Distributes $1.25 Million ala.org/librarycardsignup SEPT. 26–OCT. 2 in COVID-19 Emergency Relief Banned Books Week bannedbooksweek.org

n a June 25 statement, ALA announced the distribution of $1.25 million in SEPT. 29 emergency relief grants to libraries that have experienced substantial eco- Banned Websites Awareness Day Inomic hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. Through the ALA ala.org/aasl/advocacy/bwad COVID Library Relief Fund, 34 academic, public, school, and tribal libraries OCT. will receive grants of $30,000–$50,000 to support library services and opera- TeenTober tions, particularly efforts to increase and enhance technology access, collec- ala.org/yalsa/teentober tion development, digital instruction, staffing, and outreach. OCT. 7–9 “Congratulations to our ALA COVID Library Relief Fund recipients,” said Core Forum | Baltimore ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall in the statement. “This new fund is alacore.org/forum part of the ongoing Association-wide effort to support libraries during OCT. 17–23 these still-uncertain times. In the coming months, ALA will announce National Friends of Libraries Week bit.ly/alafolweek plans to raise additional funds to support and sustain the vital work of our nation’s libraries and library workers as they tackle digital equity, support- OCT. 21–23 ing educational persistence, workforce reskilling, and community recovery AASL National Conference Salt Lake City more broadly—efforts that will undoubtedly require fully staffed and fully national.aasl.org funded libraries.” The ALA COVID Library Relief Fund is supported by Acton Family OCT. 25–31 Open Access Week Giving as part of its response to the pandemic, with initial seed fund- openaccessweek.org ing from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and administered by ALA’s NOV. 5–7 Chapter Relations Office. A complete list of grant recipients and project Young Adult Services proposals is available at ALA’s COVID Library Relief Fund website (bit.ly/ Symposium | Reno, Nevada AL-COVIDrelief). ala.org/yalsa/yasymposium

61 students pursuing graduate degrees in and organizations. Among those funding The application window for 2022– library and information studies. individual scholarships were: 2023 opens in September. View the Since 1997, ALA has awarded more ■ Association of College and Research full list of scholars and learn more than 1,300 Spectrum Scholarships. Libraries about applying or donating at ala.org/ During the 2021 application cycle, the ■ Association for Library Service advocacy/spectrum. Spectrum Scholarship Program received to Children (ALSC) four times as many applications as there ■ Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, ALSC Scholarships Awarded were available scholarships, and the Futures ALSC has awarded six students the majority of this year’s applicants were ■ Medical Library Association and Bound to Stay Bound and Melcher schol- deemed highly fundable. A committee of National Library of Medicine arships for the 2021–2022 academic year. 28 jurors selected this year’s Spectrum ■ Mountain Pacific Health Science These scholarships are awarded annually Scholars based on their commitment to Libraries Conference to students at ALA-accredited institutions community building, leadership poten- ■ OCLC who have demonstrated a commitment to tial, and planned contributions to pro- ■ ProQuest library service to children. moting social justice in the profession. ■ Young Adult Library Services This year’s Bound to Stay Bound Books The Spectrum Family of Funds sup- Association Scholarship, funded by Bound to Stay ports scholarships through its endow- ■ Library Instruction Round Table Bound Books Inc., will award $8,000 in ment and the contributions of individuals ■ Rainbow Round Table aid to four recipients: Molly Boehm of

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 7 UPDATE

Longwood University in Farmville, Vir- ginia; Dana Fanslow of University of Illi- nois Urbana-Champaign; Lindsay Robins Applications Open for of North Carolina Central University in Durham; and Scott Shaffer of Clarion Business Coaching (Pa.) University. Two students were awarded a Frederic LA’s Libraries Build Business initiative has selected six coaches to pro- G. Melcher Scholarship, which is made vide leadership and technical assistance through the end of the year to possible by contributions from librarians, A40 libraries that offer programming or services to local entrepreneurs professionals, and others associated with and the small business community. Launched in 2020, Libraries Build Business is the field of children’s literature. Each a national program supported by Google.org. award provides $8,000 in aid. This year’s Coaches will support library professionals interested in starting or grow- recipients are Jeremiah Henderson of ing a small business development program at their library with six months of San José (Calif.) State University and one-on-one coaching sessions, peer review and feedback, technical assistance, Brianna King of University of North Caro- resources, and networking. The awards come with professional development and lina at Greensboro. training, as well as additional grant money for coaches’ own business programs. The coaches are Chris Bourret and Ann Poulos of the Small Business Hub at New Diversity Scorecard Providence (R.I.) Public Library; Diane Luccy of the Entrepreneurial Launchpad In July, ALA’s Committee on Diversity at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina; Adriana McCleer and Yee Lee (COD) released its Diversity, Equity, Vue of Small Business–Big Impact at Appleton (Wisc.) Public Library; Karly Fein- and Inclusion (DEI) Scorecard for berg of the Entrepreneur Academy at Baltimore County (Md.) Public Library; Library and Information Organizations. Rachael Svoboda of Wyoming Library to Business at Laramie County (Wyo.) Download the PDF template at bit.ly/ Library System; and Stacey Goddard and Danielle Milton of the Small Business AL-DEIscorecard. Boot Camp at Spokane County (Wash.) Library District. ALA’s Committee on Diversity is Learn more about Libraries Build Business and apply for coaching at bit.ly/ charged with providing a forum to AL-LBB. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through the fall. research, monitor, discuss, and address national issues and trends related to diversity. Upon seeing the need for Scorecard can be used as-is or adapted based on ALA member feedback through library and information organizations for local use. 2021. Additional webinars will solicit to evaluate their efforts in advancing input, and a survey may be submitted any DEI, members of the committee created Revisiting ALA’s Core time before the end of the calendar year. the scorecard to assist administra- Competencies Visit bit.ly/AL-ALAACs for details. tors and other decision makers with In June, ALA’s Committee on Education The goal is to incorporate member data gathering. released a discussion draft of newly feedback in time for ALA Council to vote Drafted in 2021 by Natisha Harper, revised ALA Core Competencies (ALACCs) on the revised document at ALA’s 2022 Kimberly Franklin, and Jamia Williams for library professionals—a set of roles, Annual Conference and Exhibition in through COD, the DEI Scorecard pro- capabilities, and expectations to guide Washington, D.C. motes accountability and transparency in those who hold LIS degrees on basic skills gauging institutional performance on a expected within the first several years AASL Awards COVID-19 Grants five-measure rubric along with supple- of graduation. The revised draft reflects The American Association of School mental reflection questions: embedded- knowledge gained through LIS education, Librarians (AASL) has awarded Inspire ness of DEI into the culture and climate job onboarding, and ongoing professional COVID Recovery Grants to four school of the organization; training and educa- development early in a library career. libraries. The grant program, funded by tion; recruitment, hiring, retention, and The draft document is the first itera- AASL member Marina “Marney” Welm- promotion; budget priorities for DEI; and tion of the ALACCs, which intentionally ers, provides funds to address collection data practices. Development of the DEI incorporates the concepts of social loss and remote access requirements Scorecard was informed by ALA’s Core justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion related to COVID- 19 school closures. Values of Librarianship, ACRL Diversity throughout the competencies and in a Offered as a special extension of the Standards: Cultural Competency for separate category. Inspire Collection Development Grant, Academic Libraries, and other scorecard The draft document of ALACCs will the grant can be used to recover collec- measures of DEI performance. The DEI be vetted, discussed, and further edited tions and extend learning through an

8 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org UPDATE

increase in online and remote resources. A longstanding shortage of certified teaching environment than in the tradi- A first round of recovery grants was school librarians in Maryland inspired tional classroom. awarded in fall 2020. Towson University researchers David The researchers also examine school Recipients of the second round of E. Robinson and Scot W. McNary to librarians’ perceptions of the Contin- grants include Cindy Buerkle of Otselic examine the preparation of school uum of Care model for assessment of Valley Central School in South Otselic, librarians with varying levels of prior need, program theory, program process, New York; Taylor Inverarity of Turner teaching experience. Their primary impact, and efficiency. Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas; research question focused on the role of In “Enabling Collaboration through Amanda Jones of Live Oak Middle the teacher and the relationship between Mentorship: Examining the Role of the School in Denham, Louisiana; and Chari years of teaching experience and school School Librarian,” researcher Rita Rein- Kauffman of North Shore Middle School librarian candidates’ effectiveness in sel Soulen extends her prior research in Houston. Grantees will be recognized planning, implementing, and reflecting with an analysis of practices that enable during the 2021 AASL National Confer- on school library-based instruction. school librarians to develop men- ence in Salt Lake City October 21–23. In “School Library Instruction: Does toring skills. Teaching Experience Matter?” Robinson New AASL Research and McNary detail how their study’s White Paper on New research published in School Library results reinforce Jennifer King Rice’s Streaming Media Research, AASL’s peer-reviewed online 2010 Impact of Teacher Experience study, Choice announced in a June 30 statement journal, examines the relationship which found “the simple assumption the publication of the eighth in a series between years of traditional classroom that more is better requires greater of white papers designed to educate on teaching experience and teaching in nuance; experience effects are complex topics of importance to the academic school library instructional environ- and depend on a number of factors.” library community. The paper, “Imple- ments. Articles can be accessed for free at In fact, they find that there may be menting and Managing Streaming Media ala.org/aasl/slr. greater complexity in the school library Services in Academic Libraries,” exam- ines the factors that librarians should consider when bringing streaming services to their Library Card institution and provides an overview of the current Sign-Up Month streaming landscape in academic libraries. The eptember is Library Card Sign-Up Month, fea- research was funded turing this year’s honorary chair Marley Dias, by Infobase. author, executive producer, and founder of S Researched and written #1000BlackGirlBooks. by Gisele Tanasse, film and “A library card is the ticket you need to travel media services librarian across the globe,” Dias said in a March 30 statement at University of California, for Library Card Sign-Up Month. “It allows you to Berkeley, the paper surveys experience stories that can connect you to diverse the opportunities that come and empowering experiences.” with streaming services by #1000BlackGirlBooks is an internation- reviewing existing literature, al movement to collect and donate children’s analyzing survey data, and books that feature Black girls as lead characters. summarizing the results of As an elementary schooler, Dias launched the practitioner interviews. The #1000BlackGirlBooks drive in November 2015 goal of the study was to pro- with the help from GrassROOTS Community vide a thorough examination Foundation and a goal of collecting 1,000 books by of factors such as acquisition February 2016. To date, Dias has collected more than 13,000 books. models, budgeting, content use ALA’s READ poster featuring Dias is available at the ALA Store, along with scenarios, user perspectives, and ongo- free graphics and tools including a template press release, proclamation, and ing management. sample social media posts at ala.org/librarycardsignup. Read the paper at choice360.org/ research-papers.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 9 Henrico County (Va.) Public Library offers children’s nature and bird- watching backpacks, available for checkout, as part of a broader effort to educate youth about wildlife.

along the banks of Newberry Brook, a tributary of the Connecticut River. The library regularly promotes HAS-led bird walks in the sanctuary and has hosted popular programs on birding from home. Vogelgesang notes the all-ages appeal of birding programs. One mother commented to her that she hadn’t realized how important birds of prey are in Indigenous cultural practices and spiritual beliefs, while the mother’s young daughter said Programming on the Fly her favorite bird was the owl: “It was bigger than I thought.” Birdwatching programs foster community Some members of the library’s during the pandemic Friends group are also members of HAS and the town’s garden club, says Vogelgesang, which has fos- BY Sallyann f you were to trek through birdwatching event in early May, tered natural collaborations. Price the marshland behind Wood and the National Audubon Society “There are many advantages IMemorial Library and Museum reporting a boom in sales of birding to partnering with other local in South Windsor, Connecticut, supplies. Libraries, too, are flocking organizations, sharing resources, this fall, you might spot a least to the hobby. With help from their expanding audience outreach, and bittern, one of the world’s smallest collections and community part- helping to promote each other’s herons. Or perhaps hear a rusty ners, they’re working to get patrons programming,” she says. “But the blackbird, named for the creak outside—even if it’s just a backyard ultimate benefit is the sense of of its song, which sounds like an or neighborhood park. community that is created between unoiled hinge. “Before everything shut down, the organizations—an atmosphere During this year’s migration everybody got a little tutorial on of mutual support. This sense of season, billions of birds will cover how to watch birds from their back- camaraderie was a godsend for millions of square miles in their yard,” says Jessica Vogelgesang, everyone during the pandemic.” annual southbound journey across communications director at Wood North America—and new and avid Memorial Library and Museum, ‘At the end of their rope’ birdwatchers will reach for their of a well-timed 2019 library event “Birds of Ontario,” a virtual binoculars, guidebooks, and smart- led by the executive director of the program at Guelph (Ont.) Public phones and head outdoors. Hartford Audubon Society (HAS) Library (GPL) led by a local bird Birdwatching has exploded in to mark the chapter organization’s and weather specialist in January popularity during the pandemic, 110-year anniversary. of this year, attracted nearly 200 with The New York Times last year The Wood Memorial Library and participants, making it one of the observing record participation Museum building is adjacent to a library’s best-attended programs

in Global Big Day, an annual HAS outpost and bird sanctuary during the pandemic. Public Library (Va.) County Henrico Photos:

10 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Bittern

“Before everything outside to get a peek at these birds,” Forestell-Page says, adding that United Nations Day shut down, Wild Ontario will be one of her first everybody got a calls when in-person programming 1 million resumes this fall. Approximate number of resources—and little tutorial on how counting—available through the United Cultivating bird nerds Nations (UN) Digital Library, a collaboration of to watch birds from Henrico County (Va.) Public the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York City their backyard.” Library (HCPL) has led birdwatch- and the United Nations Library and Archives ing programs since 2016 as part Geneva in Switzerland. The collection includes UN JESSICA VOGELGESANG, of a broader effort to documents, voting data, speeches, communications director at Wood educate youth, fami- Memorial Library and Museum in South maps, and open access publications. Windsor, Connecticut lies, and older adults about nature and wildlife. The library has children’s nature “People were kind of at the end and birdwatching of their rope because we had just backpacks available gone back into another lockdown, for checkout and has dedicated kids were back online learning,” birdwatching stations set up out- says Meg Forestell-Page, GPL’s side three of the system’s branches. supervisor of programming, HCPL has also hosted programs outreach, and digital services. “I with the Richmond Audubon Soci- know it’s more screen time, but to ety on the eBird app, a database be able to offer the bridge to the (administered by the National 50 knowledge and then [have patrons] Audubon Society and the Cornell Number of countries represented at the UN go out and do it [themselves]—the Lab of Ornithology) that allows Conference on International Organization in library’s played an important role in users to track specific species and San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945. that,” she says. report sightings. Representatives wrote a charter for the UN with GPL also loans out binoc- HCPL Youth Services Coordina- the hope of preventing another world war. The ulars donated by the Gosling tor Rick Samuelson has been inter- organization officially formed four months later, Foundation—a Canadian nonprofit ested in birding most of his life, ever on October 24. that supports nature education since he spotted cliff swallows— programs—and encourages fami- which fly around in intricate aerial lies to design activities around their patterns—on a childhood visit to 1947 Year the UN General Assembly established Octo- usage, such as counting species or Malheur National Wildlife Refuge ber 24 as United Nations Day. drawing them. “As a parent, you in eastern Oregon. He sees parallels want to get out, you’re taking the between birdwatching and geo- kids out with you, and kids aren’t location games like Pokémon Go, 17 coming out unless there’s an activ- where the goal is to spot an animal Number of Sustainable Development Goals that ity to do,” says Forestell-Page. in its habitat. “We’re kind of doing make up the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable The library had previously part- the same thing,” he says. “We’re Development. Adopted by member states in nered with University of Guelph’s both just in our own special corners 2015, the goals involve ending poverty, pro- environmental education initiative of nerddom.” tecting the planet, and improving the lives and Wild Ontario, which brought wild- Samuelson recalls a particularly prospects of everyone in the world. In 2020, the life workshops and live birds—such enthusiastic young participant in a American Library Association created a task as owls and other wild species— birdwatching program a few years force to develop a multiyear strategic plan to into the library. “We’d always max increase participation by libraries in efforts to

Photo: ©Rejean Aline/Adobe Stock (bird); Images: ©United Nations, 2021, digitallibrary.un.org (maps) digitallibrary.un.org 2021, Nations, Images: ©United (bird); Stock Aline/Adobe ©Rejean Photo: out. We’d have people waiting Continued on page 13 achieve these goals.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 11 An ad used by Multnomah County (Ore.) Library to promote its Library Music Project.

already signed to a record label, it is the band’s responsibility to prearrange for all necessary rights and responsibilities for streaming through the platform. Offering streaming music provides other bonuses, too, says Austin. “Libraries are really good at building community value,” he says, pointing out that celebrating and supporting local artists is an important way to create cultural enrichment in a region. Music streaming helped MCL check off a handful of its goals, Cunningham says: expand the library’s collection of local music, provide visibility for emerging Stream On artists, and develop new means Amplifying local sounds of engagement. Creating a connection BY Bill Furbee n Portland, Oregon, the music events, and other activities to pro- Jason Rabb, librarian at Salt Lake of local freak-folk legends The mote the platform. City Public Library (SLCPL), says I Tree People is landing on new Libraries across the country are SLCPL knew going digital would ears. The same goes for country using the expanding prevalence of allow for more immediate out- act The Toads and spiritual rock music streaming to connect with reach. “Our CD collection reaches band The Functional Monkeys. And local artists, offering them a plat- back a few decades, [but] the Multnomah County (Ore.) Library form to share their music digitally HUM collection”—short for Hear (MCL) is making it happen with a and freely to music lovers around Utah Music—“is designed to be a music streaming service devoted the world. And when done right, resource for what’s happening in exclusively to regional artists. MCL it can also set the stage for deeper the music community here and considered it a no-brainer. community connections. now,” he says. “Portland and Multnomah MCL and other libraries use HUM includes more than County really treasure their music MUSICat, a service from devel- 175 albums from at least 140 and libraries, so it was a natural fit,” oper Rabble, as their digital music local artists, with total monthly says Shawn Cunningham, director platform. The open source platform streams in the 2,000–5,000 range. of communications and strategic allows libraries to curate digital col- But that’s only part of the pic- initiatives at MCL, about the Library lections more easily, says Preston ture, says Rabb. Music Project, which offers more Austin, a Rabble software architect. “Stats don’t capture how mean- than 250 locally produced albums Here’s how it works: The library ingful it’s been for us in connecting to stream or download. The service can invite artists to join its collec- with our community,” he says. also provided MCL with a gateway tion or submit songs via a built-in Rabb cites the opportunity to into the local music scene, says form. The library then indefinitely work directly with local artists and Cunningham. The library partners licenses the work, on nonexclusive support them with honorariums with community groups to offer terms and for honorarium pay- as a highlight—as is working with

live concerts, music video recording ments it determines. If the band is them on other programming like Library (Ore.) Image: Multnomah County

12 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org concerts at the library, HUM-TV Libraries across the (video recordings of local artists available on Vimeo), HUM Fest country are using the (a day of performances held at a nearby amphitheater, on the library expanding prevalence roof, and inside the building), and of music streaming to other projects. In June, the library created a HUM Pride playlist and connect with local artists. made it available on the streaming service, spotlighting local LGBTQ+ artists from the collection for the city’s Pride festival. Chapel Hill (N.C.) Public Library has partnered with the town’s Com- Showcasing heritage munity Arts and Culture division Lawrence (Kans.) Public Library to launch Tracks Music Library, a (LPL) uses its streaming service, streaming collection of more than Guelph (Ont.) Public Library has part- Kaw Valley Jukebox (KVJB), to 70 local musicians and bands. nered with University of Guelph’s environ- highlight new local music while It was funded by an Institute of mental education initiative Wild Ontario also celebrating the city’s musi- Museum and Library Services grant to bring live birds into the library. cal heritage. of $49,250, administered by the Continued from page 11 KVJB was built from the ashes State Library of North Carolina. of LPL’s Lawrence Music Project, “Chapel Hill is a music town,” ago: “I learned that his mom had an attempt in 2015 to stream local says Melissa Bartoletta, marketing driven him out to our branch from music and archive information and communications coordinator the city and he had been pestering on Lawrence-based bands past for the city. “The Triangle region of her all week about the visit. He was and present, according to Kevin North Carolina is home to a rich super excited to try out my binocu- Corcoran, collection develop- musical heritage. Our goal is first lars, and he spotted a ruby-crowned ment librarian at LPL. The library and foremost to support local kinglet,” named for the brilliant red uploaded its Lawrence Music Proj- musicians and to connect our feathers that emerge when the bird ect catalog to KVJB before opening library community to new, home- is excited. “That was great.” up the service to new submissions. grown talent.” But more than the opportu- The move “helped springboard nity to enjoy nature and learn efforts to revitalize” the project, BILL FURBEE is a writer living in New- about wildlife, he says, bird- Corcoran says. port, Kentucky. watching offers an opportunity to engage with important environ- mental issues. “My biggest passion is citizen science, and I hope people connect birdwatching with conservation and giving back to the scientific community,” he says. “We’re in such a good spot at the library to help connect people with that sort of thing…. If you’re going out and doing it because you want to help track birds in your area and help preserve these natural resources that we have, there’s something really noble to that.”

An advertisement for HUM Fest, a local music festival presented by Salt Lake City Public SALLYANN PRICE is associate editor

Photo: Guelph (Ont.) Public Library; Image: Salt Lake City Public City Library Image: Salt Lake Public Library; Guelph (Ont.) Photo: Library, organized in conjunction with the library’s Hear Utah Music collection. of American Libraries.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 13 Tristan Wheeler (right), audio- visual and event planning specialist at Cleveland Public Library, plays Windjammers with streamers from sfxxPLAY on Twitch.

program for teens called CPL Play, with its own Twitch channel run by organizer Tristan Wheeler, an audio- visual and event planning specialist at CPL. Before the pandemic, CPL Play offered PC-building workshops, game development workshops, and gaming tournaments. Wheeler adapted when COVID-19 hit, shifting his focus to what he could offer virtually through the pro- gram’s Twitch channel. He streamed himself playing different games and The Twitching Hour invited developers to stream with him and discuss the latest topics in Libraries use live video platform to the industry. Each weekly stream engage teens, early adults attracts anywhere from 50 to 100 viewers. “We’ve created quite a network,” Wheeler says. BY Diana ara Moesel, teen services from just under 4 million to more He notes that it’s important for Panuncial librarian at Wichita (Kans.) than 9 million. him and the team at CPL Play to S Public Library, recalls a Twitch is most popular among empower communities of color by patron who attended her online teens and early adults, who often exposing them to the video game “Teen Twitch Streaming 101” produce their own content in industry “so they can learn what program in March. He was an avid addition to viewing others’ streams. they need to know if they do decide Minecraft player and even streamed The pandemic further expanded to go into any of those fields.” himself playing it on YouTube, but Twitch’s popularity among those Moesel says programs like her his parents were wary of streaming’s who are streaming activities other Twitch 101 event also promote teen legitimacy as a hobby and had pri- than gaming, like crafting, draw- entrepreneurship. Creating a Twitch vacy concerns. Those who attended ing, or even just discussing their channel, for example, teaches teens Moesel’s program learned how to set interests. The platform is appear- how to take elements of their per- up their own channel, create custom ing in youth programs at libraries sonality and create a brand. Those art and branding, and build their not only because of its ability to branding and designing skills can audience. When the program ended, connect people virtually but also to be translated to other careers teens Moesel remembers the teen saying, showcase potential careers in the might consider. “A lot of kids say, ‘I “Now I feel like my parents will let gaming industry. want to be a famous streamer,’ and me do this.” “In my community, a lot of kids’ that’s an awesome goal to have,” she The livestreaming platform only connection to a lot of digital says. “But my role is to explain the

Twitch is primarily used by gamers skills comes through the library,” underpinnings of that.” (controller) Zavalishina Yulia Photo: who broadcast themselves playing Moesel says. “We’re just really taking videogames. Anyone can watch that next step forward to open from anywhere for free. The their eyes.” platform entered the mainstream in 2020, when the number of Tapping the network active streamers on the platform Cleveland Public Library (CPL) more than doubled over the year, hosts a regular e-sports and gaming

14 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org JOB SEEKERS Jumping into the stream Filter and sort Alexandra Remy, teen and reference hundreds of job librarian at Windsor (Mass.) Public ads by employer, Library, says if you want to bring a location, job title, streamer to your library, they could and more. be right under your nose. Remy invited Will Wiggins, a popular Twitch Post your résumé streamer and artist who goes by the for employers to moniker Black Oni, to teach teens first- fi nd. hand about how to become a streamer. Wiggins happens to be a friend of a Create job alerts librarian colleague. “Literally anyone to have postings you know can be a streamer,” she says. emailed to you. “Don’t limit yourself.” Aaron Mason, director of outreach and programming services at CPL, recommends gauging your library’s audience before implementing a program like CPL Play. If there’s a need, measure it and think about how you might incorporate streaming. “We were fortunate to have a community that we were connected with before Your source for jobs in Library and we started,” Mason says. Information Science and Technology. “A lot of kids say, ‘I want to be a famous streamer,’ and joblist.ala.org that’s an awesome goal to have, but my role is to explain the underpinnings of that.” EMPLOYERS

SARA MOESEL, teen services librarian Strengthen your candidate at Wichita (Kans.) Public Library pool. ALA reaches the engaged professionals and students you want to hire.

When it comes to resources, Simplify recruitment Wheeler says a high-tech setup isn’t with fl at-rate pricing, required. Many streamers have ad options to budget-friendly equipment, but it maximize visibility, and can also be something libraries— powerful employer and streamers in general—invest in over time. branding features. “It’s an art form,” Wheeler says. “You don’t need to have the most expensive tools to make the best art; you just need to have a good vision.” JobLIST is a service of the American Library Association and Association of College & Research Libraries. DIANA PANUNCIAL is a writer in Zion, Illinois.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 15 Patrons at Tulsa (Okla.) City–County Library view an immersive exhibit on the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in spring 2021.

more than a dozen virtual pro- grams (featuring authors Robin DiAngelo, Mira Jacob, Hannibal B. Johnson, Clifton Taulbert, and others), educational take-home activity kits for youth and educa- tors, and an in-person exhibit at Rudisill Regional Library. Through the exhibit “TCCL Remembers,” we sought to foster education about the massacre by making free Confronting History materials available and engaging to Tulsa library educates on race massacre children and adults; build empathy by encouraging audiences to reflect on the human cost of institutional- n the years after World War I, an affluent African-American community flourished in ized racism; and promote healing the Greenwood district of oil-rich Tulsa, Oklahoma, an area that came to be known as by sharing survivors’ stories. IBlack Wall Street. Then, in late May and early June 1921, racial tensions erupted and The exhibit and program series violent white mobs—spurred by a murky allegation of sexual assault—destroyed thou- helped participants understand how sands of Black-owned homes and businesses. A 2001 commission confirmed a death and why the massacre happened, toll of 39 (though local officials estimate as many as 300 people were killed), making inspiring reflection on the racial it one of the deadliest single incidents of racist violence in US history, though for years and political conditions leading up the event was seemingly erased from news and historical accounts. Tulsa City–County to and following the event. The goal Library (TCCL) commemorated the 2021 centennial of the massacre with an immersive was not only to ensure the facts of exhibit and educational programming, with the goal of keeping the memory alive. the atrocity were never again buried or forgotten but also to help nor- malize and encourage open conver- BY Kimberly s the 100th anniversary of resources. For decades researchers sations about difficult topics. Our Johnson and the devastating 1921 Tulsa have used historical documents virtual events engaged more than Jennifer Greb A race massacre approached (telephone directories, newspa- 1,300 viewers, and the in-person and our library looked for ways to pers, maps, photographs, oral exhibit received more than 3,000 educate the community about a sig- histories, and more) from our visitors during its six-week run. nificant piece of our city’s past, we African-American Resource Center TCCL has always housed special had a disturbing realization: Many at Rudisill Regional Library and the collections and offered equity- of our patrons, even those native research center at Central Library focused programs, but the scale to Tulsa, knew little to nothing to study the Tulsa race massacre. So of the centennial commemoration about it. Decades of whitewashed in 2020, when local organizations efforts was unprecedented. We reports and unacknowledged were gearing up for the centennial, were fortunate to receive a grant losses added up to a serious gap in TCCL was already looking for ways from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massa- how we understand our local and to make this information accessible cre Centennial Commission, made national history. to multiple age groups. possible by WPX Energy, and we In the past, TCCL has invited Between February and May benefited from multiple community the community to explore diffi- of this year, our library system partnerships. The Greenwood Art cult topics related to historical or promoted education, empathy, and Project cosponsored an inscription current events through interactive healing around this long-buried of a poem honoring the victims of

programs, panels, and in-depth piece of local history through the massacre on the stairs leading Library City–County (Okla.) Tulsa Photo:

16 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org The goal was not only to ensure the facts of the atrocity were never again buried or forgotten Lending Māori Music but also to help normalize and NEW ZEALAND Alexander Heritage Library–Te Rerenga Mai encourage open conversations o Te Kāuru in Whanganui became the country’s first library to lend about difficult topics. a collection of traditional Māori instruments, or taonga pūoro, in May. A kete (kit) containing six instruments—three flutes, two spun or swung instruments, and one percussive instrument, plus a mat, a book, and instructions—was donated by Awa Puoro ki te Ao, a com- into Rudisill Regional Library. The munity arts organization that plays and teaches about taonga pūoro. Tulsa Library Trust helped fund our Patrons are asked to clean the instruments events, and Friends of the Tulsa before returning them and, to maintain City–County Libraries helped with hygiene, the library waits 72 hours before programming and general support. checking the kete out again. The library will As libraries, we have an innate track how the kete is used in its first year. stake in historical preservation. We Awa Puoro ki te Ao member Elise Goodge offer common ground for different predicts people might borrow it for use at perspectives to meet and converse a birthing ceremony, and that teachers may and the expertise to connect resources use it for lessons.—New Zealand Herald, May 18. and shape programs that address sensitive and profound topics. Is there GEORGIA On World Book and Copy- a sensitive topic in your community’s right Day (April 23), Tbilisi officially became history you wish to probe? We advise the 2021 UNESCO World Book Capital. The that you plan ahead, include diverse handover of the title from Kuala Lumpur, stakeholders as early as possible, and Malaysia, was marked at a ceremony that know your over-arching goal. Move featured in-person and remote addresses forward with humility and flexibility from the cities’ respective mayors, Geor- as potential partners and perspectives Jessica Kahukura gian President Salome Zourabichvili, and UNESCO representatives. come forward. Consider all oppor- playing a pūtōrino The city is hosting book festivals, publisher events, conferences, (traditional flute) tunities that could help bring your performances, and author residencies throughout the year, and at Alexander community together for education, Heritage Library– Zourabichvili announced the new Elisabeth Orbeliani Prize for the empathy, and healing. Te Rerenga Mai First Translation of a Young Translator, to be awarded April 22, 2022. Public libraries can serve their o Te Kāuru in Zourabichvili said the prize was aimed at supporting local translators Whanganui, New communities by offering programming to ensure Georgian literature was represented on the international Zealand. and outreach that confront difficult stage.—Agenda.ge, Apr. 24. topics like violent racial history. These confrontations are tricky to navigate, MALTA A collaboration between Malta Libraries and digital and challenges will certainly arise. The publisher Octavo has made ebooks in Maltese available to library best you can do is research, facilitate, members for the first time. The move meets increasing demand for and be confident in how vital these online reading material in the national language and by local authors, conversations are. according to National Heritage, Arts, and Local Government Minister José A. Herrera.—Newsbook, Apr. 26. KIMBERLY JOHNSON is CEO of Tulsa (Okla.) City–County Library. She POLAND Researchers at University of Warsaw Library found a leads two nonpublic locations and hair tucked inside the pages of a 16th-century copy of Thomasinus 24 branches in 10 cities throughout Tulsa County. JENNIFER GREB is systemwide de Ferraria’s Sermones Quadragesimales. According to librarians, the services director at TCCL, where she hair most likely fell out during the binding process and could date started her career in 1998 as an Ameri- from anywhere between 1501 and 1600. The library has no immediate Corps volunteer. Photo: Gail Imhoff Photography Photo: plans to test the hair and will leave it in place.—The First News, Apr. 6.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 17 fence gets it, the bad stuff can be Colson Whitehead reintegrated into the good society. And so he’s in the middle in a lot of Pulitzer Prize–winning author different ways. discusses the divided self There are so many hierarchies in the novel. Who’s educated, who’s olson Whitehead’s two most recent novels—The not, who’s poor, who’s rich. Does Underground Railroad (2016) and The Nickel Boys (2019)—both this theme connect to your other C won Pulitzer Prizes. The Underground Railroad was also honored with the novels? Yeah, capitalism. Money National Book Award and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and it is important in The Underground has been adapted into a miniseries on Amazon Prime Video directed by Barry Jenkins Railroad. It’s the engine that makes (who also directed If Beale Street Could Talk and Moonlight). Imaginative and intrepid, America; it’s the engine that forces Whitehead has explored something different in each of his 10 books, from African- the perpetuation of slavery, because American history to poker to zombies, even as he pursues signature themes. He has it’s so lucrative. There’s also the now written his first heist novel, Harlem Shuffle (Doubleday, September). American topic of institutional racism in The Libraries spoke with Whitehead about the novel, the significance of the Sixties (and Underground Railroad and The Nickel Seventies), and how the film Jaws led him to the library. Boys. Here the real power is, of course, real estate because it’s New York. And so it’s less about institu- BY Donna Why did you set Harlem Shuffle at city. So I knew I wanted to have a tional racism and more about real Seaman the dawn of the 1960s? I was born Sixties and Seventies New York vibe. estate. Some of my books deal more in 1969, so a lot of the pop culture directly with race and sometimes not I grew up with is from the 1960s or Ray Carney, your protagonist and at all. In this one, it’s always there, early 1970s. Movies like Dog Day narrator, is a Harlem furniture store because it is always there. Afternoon or The Taking owner with a business degree of Pelham One who’s determined to not be like his Clearly, you conduct a lot of Two Three, outlaw father, yet he does not stay research for your books. What role which I saw on the safe side of the law. Where have libraries played in your life? when I was did Ray come from? I had the idea I was a very bookish kid, whether it really young, to write a heist novel, and I hit upon was my school library and being led were, for me, the character of the fence. And a to the shark section so I could read documenta- lot of those guys had fronts. They up on sharks in the wake of Jaws, or ries about the would sell electronics or antiques, later, in junior high, when I was and in the back, of course, is where doing my research papers on John all the criminal action goes. Steinbeck and going to the Mid-Manhattan Library. These are Ray is a fence, and he’s on the natural fence as to how far he should go resources that MORE ONLINE into the criminal world. The whole For the extended have helped time we’re reading the novel, interview, visit me when I was we’re wondering, which side is bit.ly/AL-Colson. a curious kid he going to end up on? Yeah, the and a student divided self. There’s his amoral side and now as a writer. I’m always and his upstanding businessman, going to digital archives and actual ­pillar-of-the-community, nice-dad physical libraries like the Schom- side. I think all of us reconcile our burg [Center for Research in Black base instincts and our higher selves. Culture], which is a great resource And so a fence, in the sense of a for African-American history and person washing illegal goods, is a literature. I’m not sure how people barrier between the criminal world live without libraries, and I’m glad

and a straight world. Once the we’re opening up again. Chris Close Photo:

18 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org “Those who seek to ban my book and others like it are trying to exploit fear—fear about the realities that books like mine expose, fear about desire and sex and love—and distort it into something ugly, in an attempt to wish away queer experiences.” CARMEN MARIA MACHADO, “Banning My Book Won’t Protect Your Child,” The New York Times, May 11.

“I used to love the bookmobile. We didn’t “There is a misconception that being live out in the country [in Tennessee], even a public librarian is a quiet, soothing, though I’ve tried over the years to make and—dare I say—easy job where you get it seem like it—no, honey, we were in the to read a lot at work. In reality, libraries middle-class suburbs. But I would walk to can be the loudest community hangout the mobile and sit and read. My favorite was spaces you’ve ever stepped foot in.”

Black Beauty; it was so rich. I read what were MICHELLE LEUNG, in “The Chronicles of Narnia, Rupert Giles, at that time considered ‘little girl’ books.” and Vaccine Clinics in Libraries,” Book Marks, June 22.

LESLIE JORDAN, in “Leslie Jordan Read The Feminine Mystique as a Kid and Has No Patience for Bad Southern “No question, the US needs new roads, rails, and Accents,” Entertainment Weekly, Apr. 16. dams, but it also needs public libraries, murals, community theater, and archivists to document “If you think about the language of a local history. Infrastructure must be redefined library, what does that get you? It gets you to encompass what makes a healthy community protocols that everybody understands and not just how many sticks of rebar a bridge for quiet and focused work. And so it’s needs to stand up for the next 60 years.” a very direct response to the open office MAX HOLLERAN, “When the Government Supported Writers,” spaces created in the last 10 years that The New Republic, June 15. weren’t done right.… [The library format] gives you another language outside of the “A NEAT LIBRARY IS A DEAD ONE, office, outside of the design world, to say, AND I’LL ACCEPT A LITTLE CHAOS ‘Okay, I’m going to have a spot to think.’ ” AS PROOF OF MY LIVING.”

ELIZABETH VON GOELER, in “Why Post-Pandemic Office Design MARK ATHITAKIS, “Why Bother Organizing Your Books? A Messy

Photo: Art Streiber/AUGUST Photo: Might Mimic a Library,” BuiltIn, Apr. 27 Personal Library Is Proof of Life,” The Washington Post, June 19.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 19 2021 LIBRARY DESIGN SHOWCASE The year’s most impressive new and renovated libraries

BY Phil Morehart

elcome to the 2021 WLibrary Design Show- case, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and reno- vated libraries that address user needs in unique, interesting, and effective ways. That this year’s slate features building projects completed during the pandemic makes them even more notewor- thy. Despite libraries being tem- porarily closed or operating at reduced hours because of COVID-19 restrictions, beautiful new facilities and innovatively renovated spaces continued to open to the public over the past year and a half. As in recent years, renovations and expan- sions took center stage, high- lighting the novel ways that communities are honoring exist- ing structures while moving them into the future.

20 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org HIGHER LEARNING

D. H. Hill Jr. Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh Lord Aeck Sargent transformed D. H. Hill Jr. Library into an open, light- filled facility with an eye on the future. The removal of stacks on the second and third floors created new areas for study, academic support, and technology immersion. In addition to facilities for the Academic Success Center, the University Tutorial Center, and the Office of Under- graduate Research, the renovation also features spaces for a 360-degree visualization studio, a data experience lab for high-end computing, and an innovation studio to showcase emerging technology. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation ARCHITECT: Lord Aeck Sargent SIZE: 400,000 square feet COST: $11 million PHOTO: Tzu Chen Photography

Neilson Library at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts Three architecture groups— including the studio of Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Vet- erans Memorial in Washington, D.C.—renovated and redesigned Smith College’s library, trans- forming it into a contemporary center of learning and scholarship. Originally built in 1909, the library was expanded to include jewel- box pavilions with study spaces as well as areas for digital media and academic support services. The interior was gutted and refur- bished with a new central core, complete with a skylight that illuminates the building. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECTS: Bialosky + Partners; Maya Lin Studio; Shepley Bulfinch SIZE: 154,000 square feet COST: $120 million PHOTO: Nic Lehoux

Tune in to the September episode of our Call Number podcast Listen at for conversations about library architecture and design. bit.ly/CallNumberPodcast

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 21 FOR THE KIDS

John and Claudia Belk Upper School Learning Center at Charlotte (N.C.) Country Day School The Belk Learning Center was designed to provide an inviting new entrance to the Charlotte Country Day School campus and a serene complement to the school’s midcentury modern aesthetic. The large facility features zones for collabo- rative and individual study, offices, classrooms, archives, a recording studio, and a café area. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: Cen- terbrook Architects and Planners SIZE: 14,000 square feet COST: $11.5 million PHOTO: Cameron Triggs

PAST MEETS PRESENT

Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, Michigan Baldwin Public Library was built in stages: The main building was constructed in 1927; a youth room followed in 1960; and an adult services wing was added in 1981. Its recent renovation and expansion streamlined those different phases, updating the youth room with a larger play area and program room, designating 2,000 square feet of new space for offices and a coat and stroller room, and adding an outdoor garden and terrace. Exposed brick from the original building is visible in the expansion, creating a seamless flow between the different generations of building growth. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: Luckenbach Ziegelman Gardner Architects SIZE: 45,000 square feet COST: $2.7 million PHOTO: Laszlo Regos

22 September/October 2021 REBIRTH AFTER DISASTER

Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Library, Price Hill branch After a partial, after-hours ceiling collapse in 2018 led to the closure of this 1909 Carnegie building, Cin- cinnati and Hamilton County Public Library decided to renovate and expand the facility. The basement was converted into the main floor, allowing the new upper level to house meeting room spaces. Original elements were restored throughout, including the skylight and tiled foyer, and nods to the building’s past were added, including interior octagonal tiles and matching brick masonry. The new building is now ADA-compliant, and Spanish-language signage was added to welcome the area’s growing Spanish- speaking community. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECTS: Fishbeck; Interior Project Man- agement SIZE: 14,000 square feet COST: $7.3 million PHOTO: Helen McCormick Photography

Salt Lake City Public Library, Sprague branch After a devastating flood in 2017 damaged Salt Lake City Public Library’s Sprague branch and destroyed massive amounts of library material, the space was reborn in 2021 with a new interior optimized for community needs. Originally constructed in 1928, the English Tudor-style building in the Sugar House neighborhood was updated with bright lighting, a business hub, study rooms, new tile flooring, a refur- bished main staircase, and new exterior brickwork. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation ARCHITECTS: Arch Nexus; Margaret Sullivan Studio SIZE: 13,000 square feet COST: $4.5 million PHOTO: Salt Lake City Public Library

SMALL SPACE FOR BIG DREAMS Meridian (Idaho) Library District, unBound branch MSR Design renovated a two-story building in downtown Meridian, situ- ated among multiple mixed-use devel- opments, to create a library branch focused on resources for small busi- nesses and technology. Entrepreneurs at all levels can find business-focused books and programs, collaborative meeting spaces, makerspaces, 3D print- ers, laser engravers, a laminating machine, a digital design lab, and a recording studio. PROJECT TYPE: Adap- tive reuse ARCHITECT: MSR Design SIZE: 3,800 square feet COST: $1.4 million PHOTO: Meridian Library District

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 23 VISUAL WONDERS

Homestead (Fla.) Cybrarium The Cybrarium’s striking external façade sets the stage for experiences available to visitors inside the building. Designed to break the mold of traditional learning, the Cybrarium offers a virtual reality space, a makerspace, sewing machines, and 3D printing services. A theater in the children’s section provides an area for storytimes and community events. A steampunk-themed lounge anchored by an 1896 Chandler and Price letterpress nods to forward- thinking innovation from the past. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECT: DLR Group SIZE: 23,263 square feet COST: $10.4 million PHOTO: Osiris Ramirez

East Baton Rouge (La.) Parish Library, River Center branch The new River Center branch celebrates East Baton Rouge’s proximity to the Mississippi River. A cantilevered design pro- vides a vista of the river, and a public roof terrace offers panoramic views of the water and surrounding city. A wall-to-wall US Army Corps of Engineers map of the river in the foyer greets visitors as they enter the building, further instilling a sense of geographical pride. The stacked arrangement of floors serves a dual purpose, creating spaces for children, teens, and adults inside the building as well as a shaded public plaza at street level. PROJECT TYPE: New construction ARCHITECTS: WHLC Architecture; Schwartz/Silver Architects SIZE: 49,000 square feet COST: $21.4 million PHOTO: Tim Mueller Photography

24 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library The renovation of Fayetteville Public Library has produced new spaces for the community to create, learn, and connect. Large windows in the elon- gated horizontal expansion provide ample natural light for the stacks and reading and congregating areas. Additional spaces for learning and other experiences include a 700-seat event center with a stage and retract- able seating, a teaching kitchen and café, an art and movement room, and an innovation center with audio and visual production studios, a simulation lab, a fabrication and robotics studio, photography and virtual reality stu- dios, a podcast booth, and collabora- tion space. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: MSR Design SIZE: 168,000 square feet COST: $49 mil- lion PHOTO: Crossland Construction

Stanley A. Milner Library, Edmonton (Alberta) Public Library The renovated Milner Library, with its sleek, right-triangle shape and expansive windows, is a striking new element in downtown Edmonton. The interior is equally impressive, with features that highlight technol- ogy and new learning, including a two-story, double-sided, 40-foot- wide interactive multimedia digital installation created with Queensland University of Technology in Australia and a 1,000-square-foot gamer space with PC, console, group, and retro options. More than 7,000 square feet of space is dedicated to hands-on activities, including a makerspace for kids, sound recording studios, a media production lab, and a fabrica- tion lab with a drill press, scroll saw, and resin 3D printer. PROJECT TYPE: Renovation and expansion ARCHITECT: Teeple Architects SIZE: 227,732 square feet COST: $85 million Canadian PHOTO: Andrew Latreille

September/October 2021 25 2021 ALA/AIA LIBRARY he following libraries are T winners of the 2021 Library Building Awards, sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, BUILDING Futures (a division of the Ameri- AWARDS can Library Association) and the American Institute of Architects. The awards recognize the best in library architecture and design and are open to any architect licensed in the United States. Projects may be located anywhere in the world.

Cambridge (Mass.) Public Library, Valente branch ARCHITECT: William Rawn Associates, Architects Inc. PHOTO: Robert Benson Photography

Boston Public Library, Roxbury branch ARCHITECT: Utile PHOTO: Anton Grassl Archi- tectural Photography

26 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Chicago Public Library’s Little Italy branch and Chicago Housing Authority’s Taylor Street Apartments ARCHITECT: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill PHOTO: Tom Harris

Hayden Library, Arizona State University in Tempe ARCHITECT: Ayers Saint Gross PHOTO: Gabe Border

Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, Sunset Park branch ARCHITECT: Leroy Street Studio PHOTO: Halkin | Mason Photography

September/October 2021 27 SPECIAL REPORT

THE LEGACY OF 9/11

28 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org In the aftermath, American Libraries tried to make sense of the tragedy and our nation’s response, and consider their implications for libraries and American Library Association mem- bers. Our 2001 and 2002 reporting covered topics related to collections destroyed in the attacks, communities dealing with Islamophobia, restric- tions imposed on civil liberties, and what librarian eyewitnesses remembered about that day. In this issue, we return to these themes—and examine others—to promote healing and reflection. What have been the lasting effects of September 11 on libraries and librarians? How the attacks The stories in this special report include: ■ a look back at the 21 libraries destroyed in the 9/11 World Trade Center and the documentation activi- affected the ties that followed this immense cultural loss (p. 30) library world ■ recollections from librarians who countered post– September 11 ignorance and bigotry with pro- t’s been 20 years since the grams and information about Islam and the Middle terrorist attacks of Sep- East (p. 33) tember 11, 2001, flashed ■ a profile on the public library of Gander, I Newfoundland—a small Canadian town that found on our TV screens and left an imprint on our memories. itself in the spotlight when 6,500 travelers were Nearly 3,000 people died at the diverted there after the attacks (p. 34) ■ an overview of two archives preserving the broad- World Trade Center in New York casts and digital ephemera of September 11 (p. 36) City, at the Pentagon in Arling- ■ an interview about privacy and surveillance with ton, Virginia, and aboard four the Connecticut Four, the four librarians who chal- hijacked airplanes. For many lenged the Patriot Act and government overreach of us, including those who wit- that followed the attacks (p. 38) nessed these events in real-time Twenty years on, these accounts remain powerful news coverage, the losses of and relevant, serving as a reminder of the profession’s that day still feel incalculable. role in telling and keeping our collective history.

MORE ONLINE Read extended versions of these stories at americanlibraries.org starting September 1.

Photo: ©Eduard Moldoveanu/Adobe Stock americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 29 The Sphere, a sculp- ture by Fritz Koenig, survived the collapse of the Twin Towers partially intact (inset). The unrestored sculp- ture now sits in New York City’s Liberty Park near the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

the agency that owned most of the World Trade Center’s 16-acre mixed-use campus at the time. The loss of historic and cultural items from archival and corporate collections in and around the World Trade Center was staggering: paintings by David Hockney, Paul Klee, Roy Lichtenstein, What Was Lost and Pablo Picasso; letters written by Helen Keller; sculptures and tapestries The libraries and treasures destroyed on by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Mas- 9/11—and the archival work that came next ayuki Nagare, Auguste Rodin, and James Rosati; 40,000 photographic negatives BY Terra Dankowski of US President John F. Kennedy by his personal photographer, Jacques Lowe; documents related to US trade dating ollowing the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade back to the 1840s; and the Broadway Center in New York City, many archivists and librarians wanted to Theatre Archive’s 35,000 photographs. Librarian Betty L. Wagoner told help colleagues—particularly those working near Ground Zero—with F American Libraries at the time (Novem- recovery efforts. They just weren’t sure what that help would look like. ber 2001, p. 14) that the library she Kathleen D. Roe, chief of archival Cataclysm and Challenge: Impact of established for the nonprofit National services at New York State Archives in September 11, 2001, on Our Nation’s Development and Research Institutes Albany at the time and now retired, says Cultural Heritage, puts that figure (NDRI)—which contained 5,000 items her team was prepared to deal with wet higher. “It is believed many more cor- on substance abuse and HIV/AIDS—was or dusty records or damaged collec- porate libraries were destroyed, given gone. She said the library, located on tions. “We pretty quickly found out that the number of law and investment firms the 16th floor of Tower Two, “was just either collections were pretty much okay in the complex,” the study reads, also reaching the point where it was actually because they were in a safe building that mentioning the records and archives of quite useful.” didn’t get damaged by the attacks, or some 60 nonprofit organizations that Port Authority spokesman Steve they were gone completely,” she says. had offices in the World Trade Center. Coleman told the Associated Press in “There was very little in between.” Among the 21 libraries destroyed 2011, a decade after the disaster, that Twenty-one libraries were confirmed were those of the American Merchant the agency had a “general idea” of which destroyed in the World Trade Center. But Marine Library Association, US Customs holdings were destroyed on the 67th a 2002 report by the Heritage Emer- Service, Journal of Commerce, and Port floor of Tower One that day. Coleman

gency National Task Force (HENTF), Authority of New York and New Jersey, named the Port Authority’s video and (inset) Michael Rieger/FEMA 4.0); BY-SA (CC Diegonzalezochoa Photos:

30 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org THE LEGACY OF 9/11

“We need to think about what stories need to survive this and intentionally photo archives, board see that those stories survive.” meeting minutes, KATHLEEN D. ROE, retired chief of archival services at and the 1921 charter New York State Archives in Albany agreement that established the agency among the lost items. need to think about what National Historical Publications and (By contrast, the Pentagon stories need to survive this Records Commission to fund individual in Arlington, Virginia, was and intentionally see that those repositories’ documentation projects. able to save about 99% of its library’s stories survive.” The task force and its members book collection after American Airlines From the group that met shortly also guided the 9/11 Memory Project Flight 77 crashed into the west side of its after the terrorist attacks, the World (bit. ly/AL-911MH), which put archivists building, according to HENTF’s report.) Trade Center Documentation Task Force and librarians in direct contact with (WTCDTF) was formed. As repositories survivors and victims’ families. Project Documenting the aftermath across New York started documentation participants met with archivists to learn After September 11, a priority for Roe efforts, the task force served as a clear- about options for preserving the memo- and the New York State Archives was inghouse of information—identifying rabilia of deceased loved ones, including to locate colleagues in the historical the most critical documentation issues, “heartbreaking answering machine records-holding community who worked supporting organizations creating messages” that were left the day of the in New York City’s Frozen Zone, the area records and building collections, and attacks, says Roe. below 14th Street in Lower Manhattan. encouraging individual and collabora- She remembers the process was Businesses were closed, and very few tive projects to preserve history. Roe handled extremely delicately. Instruc- people had cellphones back then, Roe chaired the task force along with Robert tors were not at the front of the room recalls. The first step was finding out if Morris of the National Archives’ North- giving PowerPoint presentations on how colleagues were alive, okay, and if they east Region. to archive, as can be common in gene- needed anything. To assess the landscape, WTCDTF alogy and research workshops. Rather, Roe says she was part of a group of surveyed 800 known historical records- archivists talked with small groups of archivists that convened in New York collecting institutions in New York’s five 5–10 people in comfortable chairs, “just City two weeks after September 11. It boroughs, Long Island, and Orange, giving advice” on what families might became apparent to the group that help Putnam, and Westchester counties to want to do with certain items and making with recovery efforts wasn’t what was ask about their post–September 11 themselves available to the community. needed; assistance documenting the experiences and needs. More than The 9/11 Memory Project had a event, however, was. 250 institutions responded, and the psychologist on its board, who suggested “We’re right in the middle of this,” results enabled the task force to apply putting project materials online so Roe recalls the group realizing. “We for a grant from the National Archives’ people could look at it at their own pace,

Among the Libraries and Archives Destroyed on September 11

■ American Merchant Marine ■ The library of Guy ■ The library of the ■ The library of Serko Library Association Carpenter and Company National Development and Simon ■ The library of the ■ The library of Hill, Betts, and Research ■ The library of Sidley Austin Aon Corporation and Nash Institutes Brown and Wood ■ The library of the Council of ■ The library of the ■ Nearly the complete ■ The library of Thacher State Governments Journal of Commerce archives of the Port Proffitt and Wood ■ The library of Fiduciary Trust ■ The library of Authority of New York ■ Ferdinand Gallozzi Library Company International Morgan Stanley and New Jersey of the US Customs Service

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 31 Some of the Roe says. The approach was, “Here’s that have been shared with the agency what you have, here’s what’s important, from personal collections. In recent Cultural Items Lost and some day when you’re ready—if you years, the Port Authority has been linked on September 11 want that person’s story to live on—here to September 11 and archives in another are some places you could give [the powerful way: The agency ran a pro- ■ Paintings by David Hockney, memorabilia] to,” she says. gram from 2010 to 2016 that gave away Paul Klee, Roy Lichtenstein, and “My staff cried, people attending more than 2,600 artifacts collected from Pablo Picasso cried, all of us did,” says Roe of the the World Trade Center wreckage to fire ■ Sculptures and tapestry by emotions that would surface at these and police departments, museums, and Auguste Rodin, Alexander meetings. “People really needed a municipalities in all 50 states and several Calder, Joan Miró, very differ- countries around the world. “The project Masayuki Nagare, ent approach has definitely created a network that will and James Rosati than what continue the memory of 9/11 through ■ Letters written by librarians and history,” archivist and program manager Helen Keller archivists were Amy Passiak told PBS NewsHour Week- ■ About 40,000 pho- used to doing.” end in 2016 (bit.ly/AL-PBS). tographic negatives Roe herself lost Though stakeholders of the 9/11 of US President John a friend in the Memory Project no longer meet—they F. Kennedy by his Twin Towers. She last debriefed in 2007 at the end of the personal photogra- also knew some- project’s grant cycle—Roe says collec- pher, Jacques Lowe The World Trade Center one who attended tion development and maintenance of ■ Documents related to US trade Tapestry, by Joan Miró 20 funerals this and other September 11 archives dating back to the 1840s and Josep Royo, was after Septem- is not over. The Metropolitan Archivists displayed in the lobby ■ Broadway Theatre Archive’s ber 11. “Twenty Round Table has taken on the memory of Tower Two from 1974 35,000 photographs until it was destroyed years later, I project, and, for the 20th anniversary of ■ About 900,000 artifacts (exca- on September 11, 2001. cry,” she says. September 11, New York State Archives’ vated from an archeological site Documentary Heritage Program has in 1991) from the 19th-century Still collecting placed a grant emphasis on World Trade Lower Manhattan neighborhood It remains difficult to get a complete Center documentation. Five Points that were stored at picture of the treasures lost on Septem- Twenty years on, Roe and others in 6 World Trade Center ber 11, as well as which agencies tried to the archival community are finding that ■ Family records and heirlooms build back new collections. people who have held on to Septem- stored in safety deposit boxes Wagoner was offered items to restock ber 11 documents are now at the age and vaults of World Trade her collection by those in the library of retirement and submitting items to Center banks, including a collec- community who had double runs, she repositories. The work is continuing, she tion of 25 antique handwoven told American Libraries in 2001, but says, “not in obvious, glitzy ways but in rugs that had been passed down NDRI would disband in 2019. The orga- very compelling and important ways, so through generations of Muslim nization is among a handful that had that there will be a really solid documen- families from the Middle East, libraries in the World Trade Center and tation of the human experience of 9/11 North Africa, and Southeast Asia have since shuttered for reasons unre- and the impact it had on our lives. ■ About 1% of the Pentagon’s lated to September 11, including the US “It’s not done,” says Roe. “It won’t be book collection Customs Service (reorganized in 2003) done until the last survivor passes, until

Sources: American Libraries reporting (2001– and law firm Thacher Proffitt and Wood the last victim’s family member is gone, 2002); “Mystery Surrounds Loss of Records, Art (dissolved in 2008). and that’s a long, long time.” on 9/11” (Associated Press, September 11, 2011); Cataclysm and Challenge: Impact of September 11, The Port Authority of New York and 2001, on Our Nation’s Cultural Heritage, a report New Jersey has not rebuilt a public by Heritage Preservation on behalf of the Heri- TERRA DANKOWSKI is managing editor of tage Emergency National Task Force (2002). archive but is working to digitize photos American Libraries. Photo: Gilles Chapelain (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) BY-NC-ND Gilles Chapelain (CC Photo:

32 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org THE LEGACY OF 9/11

Understanding

Khader has taught a class on Islam the Other at Marshall University since 1991 and for many years—before and after the Librarians who fought attacks—regularly contributed op-eds ignorance with information to local newspapers about Islam and Muslims in the US. “I never decline an invitation—from local community BY Sallyann Price organizations, clubs, classes, whatever— when they’re covering subjects that have to do with Islam and the Middle East,” slamophobia in the US existed long before the September 11 attacks. But says Khader, who still lectures to these as a traumatized country mourned and searched for someone to blame, groups regularly. “They might not know fear and suspicion of those perceived to be Muslims or Arab Americans Islam is a religion of peace.” I After the attacks, Rosalie Amer, intensified. The FBI reported a 17-fold increase in anti-Arab and anti- Muslim crimes in 2001 over the previous year, according to a 2002 who in 2001 was a systems librarian at Cosumnes report from Human Rights Watch. Some librarians experienced River College in Sac- discrimination or witnessed bigotry in their communities— ramento as well as a and many worked to fight ignorance with information. professor teaching Ghada Kanafini Elturk, a Lebanese in Huntington, West courses on Islam, American who was then working as com- Virginia—a longtime found her expertise in munity and cultural outreach librarian at naturalized citizen high demand. Boulder (Colo.) Public Library, described by 2001—says in the “Those of us who the hostility against Muslims and Arab 20 years since Septem- were teaching about Americans in the months after the ber 11, he’s encountered Islam or teaching Middle attacks. “Those Americans who are not more curiosity around Eastern history, we were a familiar with my culture do not show Islam and the Middle East rarity,” Amer says, noting respect,” she told American Libraries than hostility, though he “As Muslims, we that she worked with local reporter Ron Chepesiuk in January 2002. notes that he’s still careful have to defend churches and mosques “Some people say, ‘Oh, you don’t look like to avoid standing out to promote dialogue and an Arab.’ They think it’s a compliment.” when traveling or han- ourselves even understanding. As terrible Elturk also told Chepesiuk that she dling government doc- as the attacks were, she organized a program called “Afghanistan uments, which his work though we are says, September 11 was in My Heart: Local Afghan Americans has involved. “Sometimes innocent.” a catalyst for building Talk about Their Native Land” in Novem- [library] users ask sensi- improved interfaith rela- MAJED KHADER, director ber 2001, with the goal of building tive questions that have to of Morrow Library at tions in this country. awareness around a country that was do with national security, Marshall University in Says Amer: “These suddenly always in the news. And she and it requires visiting Huntington, West Virginia efforts contributed to a continued doing outreach work with a national security web- diverse generation of Boulder’s immigrant communities until site,” he says. “Personally, I would try to youth that is familiar with other faiths her retirement in 2015. One program, avoid using these websites and assign and communities and coming from a “Setting Roots,” involved participants [the task] to one of my staff because I place of tolerance, understanding, and, sharing what they do to make Boulder don’t want to connect my email to such hopefully, acceptance.” feel like home. a question.” He adds: “As Muslims, we Jordan-born Majed Khader, director have to defend ourselves even though SALLYANN PRICE is associate editor of of Morrow Library at Marshall University we are innocent.” American Libraries. Illustration: ©green2/Adobe Stock ©green2/Adobe Illustration:

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 33 A Safe Haven

staffers. Other branches in the nearby in the Sea towns of Gambo, Glenwood, and Lewis- porte assisted but had only one staff Tiny Canadian library plays unexpected member each, plus volunteers. role during chaotic week The diverted planes were on the ground for more than 20 hours of security checks before passengers were BY Amy Carlton allowed to disembark, with most passen- gers given little information. “When they got off the planes, they didn’t even know magine you’re on an island in the middle of the ocean, and you’ve what had happened,” Soucy says. She never heard of it, and you’re trapped there.” That’s what Pam Soucy, a describes tears and anxiety, especially library assistant at Gander Public and Resource Library (GPRL), and her from young people traveling on their I own and those who didn’t speak English. coworkers told themselves in the days following September 11, 2001, when more than 6,500 passengers and crew members saw their flights diverted to Parsons extended GPRL’s library hours immediately, opening earlier in the Gander, a tiny town of about 10,000 people in Newfoundland, Canada, after morning and closing later at night. On the airspace over the US was suddenly closed for almost a week. the morning of September 12, she says, Gander’s small airport had evolved all these people? Who’s going to look visitors started coming to the library from a strategic post during World after them?” looking for computer and telephone War II to a refueling station for Gander residents immediately set access to contact loved ones. GPRL’s transatlantic flights during the 1950s out to find clothing, food, and sleep- 30 computers—including 10 laptops that and 1960s. The planes began arriv- ing space all over town for the visitors. had recently been donated by the Bill & ing on the day of the attack. Soucy, GPRL staffers started strategizing as Melinda Gates Foundation—were put to now retired, and then–GPRL Manager well. Patricia Parsons, who retired in nonstop use, and the phone company set Glenda Peddle, who died in 2018, knew 2015, was manager of Central Regional up booths for free calls on the street in people working in air traffic control Libraries, administering 34 branches front of the library. “The whole area was who provided regular updates on the in central Newfoundland. Her office a beehive of people,” Soucy says. status of the planes that day. shared a coffee room with GPRL, which “We took our own offices and all “That evening,” Soucy says, “the became the main branch to aid stranded the public spaces we had and just gave planes were just coming in one right passengers because of its proximity to them to people,” Parsons says. “The staff after the other,” 38 jets in all. She the airport and its relatively large team contract went right out the window,” thought: “What’s going to happen to of three full-time and four part-time she says, as did the library’s budget restrictions for things like long-distance calls and faxes. Stranded passengers also came to GPRL seeking a quiet place away from the crowded school gyms and church basements that had been commandeered as emergency housing. “We just talked to them as normal as could be and tried to make them feel safe and comfortable,” Soucy says. Library staffers even shared their own homemade lunches. “A lot of people didn’t know where they were,” Parsons says. “They thought Photo: ©cnky photography/Adobe Stock (globe); Gander (Newfoundland) Public and Resources Library (exterior) Library Public and Resources Gander (Newfoundland) (globe); Stock photography/Adobe ©cnky Photo:

34 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org THE LEGACY OF 9/11

“A lot of people didn’t know where they were. They thought they’d landed in they’d landed in Ice- land or Greenland.” Iceland or Greenland.” GPRL staffers pinned PATRICIA PARSONS, retired manager of Central Regional Libraries maps of the region to in Newfoundland, Canada the walls and brought out books from the local to thousands of strangers sending fine chocolates to the library for history collection. Parsons inspired the 2017 Broadway several years. showed that the ocean could musical Come from Away, which “I always refer to it as the best of times be reached in an hour’s drive—which Parsons and Soucy both say they enjoyed, and the worst of times for us because it some of the visitors took her up on. “So despite its absence of librarian characters. was devastating for everybody, and yet we off I went one day with two or three guys Many passengers stayed in touch with got to meet people from all over the world from Belgium,” she remembers, driving the library through thank-you cards who came through the door,” Parsons them in her own car to the seaside so and donations. “They always says. “We provided a safe haven for they could have a pleasant memory from acknowledged our services them, which is one of our their truncated vacation. and our kindness,” Parsons primary services to anybody.” GPRL staffers served 1,100 extra says. Her Belgian friends patrons that week, about 200 per even expressed gratitude for AMY CARLTON is a senior editor of day. The story of Gander’s kindness the impromptu road trip by American Libraries.

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americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 35 Archives of

In 2011, the project was relaunched an Attack as Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive, with a new interface and Librarians and historians work to video from an August 2011 conference collect digital ephemera from 9/11 at New York University that recontex- tualized the archive, and the attacks, 10 years on. BY Phil Morehart At the time of the attacks, the Internet Archive was already recording global television broadcasts 24 hours a ike Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the day, seven days a week. Now an added assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the events urgency prompted the organization to of September 11, 2001, have left a permanent time stamp on the col- prepare that footage for the public as L soon as possible, says Kahle, especially lective consciousness of a nation. Most of us old enough to remember know where we were when the planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City as the US engaged in military action in Afghanistan. and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in rural Pennsylvania that Tuesday morning. One explanation for the staying power event,” says Brewster Kahle, digital of these memories is that we witnessed librarian, entrepreneur, and founder them in real time, on television. New of the Internet Archive, “and to be York City–based morning programs like able to see it from different people’s NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning perspectives.” America and local news channels broad- Kahle’s response was to establish a cast the attacks to the country as they repository of TV news broadcasts chron- unfolded, giving viewers direct access icling the events of 9/11. Launched on to the raw tragedy and sensory chaos of October 11, 2001, at the Newseum in the day. It was evident to some archivists Rosslyn, Virginia, the collection features and library workers at the time that hundreds of hours of footage from this historic footage had to be collected 20 news outlets around the world— for posterity. spanning the period from the morning “We thought it was very important of September 11 to September 17, for people to see what other people saw, 2001—all of which can be viewed on the because it was so much of a television Internet Archive’s website.

36 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org THE LEGACY OF 9/11

“We thought it was very important for people to see what other people saw, because it was “You can see so much of a television event, and to be able to things unfold,” he says. “For instance, see it from different people’s perspectives.” the whole war on BREWSTER KAHLE, digital librarian, entrepreneur, and founder of the Internet Archive terror: There was an issue of ‘How is [9/11] days following September 11 to “We knew that if we relied only on going to be framed by put together a project documenting material submitted to us, it would skew those in power?’ You can see it the day’s tragedies. primarily white and middle class,” he unfold that week.” “They were interested in figuring out says. “So we went out and actively col- Necessity also propelled the creation how digital technology could be used lected oral histories from the Chinatown of the September 11 Digital Archive, to preserve and make available mate- community in Lower Manhattan, which organized by the American Social rial related to the 9/11 attacks,” Brier was devastated by the attack, [as well as] History Project/Center for Media and says. “What would historians want to the Arab-American and Latinx communi- Learning at the City University of New know 50 years from now [regarding] ties. It was an important part of [show- York (CUNY) Graduate Center and the one of the first fully digital events of ing] the impact of the 9/11 attacks on Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and our lifetime?” those particular communities, because New Media at George Mason University To address those questions, Brier otherwise [they] would have been in Fairfax, Virginia. says, he and his colleagues created invisible in the archive and in people’s Stephen Brier, retired professor of on online portal of digital ephemera consciousness.” urban education and interactive tech- related to the attacks—video and audio A similar desire to elevate diverse nology and pedagogy at CUNY Graduate footage, photos, emails, artwork, and voices informs the Internet Archive’s Center, says that the Alfred P. Sloan more. Unlike the Internet Archive, collection, says Kahle, which includes Foundation contacted the center in the this archive would feature materials broadcasts from around the globe. received directly from the public via Notably, international news footage Items in the September 11 a submission form on its website and in the archive doesn’t show foreign Digital Archive include from outreach efforts. It went live in countries celebrating the attacks on the memories left by visi- January 2002, and currently has more US, as reported by some national media tors of the 2002 exhibit September 11: Bearing than 98,000 items, 70,357 of which outlets, says Kahle. Rather, it reveals a Witness to History at are available for online viewing at world in disbelief. the National Museum of 911digitalarchive.org. “Americans saw just how shocked the American History (far An important component of the rest of the world was,” he says. left) and images from a September 11 Digital Archive is footage quilt adorned with the names of those who died and material obtained from under­ PHIL MOREHART is a senior editor of Amer- on September 11. represented communities, Brier says. ican Libraries.

The Internet Archive’s Understanding 9/11 video archive features footage from 20 news outlets spanning the period from the morn- ing of September 11 to September 17, 2001.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 37 Defenders of In the world of technology and Patron Privacy surveillance, there have been troubling developments since After challenging the Patriot Act, four 2005—even among library vendors. What has allowed for this trend, and librarians reflect on privacy in the digital age what can people in the profession do to protect privacy and civil liberties? BY Sanhita SinhaRoy Chase: The most frequent comment I hear from patrons and the public is that they don’t care about privacy. hen the FBI approached George They say, “My life is an open book, Christian in 2005 with a national I am not committing any crimes.” security letter (NSL) and lifetime gag Then I ask if they have curtains W on their windows at home. order, the then–executive director of the Library Is it because they are Connection—a Connecticut library consortium— doing illegal things— convened a meeting with the organization’s execu- drugs, human tive committee. The NSL would have forced them George Christian trafficking, coun- to turn over customer information without a judge’s terfeit currency? order or a grand jury subpoena. They refused to I hope not. It’s because we comply and later came to be known as the Connecticut Four. don’t want all With the help of the American Civil Gonzales’s repeated mislead- our affairs to be Liberties Union (ACLU), they challenged ing declarations to Congress public. Part of the climate of surveillance and govern- and the public that the Patriot being an individ- ment overreach that followed the Sep- Act had not been, and never Janet Nocek ual is having the tember 11 attacks, showing the nation would be, used against libraries. right to decide for that librarians would stand by the rights Second, our challenge made the public, yourself what, when, and of patrons and civil liberties. the news media, and librarians aware to whom you tell things about your life, Here, the four share their memories of that NSLs existed, that they came with your thoughts, your dreams. the experience and its resonance today perpetual gag orders, and that we and Nocek: In our own libraries, we must with American Libraries. They are Chris- the ACLU believed that they are uncon- examine procedures and policies to tian, retired executive director of Library stitutional instruments. ensure we protect patron confidenti- Connection; Barbara Bailey, director Nocek: We were able to serve as wit- ality. ALA has some great resources, of Welles-Turner Memorial Library in nesses to events of national consequence. including a privacy toolkit (bit.ly/ Glastonbury, Connecticut; Peter Chase, The security-versus-privacy debate is an ALAprivacytoolkit). retired director of Plainville (Conn.) important one for America. We need to Bailey: As a profession, here are three Public Library; and Janet Nocek, director consider the consequences when security things we can do now: First, keep of Portland (Conn.) Library. concerns lead to government overreach. informed about privacy. If you do not In your view, what was the signifi- Chase: Unlike regular warrants, NSLs like what you see, contact the appropri- cance of challenging the Patriot Act? are under the sole authority of the FBI. ate national, state, and local legislators. It seemed to us like spying in the voting Second, conduct a privacy audit at your Christian: There were two significant booth. I hoped the challenge showed library. Review retained data and its role outcomes: First, by challenging the that librarians would resist spying on in your organization. Less is more! If you Patriot Act, we exposed attorneys patrons and that it would not be easy to do not have a privacy statement, write general John Ashcroft’s and Alberto violate patron privacy. one and review it with staff regularly.

38 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org THE LEGACY OF 9/11

“Part of being an individual is having the right to decide for yourself what, when, Finally, before and to whom you tell things about your signing a contract with a vendor, make life, your thoughts, your dreams.” sure you understand PETER CHASE, retired director of Plainville (Conn.) Public Library and agree with what they will be doing with busy googling NSL while what we did in challenging the NSL gives the personal identifiable talking! The gag order other librarians the courage to stand up information collected. associated with the NSL was very and fight for what they believe is right. Christian: Libraries rely on ILS vendors chilling. Would I do it again? Yes! Christian: I am happy that our stand to manage their data remotely. These Nocek: I am not political and am intro- might be inspirational to others, but vendors, in turn, rely on third parties verted. I just felt I was doing the right Library Connection’s circumstances to enhance their products. All of this thing and would not have changed that. were extremely fortunate. Most library enhances patron experiences and the Chase: We never revealed patron infor- professionals work in situations where library’s management capabilities, but it mation, and we didn’t go to jail. Our they must answer to a publicly elected or has also removed the library’s ability to case was made moot while the appel- appointed board or an academic admin- be the data guardian. late courts were considering it because istration and board. With education and Today the FBI might present an NSL to Congress amended the sections of the preparation, they can be made aware the cloud manager and use a gag order provisions we were challenging, and of patron privacy issues well enough to keep both the ILS vendor and the the FBI withdrew its request for patron to articulate a position in their defense library from ever knowing their data was information. and commit to supporting the librarian’s accessed. A root problem is the lack of I regret that our case ended before we responsibility to protect patron privacy. oversight over the government’s national got to the Supreme Court because the In 2019, Peter and I were invited security activities and the enormous justices might have invalidated national by the Southern New England Law profitability of pandering to the govern- security letters completely, but at least Librarians Association to a meeting at ment’s perceived need for information. we established how difficult it could Yale University in New Haven. Many of Library professionals have important be to spy on libraries without a court the law librarians attending were young roles to play in this climate of sur- order and discouraged the FBI from enough to have only learned of us while veillance. They can work to increase trying it again. pursuing their graduate degrees. They awareness of surveillance issues and of told us that to them and their the steps individuals can take to protect What do you think of peers, we were the rock stars themselves, at least from commercial the fame you have of the library world. That and criminal misuse of their personal garnered within the was truly astonishing. information. They can also explore using library community? When the four of us met with the ACLU for technologies such as Tor to keep patrons’ Nocek: I think online activities in the library private. In most librarians the first time, we were the longer run, they should think about understood that our informed that we would be identified as John how to ensure that as library systems professional ethics Doe. I responded, “Just evolve to use encrypted data, the control were at stake and my luck. My 15 minutes of of the encryption keys remains with appreciated what we Barbara Bailey fame and I am to be known the libraries. did. If other librarians as John Doe.” I was just joking, find themselves in a similar but I smile now as I note that it is If you had to do it all over again, situation, hopefully they can take 2021, 16 years later. It has been a long what would you have done differ- heart and know there is the possibility of 15 minutes. ently? Done the same? legal challenge.

Bailey: I had never heard of an NSL Bailey: I was just doing my job, protect- SANHITA SINHAROY is editor and publisher until I got the call from George—I was ing patron confidentiality. I hope that of American Libraries.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 39 2021 ALA AWARD WINNERS ach year, the American Library Association (ALA) recog- Honoring nizes the achievements of more than 200 individuals and institutions with an array of awards. This year’s winners, excellence and Echosen by juries of their colleagues and peers, embody the best leadership in of the profession’s leadership, vision, and service as well as a continued commitment to diversity, equality, education, and the profession outreach. This selection represents only some of those honored in 2021; see the complete list at ala.org/awardsgrants.

Joint Council of Librarians of Color he Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC) was the unanimous choice of the award jury. T Formed in 2015 as a nonprofit affiliate of ALA, JCLC comprises five national associations representing people of color in the library and information profession: the American Indian Library Association, the Asian/ Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of the

JCLC’s board of directors, clockwise from top left: Kenneth Yamashita, president; Heather Devine-Hardy, secretary; Gladys Smiley Bell, director at large; Alexandra Rivera, vice president; and Dora Ho, treasurer

40 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Buffalo and Erie County 2021 (N.Y.) Public Library uffalo and Erie County Public Library’s (BECPL) Play Down Your Fines program paired loanable sports equipment with fine amnesty. Approximately 42% of the B Erie County youth population had library cards, but nearly a quarter of them—or 18,000 kids—were in a status that did not allow them to use all library resources, including sus- Penguin Random ALA pended borrowing privileges. Play Down Your Fines House Library Award was created to alleviate the financial burden and for Innovation stigma families and youth felt and bring them back into good standing. When young patrons borrow and return sports kits, including soccer balls, lacrosse Steven Yates sticks, and snowshoes, all fines, fees, and charges are removed from their accounts. ates, assistant director and According to BECPL Director Mary Jean Jakubowski, the first year of the program assistant professor at Uni- AWARD welcomed hundreds of children back to the library and Y versity of Alabama’s School erased more than $15,000 from their accounts. The of Library and Information Studies program began as a pilot at the Isaías González- (SLIS), began his professional Soto branch and expanded to eight libraries career working in school and public throughout Erie County over the summer. libraries. He has dedicated himself Penguin Random House has also funded to fostering school libraries and four runner-up awards consisting of librarians, developing an educa- WINNERS $1,000 worth of materials each for Anaheim tion specialist certification/degree (Calif.) Public Library; Arlington (Va.) Public program Library; Lewis County (Tenn.) Public Library Ken Haycock at SLIS in and Archives; and Queens (N.Y.) Public Award for partnership Library. Read more at bit.ly/AL-BuffaloErie. Promoting with the College of This $10,000 award recognizes US libraries Librarianship and staff who create lasting and innovative Education, community service programs that inspire and serving and connect with new readers. as the school library media pro- DONOR: Penguin Random House gram coordinator. Foundation Yates has been a member of Mary Jean Jakubowski, recently every ALA division, as well as retired director of Buffalo and Erie BCALA and Reforma, and is a life County (N.Y.) Public Library member of ALA and APALA. He has served as president of the American

Photo: Heather Bellini Photography (Jakubowski) Bellini Photography Heather Photo: Association of School Librarians (AASL) and cochair of the Forward Together Working Group, and he has been a member of the 2019 American Library Association (BCALA), the Chinese American Librarians Association, Policy Corps, the Steering Commit- and Reforma, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to tee on Organizational Effectiveness, Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. the Committees on Appointments The purpose statement of JCLC is “to promote librarianship within and Diversity, and the Emerging Equality communities of color, support literacy and the preservation of history Leaders Program Subcommittee. Award and cultural heritage, collaborate on common issues, and to host the Read more at bit.ly/AL-Yates. Joint Conference of Librarians of Color every four years.” Noting these and other projects and activities, the letter of nomination states, “I believe JCLC should This award of $1,000 honors an indi- be honored for what they have accomplished in a relatively short amount of time and vidual for contributing significantly to for the conferences that are forthcoming.” Read more at bit.ly/AL-JCLC. the public recognition and apprecia- tion of librarianship through profes- This $1,000 award honors an outstanding contribution that promotes equality in the library sional performance, teaching, and/or profession. DONOR: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group writing. DONOR: Ken Haycock

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 41 Amy Dodson Plano (Tex.) Public Library odson, director of lano Public Library (PPL) was selected for its role in Douglas County helping to bridge the digital divide in its community. PPL D (Nev.) Public Library P provided tech training to underserved adults through (DCPL), made national outreach classes using library devices, staff expertise, and cor- news in July 2020 when she porate volunteers. and her staff drafted a pro- Bilingual PPL staff members provided computer and technol- posed diversity statement in ogy skills training for English-language learners at Chase Oaks solidarity with Black Lives Family Center following their ESL Matter and posted it to the classes. Strengthening an existing library’s Facebook page. In ALA/Information partnership, PPL added monthly response, the library began Today Library of tech training classes for the Brain receiving negative messages the Future Award Injury Network of Dallas, where and threats via mail, email, members are rebuilding skills after and social media. Dodson Paul Howard experiencing brain injury, cancer, or also experienced backlash Award for stroke, and some are preparing to reenter the workforce. Library from local county agencies, Courage staffers also visited senior living facilities to provide residents including the Douglas County with one-on-one instruction and assistance on digital technol- sheriff, who issued a letter ogy such as ebooks and other online threatening to withhold police protection from DCPL. Local learning resources. As a result of Black Lives Matter supporters came to Dodson’s defense, these projects, hundreds of people peacefully protesting the statement issued by the sheriff, now feel more confident using and were met with an armed counterprotest. technology. Read more at Additionally, the DCPL Board of Trustees voted to spend bit.ly/AL-PlanoTX. up to $30,000 on a third-party investigation into Dodson’s This $1,200 award honors a actions. That investigation ultimately exonerated her. library, library consortium, As one nominator wrote: “Amy Dodson faced months of group of librarians, or support adversity and danger with a steadfast commitment to her organization for innovative principles and to the goals set forth by her library. She has planning for, applications of, demonstrated rare and powerful courage.” Read more at or development of patron training programs about bit.ly/AL-Dodson. information tech- This $1,000 award honors a librarian, library board, library nology in a library Libby Holtmann, group, or individual for unusual courage benefiting library pro- setting. DONOR: director of libraries at Plano (Tex.) grams or services. DONOR: Paul Howard Memorial Fund Information Today Public Library

Burlington County (N.J.) Library System urlington County Library System (BCLS) seeks to enrich the lives of its users by providing opportunities for learning, growth, and personal development. It serves the largest county Bby area in New Jersey, made up of a culturally and economically diverse population that benefits from culturally empathetic services. The award jury was impressed by BCLS’s thoughtful plans for addressing the needs of its community through EBSCO Information staff development, particularly in customer service settings Services Library Staff where microaggressions might affect interactions. With Development Award this award, the library will provide customized antibias training to help staff develop skills and techniques to foster more empathetic and accessible services and spaces for their patrons and staff. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Burlington.

Ranjna Das, director at Burlington This $3,500 award goes to a library that demonstrates merit in a staff development program that fur- County (N.J.) Library System thers the goals and objectives of the library organization. DONOR: EBSCO Publishers

42 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Barbara Stripling he jury writes that Stripling represents “the best of the best” in the library profes- sion. Her devotion to the stimulation and guidance of reading through inquiry is T recognized by librarians across the country and around the world. Over her long career, she has served as a school librarian, director of library services for New York’s New Visions for Public Schools, school library system director of New York City Public Schools, and associate professor of practice at the Syracuse University iSchool, where she is now professor emerita. She has served as president of ALA (2013–2014), AASL (1986–1987), and the New York Library Association (2016–2017). Stripling is current president of the Freedom to Read Foundation. Stripling reimagined and published the Empire State Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Information Fluency Continuum in 2019. She is the Innovation and Service to creator of the Stripling Model of Inquiry, used at the Community and Profession Library of Congress in conjunction with its Teaching with Primary Sources program. During her term as ALA president, Stripling and an ALA advisory committee developed “The Declaration for the Right to Libraries.” Robert Barr Read more at bit.ly/AL-Stripling. arr, former director of Juneau (Alaska) Public Libraries This $1,000 award honors (JPL), is being honored for a librarian whose unusual B Scholastic Library contribution to promoting his work as planning section chief Publishing Award access to books and encour- of Juneau’s Emergency Operations aging a love of reading for Center, where he led testing and lifelong learning exemplifies vaccination efforts in response to outstanding achievement in the profession. the COVID-19 pandemic. This role DONOR: Scholastic Library Publishing involved extensive coordination with hospital and public health partners, city departments, assembly mem- bers, media, and the community Patricia Uttaro at large. One nominator remarked that “Barr took all of the challenges ttaro, director of Rochester (N.Y.) Public in hand using the skills we value as Library (RPL) and Monroe County Library librarians: access to information; U System (MCLS), has skillfully administered diversity, equity and inclusion; the libraries for the past 25 years, supporting the expan- public good; privacy; and education sion of library services and empowerment of library and lifelong learning.” staff. She believes that learning to read and reading As library director, Barr provided to learn are essential skills for a person to thrive, leadership and direction for 40 staff prosper, and enjoy a successful life. MCLS and RPL members. He oversaw the $14 mil- have benefited from her expertise in early literacy lion construction project for JPL’s training for librarians, teachers, and caregivers Valley branch, a gold-certified LEED across the county. Uttaro has consistently advocated building. Barr serves on ALA’s Com- to remove barriers to access, including eliminating mittee on Legislation and the Digital late fees on children’s and young adult materials in Content Working Group and is past 2017. Her leadership has modeled serving through president of the Alaska Library Asso- engagement in the community and meeting the ciation. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Barr. needs of all community members. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Uttaro. Sullivan Award This $5,000 award recognizes a public for Public Library librarian who demonstrates leadership This award is given to an individual who has shown excep- in anticipating emerging trends in ser- tional understanding and support of public library service Administrators vices, products, and technologies that to children while having general management, supervisory, Supporting Services will enhance the library’s position in or administrative responsibility that has included public to Children its community. DONOR: The DiMattia service for children in its scope. DONOR: Peggy Sullivan Family

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 43 Marcia Rapchak olleagues and students alike say they are eager to work with Rapchak, teaching assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Infor- C mation. Her students describe her as inspiring and appreciate the way she cen- ters diversity and inclusion in the practice of librarianship. They call her course design “immersive and experiential.” She is equally skillful at engaging students outside the classroom. She encourages them to demonstrate knowledge attainment through active learning experiences and participation in communities of practice that she also participates in. Lemony Snicket Prize Rapchak’s scholarship emphasizes the critical appli- for Noble Librarians cation of library science from both pedagogical and Faced with Adversity practical experience. Her publications include articles such as “Information Literacy and Adult Learners: Using Authentic Assessment to Determine Janet Eldred Beta Phi Skill Gaps” and “Digital Immigrants, Mu Award Digital Learning: Reaching Adults uring her tenure as director through Information Literacy of Hollidaysburg (Pa.) Area Instruction Online,” providing an D Public Library, Eldred has application of concepts that all teaching librarians overseen major projects such as the can use. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Rapchak. construction of a state-of-the-art This award of $1,000 recognizes the achievement $2.8 million library on time, under of a library school faculty member or another indi- budget, and mortgage-free. But the vidual for distinguished service to education in challenge and adversity she now librarianship. DONOR: Beta Phi Mu International faces is a medical one. Library Science Honor Society In 2012, Eldred was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. The nomination and support letters that poured in from community members, board members, and Robert Randolph Newlen library coworkers celebrate Eldred’s ewlen is being honored for his many accomplish- energy, zeal, kindness, tireless work ments during a long, varied, and distinguished ethic, love for the community, and career at the Library of Congress. He retired from inspiring directorship, despite her N his position as deputy librarian of Congress in 2017 after immense medical challenges. 43 years of service. He currently serves as executive In a 2019 speech, she observed: director of the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation. “No one is promised tomorrow. Life Numerous colleagues wrote in support of his selection is fragile. I have learned that applies for this award, describing him as a “shining example” to the past as well. No one is prom- with “immeasurable impact,” who “exhibits all the traits ised yesterday, either. The one thing of distinguished service.” He has been a role model you can grasp is the moment.” In and mentor for countless colleagues, particularly new this speech, she announced her goal professionals. His commitment to equity, diversity, and of raising and donating $1 million inclusion within both the Association and the profession for her library, and this prize will go at large, and his long-term leadership and commitment toward that fund. Read more at to keeping ALA financially healthy through service as bit.ly/AL-Eldred. Joseph W. an ALA Endowment Trustee and member of the Philan- The award annually recognizes a Lippincott Award thropy Advisory Group, has resulted in inestimable and librarian who has faced adversity with significant contributions. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Newlen. integrity and dignity intact. The hon- oree receives $10,000 and an object This $1,500 award is presented annually to a librarian for distinguished service to the profession from author Daniel Handler’s private of librarianship, such service to include outstanding participation in the activities of the profes- collection. DONOR: Daniel Handler sional library association, notable published professional writing, or other significant activity on (Lemony Snicket) behalf of the profession and its aims. DONOR: Joseph W. Lippincott III

44 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARDS Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith Talk Like a River, written by Jordan Scott and illustrated by Sydney Smith, tells the story of a young boy who feels isolated and unable to communicate I because of his stutter. On a bad day, his father takes him to a river to help him understand the beauty of his voice. All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Young Disabilities Changed Everything, written by Annette Bay Pimentel readers and illustrated by Nabi H. Ali, and Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin, written by Tracy Newman and illustrated by Abigail Halpin, are the young readers honor titles. Jordan Scott Sydney Smith

Ann Clare LeZotte I. W. Gregorio how Me a Sign by Ann Clare old in dual narrative, This LeZotte, a Deaf librarian and Is My Brain in Love by S author, tells the story of Mary T I. W. Gregorio explores Lambert, a young Deaf girl growing mental illness stigma, race, cul- up on Martha’s Vineyard in 1805, ture, and relationships. Jocelyn where one in every 25 residents is Wu and Will deaf. Mary feels safe in her commu- Domenici, high Teen nity until a scientist schoolers who find readers arrives to study the romance while Middle source of the deafness. trying to keep readers Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, written by Sarah Kapit, Jocelyn’s family restaurant from failing, fight to save it all— and When Stars Are Scattered, written by Victoria including their budding romance. Jamieson and Omar Mohamed and illustrated by Jamieson, with The committee did not select a teen honor title this year. color by Iman Geddy, are the honor titles for middle readers. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Schneider21.

This award of $5,000 is given to authors or illustrators for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for children and adolescent audiences. Schneider Family Award honor titles receive a plaque. Recipients are selected in three categories: young readers (newborn to age 8), middle readers (ages 9–13), and teen readers (ages 14–18). DONOR: Katherine Schneider

Mark Treanor Quiet Cadence (Naval Institute Press) is a first-person account of the intensity and trauma of combat as seen W. Y. Boyd Literary A through the eyes of 19-year-old US Marine Marty Award for Excellence McClure. He arrives in Vietnam as a machine gunner and in Military Fiction watches many of his fellow Marines get killed or wounded. He is eventually seriously wounded himself and sent home to recover. McClure finishes college, marries, and starts a career as a teacher, but he still copes with his memories, guilt, and doubts about the war he believes his country has abandoned. Only with the love of his wife, and help from his fellow veterans, is McClure finally able to find peace. Read more at bit.ly/AL-Treanor.

This award of $5,000 honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war.

Photos: Andrew Zawacki (Scott); Steve Farmer (Smith); Elaine Needelman (LeZotte) (Smith); Farmer Steve (Scott); Zawacki Andrew Photos: DONOR: William Young Boyd II

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 45 PERSPECTIVES academic insights

patrons, and addressing structural LIS and the Next Crisis injustices that are embedded in librarianship—are important Learn from COVID-19 concepts for all LIS students so that they can be fully prepared to to plan for the future BY Emily J. M. Knox work in libraries and other infor- mation institutions. The disaster God gave Noah the rainbow sign unfolding before us also called for No more water, the fire next time! courses that would give students (“Mary Don’t You Weep,” Black American spiritual) tailored tools for responding to their community members’ needs. have started so many communications over the past few months The curriculum in our MS/LIS with “This has been an incredibly difficult year.” Difficult doesn’t program already included courses quite describe what we all went through, of course, but words like on community engagement, EMILY J. M. KNOX agonizing or excruciating are not appropriate in the missives I send community informatics, and—to is interim asso- I as interim associate dean for academic affairs in the iSchool at University ensure students are prepared to ciate dean for of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The past 18 months have been a period serve patrons most in need—social academic affairs and associate of improvisation and uncertainty, but the lessons learned will have long- justice in the information profes- professor in the term effects on LIS education and preparing faculty and students for the sions and information services for School of Infor- next crisis. diverse users. We also addressed mation Sciences I will never forget Friday, March 13, 2020, the last day we worked in how to respond to crises in several at University of our building. It was also our admitted-student day, and several attend- courses, including the required Illinois Urbana- Champaign. ees had already arrived. Our staff quickly arranged a socially distanced course on libraries, information, hybrid program that would accommodate participants who were in and society, as well as elective the area and those who remained at home. It was the first of many courses on administration and hybrid events. management. Large universities like mine are not organized for sudden change. But the pandemic called for Once the pandemic hit, each unit (individual colleges, the library, var- more. In response, two adjunct ious research centers) was faced with logistical questions: Who would faculty members developed and secure the buildings? How would staffers without adequate internet taught new special-topics courses, connections work from home? Who would pick up the mail? How would one exploring social informatics students complete their courses? and crises in society Operational questions hinged on the willingness of staff- and another focusing ers responsible for facilities and IT services to come into on how libraries the office even when we did not know much about how the I expect that specifically respond virus was transmitted. our school will to social crises. My office held drop-in discussion sessions about strat- As we move into egies and tactics for teaching students and supporting all maintain many the new normal, members of the community during the spring 2020 virus of the mitigating I expect that our surge. Instructors were encouraged to be adaptable with school, like other assessments, especially of participation, to account for strategies that institutions, will the varied experiences and responses that students were we developed. maintain many of the having during the pandemic. For example, students were mitigating strategies able to complete individual assignments as group projects, that we developed. and instructors offered flexible deadlines. Some instruc- Most importantly, tors started their courses with mindfulness exercises to give themselves I expect that the two new courses and students space to breathe. will remain part of the curriculum Social justice issues—including providing equity of access to informa- as we educate our students for tion resources, reducing the disparate impact of institutional policies on whatever might come next.

46 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org dispatches PERSPECTIVES

that cloud technology tools Head in the Cloud? cannot achieve. While cutting-edge cloud The appeal of services can provide engaging experiences and exciting visuals, digital repositories BY Jarrod Bogucki they don’t need to be used for every collection, as they can be igital repositories—virtual spaces for sharing objects of interest expensive and time-consuming and importance—can be used anywhere with internet access. and require expertise. Try to use The need for such spaces has become much more apparent as resources that will not over­ Dthe world grapples with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pan- extend your team’s capabilities. demic, which has made it harder to visit libraries, museums, and schools For example, managing video in person. resources requires more work As access remains limited and fewer staffers work onsite than before than hosting still images. So JARROD the pandemic, launching a digital repository via traditional, onsite hard- if the effort needed to provide BOGUCKI is ware may be impractical or even impossible. Our world video digitiza- cloud and IT may be opening up again, but trends such as remote work- tion, playback, architect at University of ing and online education are likely to continue. To host Our world may and transcrip- Wisconsin– cultural resource collections in a remote and distributed tion seems large Madison Law environment, consider creating a digital repository with be opening up compared with School, where cloud services. the number of he serves as lead Digital repositories (also known as cultural reposito- again, but remote videos intended programmer and systems architect ries or digital archives, among other names) extend data working and online for inclusion, con- for the school’s preservation and discovery online. For many collections, sider prioritizing digital repository. this can be an exciting prospect. The depth and variety of education are still images. material housed in cultural heritage projects lend them- likely to continue. The cloud’s selves to many media formats, interactive applications, remote capabilities and interconnected discovery tools. And these collections support workforce can grow to an almost limitless scale, presenting libraries flexibility. Staff with exciting, inspiring, and potentially daunting opportunities. may work in distributed loca- Cloud technology—a collection of remotely hosted online resources— tions for any number of reasons, lets libraries access existing software to quickly deploy and easily operate including limited onsite space digital repositories. In most cases, cloud technology involves large build- or network bandwidth, limited ings called data centers that contain all of the servers, storage space, and access to locally available exper- other hardware required to give vast numbers of users the ability to do tise, or an institutional push for almost any computing task. With these powerful, flexible resources, any work-from-home options. Using library, university, cultural center, or other institution can find the best cloud resources can require solution for sharing cultural heritage collections. significantly less onsite power for By using web browsers and certain software applications, users can running computers, and it can create servers and databases, manage network traffic, run custom code, offer stability where continuous and re-create the functionality of most common computer hardware in a power is unavailable. virtual environment. Moreover, this technology provides users with out- When planning your digi- of-the-box solutions to common IT challenges, including those presented tal repository, check out your by a digital repository. options in the cloud. Because cloud technology can serve projects of any size, its solutions Adapted from “Cloud Services meet the needs of almost every customer, from professional system for Digital Repositories,” Library administrators and programmers to librarians who have great ideas for Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 5 collections but not much technical savvy. The scope of offerings is vast. (July 2021). Read more at bit.ly/ For all practical implementations of a digital repository, there is little ALA-LTR.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 47 PERSPECTIVES youth matters

as compared with my teaching The Switch to Genrefication days under the old system. I also observed that students were using Reorganizing the school library the campus library to check out books for older siblings returning BY Julia Torres supports adolescent readers from college and younger siblings not yet in the school system. Some s a school librarian, one of my primary goals is to establish readers checked out books above and maintain a robust community of readers. My library their Lexile level after simply serves students from two high schools and three middle stumbling upon them. Aschools on a shared campus in the northeast region of Denver Reorganizing the collection Public Schools. Our student population is diverse, with many arriving was well worth the effort. When as immigrants from West Africa, Central America, and the Marshall Denver Public Schools released Islands. Before I was hired to serve the campus of roughly 2,300 stu- yearly circulation statistics for JULIA TORRES dents, there hadn’t been a school librarian for eight years. There had grades 6–12, my library ranked is teacher- been a part-time paraprofessional who checked out books, but she second in the district, which I librarian at wasn’t replaced after she left the position and materials went uncir- believe was in part because of Denver Public Schools’ Mont- culated. Some students had gone their entire time at school without genrefication. But beyond the bello campus. access to a functional library. metrics, this effort was a step Early on, students would often ask, “Miss, where can I find the toward student empowerment and ______books?” I love few things more than finding just the right away from reproducing systems book for each student. But as the library’s lone staff member, suggest- of dependency. Students are ing books to those browsing titles can get overwhelming when I’m more likely to participate in the trying to teach class, check students into the workspace, and circu- practices of connected reading— late materials. encountering, engaging with, A few days before the 2019–2020 school year began, a colleague and evaluating a text—when they suggested genrefication, or organizing the fiction collection by genre find materials of interest on their rather than alphabetically by authors’ last names. The process seemed own and can recommend them daunting at first, as our fiction collection includes almost 4,000 physical to peers organically, according to items. But over the course of five days—with the help of four librarians Kristen Hawley-Turner and Troy from the district—we managed to do it. We pulled a list of Hicks, authors of the library’s books and assigned genres to the uncatego- Connected Reading: rized titles. We reshelved books one by one, labeled them Genrefication was a Teaching Adolescent with genre stickers, and manually scanned them to make Readers in a Digital sure our inventory matched. We rearranged furniture in step toward student World (2015). a way that accommodates the size of each genre and the Genrefication is foot traffic it receives. (For more on this process, read my empowerment a growing trend for blog post at bit.ly/AL-genre.) and away from good reason. As When school opened, the magic began to happen. many schools Signage from Follett made it easier for students in the dependency. reopen their earliest stages of learning English to search for books buildings for the independently. Books were arranged in ways that moved first time since the readers to similar categories—for instance, those browsing the science pandemic started—or return after fiction section were led to dystopia and adventure books. Being able summer break—consider if it’s the to see that my thriller and horror shelves were sparsely populated right time to reorganize your motivated me to seek titles in these sections that would be attractive to collection. By simply rearranging readers at a variety of reading levels. materials in a more intuitive way, I soon noticed an increase in circulation on days when I was teaching we can encourage lifelong classes—when I was not as free to give personalized recommendations— curiosity and a love of reading.

48 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org on my mind PERSPECTIVES

Visitors see parts of the web Stop Source-Shaming as a collection of tools, while residents see it as a place to live and leave digital traces (bit.ly/ Acknowledge Wikipedia BY Lynn Silipigni Connaway in the research process and Joyce Valenza AL-digital-res). Many Wikipedia users— including most of our nstructors across disciplines have long warned students not to put respondents—act as visitors, too much stock in Wikipedia, framing the platform as a flawed reading articles to get informa- free-for-all rather than a dynamic, collaborative reference tool with tion, while others act as residents, Iexpansive scope. As Wikipedia reaches maturity, turning 21 in Jan- taking an active role in the editing uary 2022, it has achieved new relevance as a hub for emerging research process. This provides a useful on COVID-19 (bit.ly/Wiki-COVID) and boosted its authority with live starting point for education on links to source texts that users can check out via Controlled Digital the nuances of Wikipedia’s editing LYNN SILIPIGNI Lending (bit.ly/Wiki-CDL). It’s time to reconsider our estimation of this model. If more students and CONNAWAY is resource as a student research tool. teachers engaged with Wikipedia director of library Our investigation of student habits used a simulated set of Google as residents, we could see broader trends and user research at search results to identify how 175 students, from 4th grade understanding and OCLC Research. through graduate school, selected and judged resources for acceptance of the a research project. We found that, while students have been As Wikipedia site’s authorship and generally discouraged from using Wikipedia as a source, it editing process. remains a popular starting point. We also found that expe- reaches maturity, Perhaps the rienced scholars use Wikipedia more than those with less turning 21 in argument should not experience, though they’re hesitant to cite or talk about it. be about whether to Anecdotally, we found established professionals com- January 2022, use Wikipedia, but monly started with Wikipedia to get their bearings on a it has achieved instead about when topic before diving headfirst into the literature. Indeed, few and how to use it JOYCE VALENZA new relevance. is associate of us jump into scholarly articles when exploring a new area as part of our big- teaching pro- of knowledge. We need context and vocabulary before we picture scaffolding of fessor of library enter academic conversations. In the old days, before the knowledge practices. and information internet, we would advise students not to cite general encyclopedias, but As information professionals, science in the we enthusiastically encouraged their use for background knowledge as we recognize the value of a variety School of Com- part of the workflow of inquiry. Why is Wikipedia different? of reference resources at various munication and Information at Wikipedia isn’t perfect; its crowdsourced authorship and continual stages in the inquiry process, and Rutgers Uni- “under construction” status has ignited debates around authority, though we’re well positioned to share strat- versity in New many Wikipedia authors are topic experts. But the same flux that makes egies for using this vetted, crowd- Brunswick, it subject to hacking and bias leaves it open to revision, fact-checking, sourced tool in appropriate ways. New Jersey. real-time updates, and constant improvement from its well-established Given Wikipedia’s ubiquity— system of editorial oversight and quality control. and utility—librarians and OCLC’s “Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together” program produced educators would do well to offer detailed training on how librarians can teach users to create, edit, and students a nuanced view of its ben- evaluate Wikipedia articles (bit.ly/AL-Wiki-training). Some teachers efits and drawbacks and encour- incorporate Wikipedia into their curriculum, introducing assignments age them to properly incorporate it that require students to create and edit articles (bit.ly/AL-Wiki-teaching). into a broader research workflow. This allows students to see how the open contribution model of Wikipedia The research team also included works in practice and in turn promotes evaluation of other articles based Brittany Brannon, Amy Buhler, on authentic experience with the process. Tara T. Cataldo, Christopher Cyr, The Digital Visitors and Residents framework, a 2017 OCLC research Rachael Elrod, Ixchel M. Faniel, and project (coauthored by Connaway), breaks web users into two groups: Samuel R. Putnam.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 49 PERSPECTIVES librarian’s library

Design Inspiration Resources and ideas for projects of all sizes

ARACELI MÉNDEZ HINTERMEISTER is knowledge manager at Uplift Education in Dallas.

100+ Ideas to Inspire Creating Inclusive Collaborative Smart Spaces and Libraries by Applying Library Design: From Creative Places Universal Design Planning to Impact By Elisabeth Doucett By Carli Spina By Peter Gisolfi Doucett invites librarians to Through an introductory Award-winning architect find inspiration in the spaces exploration of universal Gisolfi provides practical around them to create a more design and universal design and instructive guidance engaging and inviting expe- for learning, Spina shows on how to tackle real-world rience for patrons. Through how to apply these principles design projects with active short, standalone chapters, to library infrastructures and participation and effective the author guides readers services, regardless of library collaboration among stake- on the ways in which they size, type, or budget. The holders. With examples can attract new patrons and first section of the book uses from public, academic, and welcome back regulars using case studies and resources school libraries, he presents design elements. Whether it’s to explain how to integrate a collection of library design a smaller idea (switching out universal design into the projects alongside essays from bulbs for more natural light- physical library setting. The those who worked on them, ing) or a more transformative second section shows how allowing readers to view each change (making bathrooms these tenets can also be used from conception to day-to- a must-see attraction), the for services and programming day operation. Readers will book’s recommendations are to create welcoming environ- find new ideas and practical sure to help turn any library ments and increase engage- advice to help meet patron into the next community hot ment. Rowman and Littlefield, 2021. needs through library design. spot. ALA Editions, 2020. 112 p. $36. 204 p. $95. 978-1-5381-3977-6. (Also ALA Editions, 2018. 146 p. $75. PBK. PBK. 978-0-8389-4718-0. available as an ebook.) 978-0-8389-1717-6.

50 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org PERSPECTIVES

BY Araceli Méndez Hintermeister

Constructing Library The Practical Handbook What Can a Body Buildings That Work of Library Architecture: Do?: How We Meet By Fred Schlipf Creating Building the Built World Renowned library design Spaces That Work By Sara Hendren expert Schlipf presents design By Fred Schlipf and Hendren, an artist, design as a team effort that involves John A. Moorman researcher, and professor at cooperating owners and Schlipf and Moorman present Olin College of Engineering in experts. The first few chap- a comprehensive library Needham, Massachusetts, ters cover the construction architecture handbook that explores how everyday objects process, while the second half helps support building proj- and environments are built provides considerations for ects of all sizes and scopes. with hidden assumptions successful library buildings. Chapters provide resources about the abilities and needs With this in mind, the author relating to all stages of con- of users. Through a series of structures the book in such struction, including design stories from people with a way that readers can easily and financing, and explore disabilities whose experiences find exactly what they need library-specific spaces, such as helped give rise to daily living for their current projects or public service desks and staff aids such as cyborg arms, problems. Incredibly concise workrooms. It also dives into customizable cardboard and packed with informa- technical issues such as light- chairs, and other innovations, tion. You may well read it ing and HVAC systems. Filled Hendren invites readers to in its entirety, even if you with encyclopedic detail and rethink the ecosystems in jump around in the process. delivered in an approachable which they live to better ALA Editions, 2020. 200 p. $50. PBK. style, this book is an essential understand how design can 978-0-8389-4758-6. (Also available how-to and how-not-to guide meet a range of needs and as an ebook.) for readers building a new desires. Riverhead Books, 2020. space. ALA Editions, 2018. 1,040 p. 240 p. $27. 978-0-7352-2000-3. $150. PBK. 978-0-8389-1553-0.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 51 On the Map Neatline GIS software for spatial humanities and interactive exhibits What is Neatline? Neatline is an open source suite of plug-ins that adds geotemporal functionality to BY Carrie igital maps provide more than direc- Omeka exhibits and allows users USER: ADAM Smith tions. For the growing spatial human- to situate exhibit items in space and STROHM, direc- D ities field—which combines spatial time. Its SIMILE add-on provides an tor of University information and historical records—libraries interactive timeline, and the Way- Archives and are hubs for creative uses of geographic points plug-in lets you define “stops” Special Col- lections, Paul information system (GIS) software. One along an exhibit’s narrative journey. V. Galvin Library, way libraries use GIS is by sharing complex Illinois Institute How do you use Neatline? We used information from collections and researchers of Technology in Neatline to create Building History, through interactive and immersive maps. Chicago an interactive map that tells the We talk with three librarians who are using story of Illinois Tech’s landmark campus over the mapping software in their academic libraries course of more than 125 years. Neatline allowed us to create everything from 3D renderings to to color-code campus and neighborhood buildings so map-based timelines. that a user who scrolls back through time can see how they have changed. We also include a combination of modern and archival photographs to provide visual context for each structure over time. We ended up shedding light on buildings that had formerly been omitted from many of the narratives about the Illinois Tech campus.

What are the main benefits? Neat- line was relatively easy to install, configure, and use, especially considering the features and flexi- bility it offers compared with other mapping solutions we evaluated. Neatline allowed us to illustrate how the campus began to overtake the neighborhood and transition into an almost wholly modern campus in an interactive, dynamic way.

What would you like to see improved or added to the plat- form? A production-ready version of Neatline for Omeka S, the newer Neatline allowed Illinois Institute of Tech- version of Omeka, is currently in nology Libraries to create an interactive development. We’re planning to update Building campus building timeline. History to run on Omeka S but have been putting off the migration until Neatline is ready.

52 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org SUBMISSIONS Want to review a product you’re using? Contact Carrie Smith at [email protected].

ArcGIS StoryMaps QGIS

What is StoryMaps? StoryMaps What is QGIS? QGIS is a free and provides a user-friendly interface for open source software application. anyone to create a web-based story It’s a complete desktop GIS software without any coding or map construc- suite that has an excellent collection USER: NICOLE USER: MATTHEW tion knowledge. The system is hosted KONG, associ- of 3D plug-ins. TORO, director on ArcGIS Online, which offers a set of ate professor of maps, imagery, How do you use QGIS in your story map templates, other web map and GIS spe- and geospatial library? At the Map and Geospatial capabilities, and dashboard function. cialist, Libraries services, Arizona and School of Hub, we use QGIS in tandem with a State University How do you use StoryMaps? In my Information range of other software applications Library Map and courses, students plan research Studies at Pur- for internal projects, workshops, Geospatial Hub in due University Tempe, Arizona projects and think about how to use in West Lafay- and other educational offerings. spatial information, especially online ette, Indiana Inter­operability is a fundamental maps, to tell stories. With StoryMaps, advantage with QGIS. We engage with 3D printing of they have different options to customize a template digital surface and terrain models, and we use a QGIS based on their needs. It’s a great tool for students to plug-in to convert GIS files to 3D printer file types. We explore challenging problems like environmental also used QGIS to create a 3D model of ASU’s campus protection and health issues. Students can import their in downtown Tempe, using building footprints own research data as well as public data from govern- extracted from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) ment and state agencies, like the census. point clouds.

What are the main benefits? It’s designed so anyone What are the main benefits? Unlike some other can create an online presentation of their story in desktop GIS software applications, just a few clicks. As an instructor, I can build a unit to QGIS is compatible get everyone started on thinking about using spatial with multi- information without additional software training. Plus, ple operating it provides a platform for users to share their maps. systems (Linux, It used to be Mac, Windows). rather difficult The best benefit, to generate a of course, is that customized map it’s entirely free and even more and its source code is Arizona State University’s difficult to share open and accessible. Tempe campus, mapped it online, but Finding and installing using QGIS. anyone can inter- third-party plug-ins is act with a map quite convenient. There’s a dedicated menu item in Students at Purdue University use ArcGIS that a StoryMaps the software where you can find plug-ins, read ratings StoryMaps to share geospatial research. user created. and reviews, and see source documentation.

What would you like to see improved or added to the What would you like to see improved or added to platform? StoryMaps undergoes regular updates. This the platform? While QGIS can’t do everything, the means it’s continuously improved, but students who beauty of the software is its ability to extend function- learned the platform in previous years sometimes have ality with plug-ins. If there’s a feature you’d like to see to relearn new interfaces and new mechanisms when added, someone has likely already developed a they return. plug-in for it, so it’s hard to complain too much.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 53 Allen Phillips-Bell was promoted ON THE MOVE to director of Pender County (N.C.) Library in March. Bettendorf (Iowa) Public Library appointed Jillian Aschliman direc- Larry Alford, chief librarian at Amber Potts was promoted to associ- tor in April. University of Toronto Libraries, ate director of Henderson County (Ky.) Public Library in April. received the Canadian Association Courtney Chartier joined of Research Libraries Award for Columbia University March 17 Jennifer Roth was promoted Distinguished Service to Research Libraries in New York to director of William P. Faust Public City as director of the Librarianship May 18. Library in Westland, Michigan. Rare Book and Manu- Robin Kear, liaison librarian in April 12 Henderson County (Ky.) Public script Library in July. research and educational support Library promoted Shannon Sandefur to director. The Association of Research Libraries at University of Pittsburgh, became the first librarian elected appointed DeLa Dos senior director Ascension Parish (La.) Library pro- of diversity, equity, and inclusion, university senate president, effec- moted John Stelly to director in March. effective June 7. tive July 1.

March 1 Megan M. H. Hegna joined RETIREMENTS Patterson Library in Westfield, New York, as director. June 21 Tracey Thompson joined King Bob Anthony, curator of the North Car- County (Wash.) Library System as direc- olina collection at University of North Heidi Hobson joined Akron (Colo.) tor of collection management services. Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Wilson Special Public Library as director in February. Collection Library, retired May 31. March 15 Juli Wald started as director University of New of Middlebury (Ind.) Public Library. Judith Lin Hunt retired as dean of library services at Montclair (N.J.) State Mexico has named Leo University in July. Lo dean of the College of University Libraries PROMOTIONS Mary Jean Jakubowski, director of and Learning Sciences. In April Schlow Centre Region Library in Buffalo and Erie County (N.Y.) Public State College, Pennsylvania, promoted Library, retired in June. Miranda McDermott became director of Lisa Rives Collens to director. Oswego (N.Y.) Public Library in March. Kay Lyons retired as children’s Texas A&M University’s Medical Scien- librarian at Greenfield (Mass.) Public In April Jennifer Nash joined Cyrenius ces Library promoted Molly Crews to Library March 19. H. Booth Library in Newtown, Connecti- librarian at the College of Agriculture cut, as assistant director. and Life Sciences and the Center for Glenn R. Miller retired Systematic Reviews and Research Syn- as deputy secretary May 10 Faith Phillips joined Cumberland theses, effective April 4. and commissioner County (N.C.) Public Library as director. for libraries and state In March Montgomery County– librarian for the Penn- Katherine Quinnell became dean of Norristown (Pa.) Public Library pro- sylvania Department of Tarleton State University Libraries in moted Karen DeAngelo to executive Education April 23. Stephenville, Texas, in February. director and district administrator. In March Andrea Thorpe retired as Erin Sharwell became Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecti- director of Richards Free Library in head of circulation ser- cut, promoted Denise K. Lyles to super- Newport, New Hampshire. vices at University of visor of the Harry Bennett and Weed Pennsylvania in Philadel- Memorial and Hollander branches, Carolyn Walters, Ruth Lilly Dean of phia March 1. effective July 1. University Libraries at Indiana University Bloomington, retired June 30. July 1 Charles F. Thomas became dean March 10 Georgetown (Tex.) Public of Hunter Library at Western Carolina Library promoted Sally Miculek June 30 Lizabeth Wilson retired as vice University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. to director. provost of digital initiatives and dean

54 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org SUBMISSIONS Send notices and photographs to Amy Carlton, [email protected].

MORE ONLINE americanlibraries.org/currents

Betty Mary Ellen Croft, 94, former head of the cataloging died May 24. She previously served as consulting services department at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign director for Chicago Suburban Library System in Burr Ridge, (UIUC) and director of Northwest Missouri State University Illinois, and was named the Illinois Library Association’s Library in Maryville, died April 9. Librarian of the Year in 1993.

Leslie M. Haas, 54, dean of library services at Fort Hays Marie Antonella Parker, 63, librarian for North Londonderry State University (FHSU) in Hays, Kansas, died June 10. Haas (N.H.) Elementary School for 10 years, died April 3. joined FHSU in 2020 after working at Georgia Southern Uni- Devona Pendergrass, 63, district library team leader at versity in Statesboro; Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Mountain Home (Ark.) Public Schools, died May 2. Pender- Arab Emirates; Loyola University Chicago; University of Utah grass was a board member at large of the American Associa- in Salt Lake City; Kent (Ohio) State University; and Texas tion of School Librarians from 2016–2018, a charter member A&M University in College Station. of the Arkansas Rural Education Association, and 2014 William T Henderson, 90, who served as acquisitions president of the Arkansas Association of School Librarians. librarian at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and Jane Sánchez, 72, deputy librarian for library collections preservation librarian at UIUC, died June 11, 2020. Hender- and services at Library of Congress (LC), died March 26. son was an American Library Association (ALA) life member Sánchez joined LC in 2014 as chief of the Humanities and and an early implementer of automation for bindery efforts. Social Sciences division. She was appointed the 25th law He and his wife Kathryn (also an LIS instructor) team-taught librarian of Congress in 2017. She had previously served preservation courses at UIUC. In 2014 Beta Phi Mu’s Alpha as head of history and culture libraries at Smithsonian Chapter established the Kathryn Luther and William T Hen- Libraries and acquisitions manager for electronic data- derson Award to honor them. bases at BNA Inc. Regina Minudri, 84, director of Berkeley (Calif.) Public Anne M. Shepherd, 68, a library director for more than Library from 1977 until her 1994 retirement, died June 18. 35 years at libraries in Florida, Louisiana, and Rhode Island, After California’s Proposition 13 in 1978 reduced public library died January 13. Most recently, she founded Shepherd and financing, she became the first library director in the state to Associates, a library consulting and executive search firm. secure tax funding through voter approval in 1980. She also started Berkeley’s Tool Lending Library, developed a citywide James Ubel, 83, executive director of Shawnee Library community information model, and established a library-based System in Carterville, Illinois, until his retirement in 2000, adult literacy program. She served as California Library Associ- died February 7. ation president 1981–1982 and ALA president 1986–1987 and Gloria Werner, 80, university librarian emerita at UCLA, was elected to the California Library Hall of Fame in 2012. died March 5. As university librarian, she coordinated the Elizabeth Ann Mueller, 86, director of Appalachian seismic retrofitting of Powell Library and upgraded the Regional Library in North Carolina until retiring in 2000, library’s technical support.

of University Libraries at University of Gwendolyn “Wendy” Prellwitz, assis- Washington in Seattle. AT ALA tant director for recruitment and reten- tion in the Office for Diversity, Literacy, Babette Wofter retired as director of Development Communications Associ- and Outreach Services (ODLOS), left Licking County (Ohio) Library April 16. ate Alice Burton left ALA June 16. ALA June 4. June 30 Michael J. Wrona retired as Megan Griffin, senior program officer supervisor of Dearborn Heights (Mich.) for the Association of College and Kevin D. Strowder began as director of Libraries’ John F. Kennedy Jr. Library. Research Libraries, left ALA June 25. ODLOS June 21.

americanlibraries.org | September/October 2021 55 the BOOKEND

Over the Moon ost librarians don’t work with astronauts or watch “I really appreciate the stories about the people and space shuttle launches, but it’s all in a day’s work their journeys to accomplish their achievements,” she says. Mfor Sheva Moore. One such story is that of the Black women who worked at A video librarian and researcher at Mary W. Jackson NASA in the 1960s, which became the basis for the book NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Moore provides Hidden Figures and the film of the same name. Moore materials from the onsite video, photo, and audio collec- helped provide footage for the film and received a screen tion to production companies, TV networks, advertisers, credit for her work. It was a career highlight, she notes. and private citizens with an interest in space and NASA. “As an African-American woman, being a part of that She also helps produce NASA’s social media content, project had so much cultural relevance,” she says. “It was segments for NASA TV, and science and mission briefings. inspiring to be able to recognize the untold contributions NASA has video collections across the US, includ- of Katherine Johnson, Mary W. Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, ing at Johnson Space Center in Houston and Langley and so many Black women who helped advance science Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Materials at NASA and technology in the US space program while having to headquarters focus primarily on the International Space contend with racism and sexism.” Station, unmanned missions, planet exploration, and space flight. Moore says she is drawn to the humanity THE BOOKEND showcases librarians, their work, and their work

captured in the footage. spaces. For consideration, email [email protected]. (screenshots) NASA (Moore); Gemignani/NASA Aubrey Photos:

56 September/October 2021 | americanlibraries.org Leading book discovery

Booklist, the book review magazine of the American Vol. 117 No. 19/20 6/1/2021 and 6 /15/2021 Library Association, has been Spotlight on an indispensable partner in Biography & Memoir Cover photo by Daniel Schechner, Between Two Kingdoms, collection development and (see p.22) from by Suleika Jaouad readers’ advisory work to Spotlight on generations of librarians. Audio

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