“You Don’t Know How Many People Are In Your Corner Until You Remove Yourself Out Of Your Own Way” – Deesha Dyer On Taking Risks and Tackling Imposter Syndrome
Public Libraries Online
by Brendan Dowling
2d ago
In her candid and vulnerable memoir, Undiplomatic, Deesha Dyer shares stories from her extraordinary life, whether it’s flying on Air Force One or a memorable job interview with Michelle Obama. Dyer was a thirty-one-year-old community college student in Philadelphia when she applied for an internship at the White House. Dyer knew she was an unconventional candidate, but she quickly proved herself to be an invaluable member of the team in the Office of Scheduling and Advance. Following her internship, Dyer was hired to work full time in the same office. She earned a series of promotions, and wa ..read more
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Getting Spicy at PLA 2024
Public Libraries Online
by Eliana Kleiman
2d ago
A highlight of my first PLA conference was the panel “Hot Ones: Burning Issues in Library Operations”. Hosted by Directors of 5 public libraries, the panel promised a rapid-fire Q+A on public librarianship’s spiciest (i.e., most controversial) topics. In addition to being playful and informal, this panel’s diversity in responses echoed one of the biggest benefits I found to attending PLA: the conference is a fantastic opportunity to find different solutions to similar problems. Hearing the panelists’ hot librarianship takes gave me a wealth of new ideas and information to bring back to my home ..read more
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Read Romance, Fight Patriarchy – a Reflection
Public Libraries Online
by Eliana Kleiman
4d ago
I attended the Read Romance, Fight Patriarchy program on Friday, April 5th, 2024 at the Columbus Convention Center as part of the PLA 2024 conference. This session was led by Teacher Librarian, Lori Lieberman of Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. This session highlighted the different facets of the romance genre as a whole, the importance of reading romance, and how Lieberman successfully implemented a romance-specific book club for teens at her high school (and yes, they read adult romance too!). To begin, Lieberman explained the difference between a love story and a romance. Romances h ..read more
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FYI Podcast Episode: Brooklyn Public Library – Library Card Access Study
Public Libraries Online
by Kathleen Hughes
5d ago
In this episode, Kathleen Hughes, PLA, talks with Amy Mikel, Director of Customer Experience at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). Amy shares the catalyst for the BPL’s Cardholder Signup Practices study—the Books Unbanned initiative—and how it spurred BPL’s curiosity to examine library access. She also share’s the study’s objectives and key findings, shedding light on the challenges of ensuring equitable access, particularly for marginalized communities. In addition, we discuss actionable recommendations for libraries based on the research, offering valuable insights for enhancing inclusivity ..read more
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Gamifying Outreach & Building Community at PLA 2024
Public Libraries Online
by Eliana Kleiman
1w ago
The 2024 Public Library Conference was the experience of a lifetime. Along with the opportunity to network with peers, I met my library hero, Mychal Threets. I also attended several informative sessions ranging from employee resource groups to sessions on increasing accessibility and outreach efforts. As the Gwinnett County Public Library Ambassador for the Georgia Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, I found it highly valuable to learn more about the efforts public library systems nationwide have made to increase accessibility to their systems. Accessibility, however, comes in many forms ..read more
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Houseplants in the Library – Beautiful and Educational
Public Libraries Online
by Catherine Hollerbach
1w ago
According to Gardenpals.com, “Houseplants are having their moment now. Much of it is thanks to millennials, plantfluencers, the plant-based movement, and work from home culture forced by the pandemic.” In early 2020 when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. The Crofton Library in Crofton, Maryland embraced this trend and then some!  The current branch opened in 2002, transformed from a small location in a shopping center near a big box store, to a 25,000 square foot free standing location with high ceilings and lots of windows and light. The branch, pa ..read more
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Babytime Boredom to Storytime Joy
Public Libraries Online
by Eliana Kleiman
1w ago
A storytime refresh. That’s what I hoped to gain from attending “Babytime Boredom” at the PLA 2024 Conference. I was expecting to pick up a few ideas on how to improve my storytimes, but I left with much more. Not only did I learn ways to make storytimes and other programs for littles more fun, inclusive and impactful, I felt more inspired (than I had in years!) to kick-start my work with youth in libraries again. The presenters of, “Babytime Boredom: Building Culturally-Responsive Programming for Ages 0-3,” began their session with humility. Annamarie Carlson of Westerville Public Library and ..read more
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Notable Asian Climate Fiction to Read on Earth Day
Public Libraries Online
by Darek Makowski
1w ago
Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, began in 1970 as a way of honoring the Earth and the need to protect it. Earth Day celebrations bring renewed urgency to the topic of climate change, especially in recent years, which have been marked by extreme weather events. Authors have increasingly grappled with climate change in their fiction, often in the genre known as climate fiction, or “cli-fi.” A notable region impacted by climate change is Asia. According to a 2022 report published by the World Meteorological Organization, Asia has been “warming faster than the global average,” with “more than 50 ..read more
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Camaraderie, Reignition, and Actualization at PLA 2024
Public Libraries Online
by Eliana Kleiman
1w ago
I applied for the PLA Scholarship for the experience of attending the conference for the first time; I left the conference with so much more. I began my conference experience by attending the pre-conference workshop, “Media Training: When Your Library is the Headline”. I looked for a lifeboat to save myself and my library from the unchartered waters of censorship and the consequent never-ending media campaign. More than the fantastic tips, tricks, and knowledge offered by Tamera and Anika, I was embraced by the fears and frustrations of my fellow public librarians in this workshop, which turne ..read more
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Advancing Equity in Black Birthing Health: Leveraging NNLM Resources and Public Library Partnerships
Public Libraries Online
by Kathleen Hughes
2w ago
The NNLM actively supports public libraries in addressing health disparities and disseminating maternal health information to their communities. For the third year in a row, NNLM will host events in support of Black Maternal Health Week. In this post, we will share events and health information resources for information professionals and provide examples of how libraries support health information access and build awareness of the health inequities faced by Black birthing people. What is Black Maternal Health Week? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hundreds of ..read more
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