Author responds to library threatened with closure

Alex Gino wanted to write a book that reflected transgender youths’ experiences, the sort of book they wished they’d had when they were young. It took them 12 years to write the book, which went on to receive several literary awards, including a Children’s Choice award and the Lambda literary award. Now, in Kansas: the St. Marys City Commission is threatening the existence of a public library for simply having Gino’s book in stock.

UCM’s OverDrive collection

Screen capture: UCM’s OverDrive collection

I’m a dedicated user of the Libby app, which allows me to browse the OverDrive collections of local and regional libraries. Today, I added one more library to my Libby app: the University of Central Missouri and its James C. Kirkpatrick Library. Today’s post on the JCKL blog had information about UCM’s OverDrive collection: more than 1,400 e-books and 150 audio books currently available.

Library location can affect a book’s visibility

During class discussion this week for LIS 5250, one of the ideas that came up was books that formerly sat unused on a shelf suddenly being checked out by students. One thing I took to heart when reading the CREW manual was the idea that it was acceptable to move books to a different (but still relevant) location that got better visibility.

First-chapter Friday : Take the Mic (Darcie Little Badger)

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Nov. 18, 2022 is Take the Mic, a short-story collection edited by Bethany C. Morrow.

Can public support quell harassment of librarians?

As I create my “ideal” collection development policy for LIS 5250, one of the things that resonates with me is, what kind of support can be “built into” the policy for a librarian who is facing attempts to remove books from the library?

Board policies help justify diverse library collections

For Fall 2022, I have been taking a course in developing and managing library collections, LIS 5250, through the University of Central Missouri. The cumulative project for LIS 5250 is to create a collection development policy.

One of our recent prompts for the class asked about serving a diverse population. Was there a component in our library philosophy that mentioned that?

Post-election concerns for libraries

While the November election brought approved funding for some libraries across 16 U.S. states, at least two libraries were “defunded” and now face possible closure following attempts to ban books. EveryLibrary executive director John Chrastka warns that an “effort to tie library funding to censorship efforts is likely just beginning in our country.”

First-chapter Friday : Keeper of the Lost Cities

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Nov. 11, 2022 is Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger.

‘You can’t know something’s missing if you don’t know it exists’

“‘You can’t know something’s missing if you don’t know it exists. And that, to me, is sort of the greatest tragedy about all of this’” (Albanese, 2022). Young Adult author Mark Oshiro uttered these remarks in regard to the removal of LGBTQIA+ stories from libraries and classroom shelves.

SRCSA library : Appreciation to parents’ group

Today was Pajama Day at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts! Our parents’ group, SACO, does so much to support the school, including yesterday’s Halloween carnival.