Blog
Blog
Cassell and Hiremath's updated introduction to reference and information services
Posted by Rob Christopher on 01/03/2023Find the Perfect Gift for Everyone!
Posted by Rob Christopher on 12/13/2022Making the connection: Amanda L. Folk and Tracey Overbey discuss libraries and the Black and African American experience
Posted by Rob Christopher on 09/22/2022Still a predominantly white profession, librarianship has a legacy of racial discrimination, and we must face and better understand the ways in which race impacts how we meet users’ needs both now and in the future. Amanda L. Folk and Tracey Overbey, authors of two ALA Editions Special Reports, posit that identifying and acknowledging implicit and learned bias is a necessary step for moving forward.
Moving beyond the basics: an interview with Allison Hosier about information literacy instruction
Posted by Rob Christopher on 06/02/2022
Using context when teaching information literacy is an approach that can lead to a substantive and enduring impact on students' lifelong learning. In her new book, instructor and information literacy scholar Alison Hosier takes readers through each step of the research process, sharing ideas for adding context no matter the mode of teaching.
"Keep the literal and figurative lights on; cockroaches hate that": Michael Cart on YA lit, censorship, and his new book
Posted by Rob Christopher on 05/23/2022
For well over a decade now, Michael Cart and his book Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism have served as invaluable guides to both the history and unfolding landscape of YA lit. Longtime columnist and reviewer for Booklist, as well as a prolific author and editor, Cart decided that the new fourth edition called for a sweeping update.
“We need to have difficult conversations, but they should be respectful ones”: Belinha S. De Abreu on media literacy and social justice
Posted by Rob Christopher on 04/13/2022
In his Foreword to Belinha S. De Abreu's new book, Yohuru Williams writes, "Young people are literally bombarded with images and information, raw and unfiltered. The contours of when and how they receive information have changed dramatically from just a few years ago, resulting, on the positive side, in a democratization of information, and on the negative side, in the monumental task of discriminating fact from fiction while discerning credible sources ...
An interview with Jeanie Austin about library services and incarceration
Posted by Rob Christopher on 03/10/2022Our jail and prison populations are four times larger than in 1980; half of all adults in the United States have an immediate family member that has been incarcerated for at least one night. These sobering statistics, drawn from research by from FWD.us and Cornell University, shed light on why library services to incarcerated people and people who have been incarcerated are so important.
"Making mistakes is such an important part of the learning process": an interview with Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson about metaliteracy in a connected world
Posted by Rob Christopher on 03/02/2022
We live in a connected world, one that requires learners to be flexible, adaptable, and self-directed. And, as Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson put it, "Today’s learners and contributors to the connected world need to understand their ethical responsibilities for consuming information in these spaces." Viewing learners as producers is an important part of a framework for nurturing reflective development and growth.
"Diversity of identities should be a celebration, not a burden": an interview with Jessica Anne Bratt
Posted by Rob Christopher on 02/22/2022Children's librarians are taking seriously our profession’s calls for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). They already know that popular storytimes can be an effective way to increase community representation and belonging at the library.