Access, Accessibility, & Edgar Allan Poe
I recently celebrated the end of the summer with a somewhat impulsive trip to Providence, Rhode Island. As a native Coloradan, my landlocked background thoroughly equipped me to enjoy the […]
ALA’s Library History Round Table
When I went back to college to finish my bachelor’s degree as a prelude to going to library school, I had to pick a major. The first time around in […]
Facing my stereotypes
I am a Californian by birth. I was raised in a city that included one of the many missions that dot coastal California, in my case the Mission San Jose. […]
Reflections on Labor Day 2020
After months of masks, sheltering and social distancing, Labor Day this year just feels weird. In society’s mind, this is the unofficial end-of-summer and start of school year. Folks plan […]
Civil Engagement and Librarianship
Choosing to be civilly engaged has never been easier. As citizens, we are bombarded with 24-hour news through every means of device: our phones, computers, televisions, and, if you are […]
10 Things Librarian Allies Can Do
According to a 2010 ALA diversity study, 88% of librarians are white [1]. This is a huge problem in its own right, but guess what? 88% of us have an […]
We need to talk about diversity and neutrality in libraries
Libraries have a diversity problem and a neutrality problem. We all know this; and a lot of us even actually acknowledge it. But, we’re still fighting to shift the tide […]
Why Primary Sources Matter
I have spent this week reflecting on how many times my heart has been heavy as I have witnessed yet another death of a person of color. As we continue […]
Libraries in the Time of Coronavirus
While people all over the world self-distancing and sheltering at home, libraries and museums have been adapting to maximize opportunities to engage and connect with patrons online. Despite challenges posed […]
Black History for Libraries
Black history is American history, and American libraries are no different. W.E.B. DuBois started Negro History Week in 1925. He hoped to “raise awareness of African American’s contributions to civilization”. […]
Libraries + Census = Successful Partnership
The 2020 Census is upon us. After many months of controversy around which questions could or could not be asked (note: citizenship is not a question); come April 1st, 2020, […]
October is Canadian Library Month AND LGBTQ History Month, so let’s celebrate both!
It is both Canadian Library Month and LGBTQ history month (in the US, UK, and Canada); so to celebrate both of those together, I thought that this month I would […]
The Problem With Library History
I wrapped up my undergraduate degree in History last month. The capstone paper in my program was a historiography—for those of you who had enough sense to major in something […]
The Polish Immigrant and His Reading
The Polish Immigrant and His Reading, by Eleanor E. Ledbetter, was published by the American Library Association in 1924. It was the first of a series of pamphlets put together […]
A People’s History of (Humanities) Computing in the United States
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Joy Lisi Rankin’s 2018 book, A People’s History of Computing in the United States. As someone who thinks a lot and writes a […]
Library Hand: An Unexpected 21st Century Skill
Library hand may sound like something a doctor treats you for after you’ve written too many catalogue cards, but it was actually a handwriting style designed to make the cards […]
Tribal Collections [Series]: Warm Springs Sound Archives Preservation Project
This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space that focus on Native American communities and culture, using best practices set forth by […]
Tribal Collections [Series]: The Indigenous Digital Archive
(Image from the Indigenous Digital Archive: “The Pratt’s Quarters Carlisle Indian School housed 100,000 children between 1879 and 1918″) This series on tribal collections highlights three projects from across the libraries, archives, and museums space […]
A Noble Cause, A Racist History
The origins of the San Francisco Public Library are made of the same elements as the origins of the city itself. We are a city marked by exponential growth of […]
HLS 