American Library Association Journals
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In Brief
No full textALASKABig Lake Public LibraryBetween May and June 2023, a patronat Big Lake Public Library formallychallenged three titles over “obscenecontent,” asking that they be relocatedfrom the young adult section to theadult section. They were:● A Court of Wings and Ruins by SarahJ. Maas● Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide toSex, Relationships, and Being a Humanby Erika Moen● SOLD by Patricia McCormickA Court of Wings and Ruins and therest of th
Populist Transparency: The JFK Assassination Records Act, Executive Order 14176, and the Normalization of Conspiratorial Thinking in US Politics
No full textIn the days before his second inauguration, President-electTrump teased that “as a first step toward restoring transparencyand accountability to government” he would declassifyrecords related to the assassinations of President John F.Kennedy (JFK), Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), and Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. (MLK).1 On January 23, 2025, PresidentTrump signed Executive Order (EO) 14176,2 which triggeredthe declassification of “all records related to the assassinationof President Kennedy” pursuant to the President John F.Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 199
From the Chair
No full textChange is unavoidable and, as information professionals,we’re no stranger to it—but that doesn’t make change anyless scary. According to ALA Treasurer Larry Neal, the July 2025ALA operating budget showed a 14-million-dollar deficit for2025 and the 2026 budget was likely to have an approximatelyseven-million-dollar deficit.1 Needless to say, this financial situationis unsustainable. The ALA Executive Board ha
A Badge of Honor? Ongoing Threats to Academic Freedom
No full textProfessor Watchlist, founded in 2016, is one of many attempts to surveil and influence the research, teaching, and extramural activities of faculty and other university employees. In this study, we interviewed 49 individuals listed on this website to analyze the effects of inclusion on the watchlist. While some respondents indicated no real effects, a majority of respondents indicated both positive and negative effects. Negative effects included hate mail, death threats, feeling unsafe and unsupported, and even a curtailing of some individuals’ teaching, research, or extramural activities. Overall, Professor Watchlist did affect the academic freedom of many respondents, but often in complex ways. We suggest that this watchlist is just one thread in the ongoing attempts to reshape higher education
Readers' Advisory: RA Toolbox: "Best of" and Awards Lists
No full textThe impetus for this column began on a Sunday morning while I was reading the New York Times. The Book Review section on September 1, 2024, did not present the traditional review format, but instead the headline read: “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” The list was originally published online in July 2024. In addition, the New York Times also created a survey for the public to enter their favorite books as a response to the list and published it online on July 18 as “Readers Pick Their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century” with very different results. As a readers’ advisor, I love a good reading list and I became curious as to the methodology of this particular list, how the selections on both the “experts” and public choices compared with American Library Association lists and awards, as well as the utility of the recommendations for RA librarians. Effective readers’ advisory requires a constant state of learning and building a knowledge base using online tools, print resources, and juried award or “best of” lists to deliver quality recommendations to or patrons
Webtoon: The Confluence of Platformization, Snack Culture, and the New Korean Wave
No full textEntertainment media platforms are diversifying. The evolution of information technologies enablesmore convenient access to information and provides different sensory experiences. Reading isnot an exception, as increased media affordances such as audiobooks and interactive ebookshave diversified the reading experience. Webtoon, a newly emerged webcomic reading platformthat originated in South Korea, is one example of a new entertainment media platform. Webtoonis specifically designed to be read on a smartphone and demands the user’s active engagementthrough scrolling. Its format relies upon the user’s ability to read and understand text, pictures,and occasional auditory input such as music or dramatic noises. Several studies have examinedwebtoon’s cultural and artistic aspects, focusing on it as a transnational communication medium ora kitschy, artistic medium.1 However, little research has been conducted to understand the influenceof the webtoon reading experience and, specifically, how that reading experience differentiatesfrom and expands upon book-based reading experiences
How Academic Libraries Support Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses
No full textmore faculty and graduate students conduct systematic reviews and other evidence/knowledge syntheses, it can be helpful for academic libraries to provide services and resources to support this type of research. This study identifies trends in evidence/knowledge synthesis support services among (thirty-six) selected institutions with Carnegie classifications of R1 or R2. Data about services and resources was collected from research guides, webpages, and via communications with library employees. There are many similarities between how R1 and R2 institutions are providing support, with a higher incidence of more comprehensive services among R1 universities. Most R1 institutions in our sample provide a systematic review service consistin
How to Know Every Children’s Book in Your Library’s Collection: (Hint - You can’t. But here’s what you can do to get close.)
No full textBefore I became a librarian, I thought a librarian’s job was to carry an exact catalog in your brain and then robotically spit out precise book titles in response to a customer query.“Science fiction, character appeal, no spaceships? Ah, I have the perfect book for you: Klara and the Son by Kazuo Ishiguro! And it was just re-shelved on Tuesday morning, so let’s go get that for you now!
Facebook and the Biometric Information Privacy Act Litigation
No full textThis article will discuss a class action lawsuit that initially was filed in 2015 against – and ultimately was settled by – the social media giant Facebook, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Facebook), alleging that Facebook had collected and stored Illinois users’ biometric data without prior notice or consent, with the action basing the plaintiffs’ claims on statutory information found within the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) (Gilardi, 2025; IGA, n.d.). “Biometrics” is defined as “the automated recognition of individuals based on their biological and behavioral characteristics from which distinguishing, repeatable biometric features can be extracted for the purpose of biometric recognition” (DHS, 2025). Fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial features can be used for automated recognition, and Facebook’s automated facial recognition templates that were created using these features are considered to be biometric data under BIPA (Guariglia, 2021)
Benefits of Federal Statistical Research Data Centers
No full textThe thirty-three Federal Statistical Research Data Centers(FSRDC) provide researchers access to unique datasets.1FSRDCs are operated by the U.S. Census Bureau in partnershipwith federal statistical agencies and leading research institutionsin the U.S. (map of locations in Figure 1). Formerly calledCensus Research Data Centers, FSRDCs provide controlledaccess to restricted agency microdata in a secure environmentto researchers, protecting respondent confidentiality. Followingcongressional action in 2018, the number of FSRDCs and theavailable data has grown significantly and is likely to continueto increase.2 These data are extremely valuable to researchersand provide much more detail than data that is publicly availableon federal agency websites or distributed to libraries in theFederal Depository Library Program. Federal datasets supportresearch in economics, sociology, public health, geography, andrelated fields