March 2018

In my study on socially/politically conservative librarians, self-censorship came up as a major part of this groups’ work-life experience (Theme 7: In The Closet). Participants shared a need to suppress their opinions or recalled being told that they should not let colleagues know that they are conservative, lest they subject themselves to subtle or blatant discrimination or abuse (Kendrick & Damasco 2015). During my current work on the low-morale experiences of racial/ethnic minority...

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has seen this movie before. Alienated people who feel left behind by their leaders elect a demagogue whose dog-whistle politics feed their basest instincts. The year was 1989. Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, and a progressive “New South” movement was on the rise. And yet a white supremacist was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives — former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard and current outspoken Trump supporter David Duke. Landrieu, who served as a...

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz carries his career-long exploration of Latinx immigrant identity into his debut children’s title, “ Islandborn .” Díaz told Crosscut.com on Tuesday (March 20) that he developed the book, which features a Black Latinx girl as its protagonist, to combat the White normativity of children’s literature. “I experienced [not finding kids’ books with characters of color] and I certainly never wanted anyone else after me to experience it,” he explained. “So...

The Library of Congress ( LOC ) selected both hit and obscure recordings of artists of color for preservation in the National Recording Registry today (March 21). Per a LOC announcement , 25 newly honored audio works bring the total number of recordings in the registry to 500. The recordings from this class span 85 years and include a mix of commercially released music, field recordings and radio broadcasts. The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 authorized the creation of the...

In today's current political and cultural climate, it's crucial that everyday Americans are engaging in important conversations about race, bias, discrimination, and privilege. For people of color, these conversations are nothing new; they are a requirement in communities where experiences of racism, bias, and bigotry are a part of everyday life. But for many white people who have never been burdened by a system built specifically to keep us down, these conversations can seem confusing,...

Depressive symptoms in girls shot up by 50 percent from 2010 to 2015, a rate more than double that for boys. As social media, college admissions and body image ideals become more ruthless, adolescent girls find themselves increasingly pressured to overachieve. In "Enough As She Is," Rachel Simmons explores how effortless perfection became the expectation for girls and how parents and society can "dispense with the myth of the so-called amazing girl." Guests: Rachel Simmons, author, "Enough...

This spring marks the 50th anniversary of two pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement: the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the passage of the Fair Housing Act . As we reflect on the last half-century of racial justice struggles and victories, many of the books in this roundup uplift overlooked artists and activists of color while others uncover racist institutions that endure through new models. Below, nonfiction titles to keep on your radar as we exit winter dormancy...

So much of raising children is unimaginable until it happens, an abstract future materialized awkwardly into an actual child covered in dirt. Amid constant unpredictability, one small unsung comfort for parents is the chance to revisit books from childhood, to share with your own children the stories you knew and loved. Recently I came across my old copies of Betty MacDonald’s Mrs. Piggle-Wigglebooks, a series about magic cures for children’s foibles that amazed me as a child. But when I...

Thanks to everyone who came out to the meeting on Friday to discuss TI Libraries! I have attached my PPT to this blog if you would like to explore the resources that were shared. You can also view the presentation in Google Drive .

The Downtown Central Library will host two simultaneous art exhibits that explore the concept of generational trauma associated with the Armenian Genocide. The main exhibit, "Nonlinear Histories," is co-curated by Ara and Anahid Oshagan as well as Isin Önol and features the works of seven artists who examine their generational ties to the Armenian Genocide by reimagining inherited artifacts. It will run from March 17 through May 6. The collections are inspired by the theory of "postmemory"...

Atlanta — I’m pretty sure I hadn’t even wiped the sonogram goop off my belly before I rushed off to pick out dresses and books for my unborn child. I was on a mission: My daughter was going to need all the pink dresses and all the books with brown babies. Finding adorable dresses was easy. Finding children’s literature with pictures of children of color was not. Books with white children and, like, ducks, were de rigueur, which I guess was fine for parents who were having white babies or...

For more information on this event, click here . What The Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California (ACL) will host their annual Institute at the San Francisco Main Public Library on Friday, April 13, 2018. Beyond the Binary: Embracing Diverse Gender Identities will be a day-long symposium on the topic of gender, with special guest Lesléa Newman speaking on depictions of gender in children’s literature. The day will also focus on gender development, the messages that young...