Circulating Ideas

Steve chats with Noah Lenstra, author of Healthy Living at the Library, about the Let’s Move in Libraries initiative, why it’s important to work with community partners, examples of health literacy programming, and how libraries have adapted their programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah Lenstra started Let’s Move in Libraries in 2016 at the … Continue reading 196: Noah Lenstra

Steve chats with Callan Bignoli and Lauren Stara, authors of Responding to Rapid Change in Libraries: a User Experience Approach, about how they met and decided to write a book together, how the New York Public Library lions guided their thinking, and the myriad issues libraries need to consider to prepare for future change. CALLAN … Continue reading 195: Callan Bignoli and Lauren Stara

Steve chats with Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, founder of Digital Respons-Ability, library consultant and author of Serving Teens and Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A Guide for Libraries, about her work with libraries, why she founded Digital Respons-Ability, using person-first language, and how libraries can better serve teens and adults on the autism spectrum. Carrie Rogers-Whitehead worked … Continue reading 194: Carrie Rogers-Whitehead

Steve chats with Representative Kathleen Willis, who represents Illinois’s 77th District, about her past experience in libraries, her legislative priorities, the parts of writing a bill that Schoolhouse Rock doesn’t cover, and how library staff can successfully lobby for funding. Kathleen Willis is serving her fourth term in the Illinois General Assembly as State Representative … Continue reading 193: Kathleen Willis

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with journalism professor Jeremy Shermak, about the state of journalism, misinformation vs. disinformation, the collapse of local news, and the media literacy skills librarians need to understand. Jeremy Shermak is a journalism professor and the faculty advisor to the student newspaper, Coast Report, at Orange Coast College. He earned his Ph.D. in journalism … Continue reading 192: Jeremy Shermak

Steve chats with Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, project lead for the Panorama Project, about what the project is, how he came to it, what libraries and publishers can learn about each other, and why he is optimistic about the future of reading. Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is project lead for the Panorama Project. Previously, he was publisher & marketing … Continue reading 191: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Steve chats with John Bracken, Executive Director at Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), about why he left the Knight Foundation to take on the challenge of the DPLA, how the DPLA works with its partners, and how DPLA is working to protect democracy and advance needed conversations about race. John Bracken has served as … Continue reading 190: John Bracken

Steve chats with Esther Safran Foer, the author of I Want You to Know We’re Still Here, about releasing a book during a pandemic, her time at Sixth & I, the exploration of her past leading to the writing of her memoir, and whether she sought writing advice from her sons. Esther Safran Foer was the … Continue reading 189: Esther Safran Foer

Steve chats with Shauntee Burns-Simpson, 2020-2022 President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), about BCALA’s 50 anniversary, how libraries can help facilitate hard conversations about race, and inspirational African American librarians. Shauntee Burns-Simpson is currently the Manager, School Support and Outreach at the New York Public Library (NYPL) where she has … Continue reading 188: Shauntee Burns-Simpson

Steve chats with Troy Swanson, professor at Moraine Valley Community College, about his path to librarianship, how neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology can affect information literacy, and the chapter he co-wrote in Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization. Troy A. Swanson is Teaching & Learning Librarian and Library Department Chair at Moraine … Continue reading 187: Troy Swanson

Steve chats with Stephen Krueger, author of Supporting Trans People in Libraries, about his path to librarianship, why he felt the book was needed, how you can support trans staff and patrons, and his personal reactions to this year’s Library of the Year award winner. Stephen G. Krueger (he/him or they/them) is the author of … Continue reading 186: Stephen Krueger

Steve chats with Karen Keninger, Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress, about accommodations for the blind and print disabled community, what’s in the NLS’s collection, eligibility requirements, NLS network libraries, and how your library can help NLS’s mission. Karen Keninger has served as the … Continue reading 185: Karen Keninger

Steve chats with strategy & foresight consultant Matt Finch about what scenario planning is and why libraries need to be doing it, some of the big ideas libraries need to be thinking about, working remotely during a pandemic, and exploring Library Island. Matt Finch is a strategy & foresight consultant at mechanicaldolphin.com and an Adjunct Research Fellow … Continue reading 184: Matt Finch

Steve chats with January LaVoy, actress and audiobook narrator, about her experience with libraries, how she finds the right voice for each audiobook she narrates, the care she takes in translating an author’s story in audio, and working with a little-known actress named Meryl Streep to bring Charlotte’s Web to life.

Steve chats with Stacy Brown, librarian and 21st Century Learning Coordinator at The Davis Academy, about her family history in librarianship, how she’s adapted her work to life during a pandemic, and her book, The School Librarian’s Technology Playbook: Innovative Strategies for Teachers and Learners. SHOW NOTES: Circulating Ideas: 137 School Librarian PanelThe School Librarian’s … Continue reading 182: Stacy Brown