Sand, trees, and grass at the Japanese Garden in Portland

I almost didn’t get this post out in time. Earlier this month, my family and I traveled to Portland for a week. I thought I had tied everything up before we left, but turns out I missed closing the loop on a couple key projects. But rejoice! Those are done now. So without any more delay, here’s what happened in academic libraries in June.

News and announcements

The University of Washington Libraries hosted a student video contest. The 2024 edition of their #IHeartUWLibraries contest asked students to create original videos showcasing the libraries through the lens of their experience. The top prize of $1,500 was awarded to the creator of this video (above).

A GIS librarian at UNC Libraries teamed up with an art historian to create an interactive map of local art galleries and exhibit spaces as part of “Loving Your Local Art Scene” summer class. I can’t not love the final paragraph: “We need to hire more librarians, give them better budgets and storage, and support any archival process they think they need to invest in. Librarians are the unacknowledged champions of the research process.” Amen!

At my place of work, we frequently talk about ways we can foster a culture of reading among undergraduate students. To that effect, Loyola University Chicago Libraries is hosting summer reading bingo. Students are encouraged to read in a variety of categories, such as queer romance, poetry, banned books, and books “published the year you were born.”

reading bingo card with rules
Summer Reading bingo card, created by LUC Libraries

Off-site and high-density storage facilities for libraries provide engaging ways to talk with students and faculty about the role of libraries in preserving human knowledge and how to continually grow their collections. UC Berkley Library recently wrote about their tour of the Northern Regional Library Facility for their legacy/estate donors group.

I’m amazed at the complexity of this seemingly all-staff library assessment project (aka “data party”) from Duke Libraries. Every two years, they run a large student satisfaction survey. Small teams of staff code thousands of comments to create dashboards. Then more than 50 staff dig into the results and brainstorm solutions to address the problem areas uncovered by the survey. The recommendations are then presented to library leadership, who then parcel out the next actions.

Speaking of library assessment, what does that have to do with bird watching? Well, Temple University Libraries has an answer for you. 

On social

Every social media manager should have the agency and opportunity to take a social media break. I love how Santa Clara University Library [Instagram] made their announcement. 

photo of black with two toggles, one for Instagram (off) and one for vacation (on).
@scu_library on Instagram

University of Wyoming Libraries [Instagram] created a video offering highly specific book recommendations.

UTA Libraries [Instagram] has a super profresh Reel about how they support experiential learning.

Grand Valley State University Libraries [TikTok] has a Black book exchange in a Little Free Library posted near their building.

If you’ve been on X/Twitter for a while, you might remember 2023 when UK Libraries [X] was photoshopping their building into famous images daily (for 365 days!). This week they posted a throwback in conjunction with Inside Out 2. I am always impressed when library creators commit to the bit. 

Interesting events and exhibits

Michael Flierl, an associate professor and student learning librarian at The Ohio State University Libraries hosted a virtual presentation on future considerations for artificial intelligence and information literacy, including questions about the role of librarians in all of this. 

“Let’s engage in historical capitalism!” The Virginia Tech University Libraries hosted a workshop entitled, “Archival Adventures: Decades of Advertising in Pulp Magazines.” Archivist Anthony Wright de Hernandez explored advertisements in speculative fiction magazines. The event was live streamed on Twitch (cool) and is part of a weekly series.

Penn Libraries hosted their first Death Cafe earlier this month. Distinct from bereavement support, counseling, or therapy, Death Cafes are an opportunity to talk candidly and openly about death and dying. And there’s cake! 

They might be old school, but I love a good book display. Duke University Libraries created a “Read like a Celebrity” display that included titles mentioned by celebrities in interviews or on social media. 

Next week, Yale Library will host its annual public reading of the Declaration of Independence and the oration by Frederick Douglass in which he asked: “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” The event runs 90 minutes and is not live-streamed, but from what I can gather from the website, it’s a popular event!

Notable mentions

Pride and Juneteenth inspired a number of libraries to post about recommended readings, LibGuides, and special collections materials. Here are two quick roundups of some examples from across the field.

That’s it for this month! Do you find this useful? What would you like to see next time? Let me know in the comments! 

sepia toned photo of reading room with ornate bookshelves and soft chairs

The updates from academic libraries are slowing down this month as many colleges and universities transition into the summer sessions, but there are still quite a few updates and events worth highlighting. I’ve shortened the lists to include only my top 5 announcements, social posts, and events, but (I couldn’t help myself) I included a “notable mentions” list at the end. 

While not necessarily represented below, I’m noticing a few trends, including AI, retirements, renovations, and podcasts. Perhaps I’ll dedicate a future post to a news roundup of one of those topics. 

News and announcements

The University of Michigan Libraries is offering free borrowing privileges for Native and Indigenous peoples not already affiliated with the institution.

Interviewers from Berkley Library’s Oral History Center presented their work on the Japanese American Intergenerational Narratives Project at the annual meeting of the National Council on Public History and wrote about the experience of traveling to Topaz (Utah) where some 8,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated during World War II.

The University of Arkansas Libraries processed a new photo history collection of photographs by Geleve Grice, depicting daily life in the Black community around Pine Bluff. Notable figures in the photographs include Muhammad Ali, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Maya Angelou, Wiley Branton, Edith Irby Jones, Ida Rowland Bellegard, Raymond Miller, Lawrence A. Davis, Martin Luther King Jr. and Silas Hunt.

The Olin Library at Rollins College is hiring for an Artificial Intelligence Librarian. Couched firmly in the context of information literacy, this position seeks to bring together the ACRL Framework and AI into the classroom.

The University of Virginia Libraries is funding “research sprints”: an intense 1-3 working day collaboration between faculty and librarians to support specific research projects.

Notable mentions

On social

I love what Bass Library (Yale) is doing on Instagram. They are using a balanced mix of popular audios, high quality photo/video, and humor. Someone is obviously having a lot of fun over there.  

The University of Michigan Library has an informative video that explains what a leafcaster does [YouTube]. This informal style of a BTS perspective (talking to the camera vs. voice over), especially in the lab setting, is engaging without begin boring. 

Fondren Library at Rice University announced on Facebook that it is launching a seed library.

RIT Libraries just uploaded a bunch of “Hey Listen” episodes to its YouTube page. The series was created by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology and featured deaf panelists, audience members, and hosts. 

Northwestern University created a fabulous video [YouTube] to highlight its university archives. The intro graphic and music choice are superb and the pacing is just right. I’m assuming this was produced as a collaboration between the library and the uni’s main marketing arm. 

Notable mentions

Interesting events and exhibits

Bookbinding event at UPenn Libraries

The University of Cincinnati Libraries is hosting a 21-day anti-racism challenge on topics including structural racism in health care, white privilege, and the difference between “not-racist” vs. “anti-racist.” The self-guided work culminated in a synchronous virtual discussion.  

Yale Library currently has an exhibit on the copying sacred texts. In addition to highlighting some notable works, including those of Kyeongho Kim, it aims to encourage the meditative practice of hand-copying texts. 

Drexel University Libraries annually honors members of its campus community who authored publications in the last year. This year, they honored their highest number faculty, staff, and student in the 12 years of the program: 118! 

The University of Michigan Libraries hosted “Dragademia,” a part lecture, part performance on the cultural issues surrounding drag performance. Apparently singing was involved. 

Penn Libraries is hosting a workshop on stab-stitch binding.

That’s it for now! As I was preparing this post, I began to notice many of the Pride Month posts rolling out. So while not included in the list above (which mostly covers late May), I’ll pull those together for the next roundup!

top image credit: SMU Digital Libraries on Flickr