Lisa Peet

The American Library Association’s (ALA) recent survey on how U.S. public, academic, and K–12 libraries have responded to the coronavirus pandemic will not surprise anyone with an eye on the field, but serves as a snapshot of mid-May concerns and projections.

UPDATE 6/3/20: The REALM Project is currently conducting literature reviews to help define the project's scope and the needs of its stakeholders. Battelle researchers have completed the first review—a set of findings from publicly available scientific literature—as well as a document, Test Plan for the Natural Attenuation of SARS-CoV-2 as a Decontamination Approach. The test plan describes how Battelle's laboratory will test for the COVID-19 virus's longevity on materials and the length of time required before the virus is undetectable. 

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick recently completed a new study examining low workplace morale among public librarians, and is working on a report analyzing responses to a November 2018 call for librarians who wished to talk about their experiences. What she discovered included a disturbing level of abuse coming from patrons, a lack of institutional support to help librarians resolve such issues, and a mindset in which librarians view surviving such abuses as “earning their stripes.”

The Seattle Public Library has turned its attention outward, actively listening to community needs and transforming its work to make equity a top priority, earning it the 2020 Gale/LJ Library of the Year award.

The New York Public Library of the Performing Arts has acquired the archive of modern dance trailblazer Martha Graham, IMLS and the FCC will team up to promote the use of $50 million from the CARES Act to help address the digital divide during the ongoing pandemic, the University Press of Kentucky will continue operations with funding by the Kentucky General Assembly and the Thomas D. Clark Foundation, and more News Briefs.

On May 18, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS), and the Public Library Association (PLA) announced the formation of the Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force.

As libraries approach their third month of closure, many institutions that had continued to pay employees—whether or not they were able to engage in active work—are now turning to layoffs or furloughs, often citing concerns about budget cuts.

Barbara Rockenbach appointed Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian at Yale University, Julie Garrison elected as ACRL Vice-President/President-Elect, Brian Hart is the new Director of the Forsyth County Public Library, NC, and more library people news.

Construction work is scheduled for the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, OH, and Saugatuck-Douglas District Library, MI; Paramus Public Library has applied for NJ Construction Bond funding; and yes, there's a podcast for everything—now, a new library construction podcast from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program.