Lisa Peet

#NoTechforICE was started by the national Latinx and Chicanx social justice advocacy group Mijente in 2018, when it became clear that government agencies such as ICE and CBP were purchasing public, private, and commercial data to gather information to aid in the sweeps and deportations of undocumented immigrants. Two companies that have entered into contracts with ICE, LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters—which owns LexisNexis competitor Westlaw—are staples of college and university database subscriptions, and the campaign has caught the attention of academic librarians nationwide.

On June 7 the Maryland State Library Agency (MSLA) and Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) announced the beta launch of the Guide to Indigenous Maryland, a mobile app (for iOS and Android) and website that enable Marylanders—and users worldwide—to learn about the history of local Native and Indigenous people (PGCMLS's preferred wording uses both terms) and how their heritage continues to influence contemporary life in the state. The free educational resource combines 21 curated sites featuring information on Native American and Indigenous geography and heritage, local history, and present-day life in Maryland.

Brooks Rainwater recently stepped into his new role as president and CEO of Urban Libraries Council (ULC). LJ caught up with him as he settled in at ULC to find out more about his move to libraries from a career in public policy.

Lauren Comito, cofounder and former board chair of grassroots advocacy organization Urban Librarians Unite (ULU), stepped into the role of Executive Director on May 20. LJ caught up with her to hear more about what the move entails, plans for ULU, and how to get involved.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) recently commissioned Ithaka S+R to examine how academic research libraries in Canada and the United States help their institutions achieve strategic priorities, what can be done to advance this work, and how university leaders gauge expectations of their libraries.

Speakers at the 2022 American Library Association (ALA) Annual conference, held June 23–28 in Washington, DC, featured an engaging lineup of leaders from within and outside the library world that included authors, actors, journalists, and creators.

As frontline public library workers experience increasing levels of trauma on the job, a recent report and forum consider how to help disrupt the cycle.

The 2022 American Library Association Annual Conference returned as an in-person gathering at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, June 23–28. While participants and exhibitors were largely enthusiastic about seeing each other face to face, often for the first time since the Annual conference in June 2019, COVID, the erosion of abortion rights, and a range of intellectual freedom challenges and privacy issues were front and center in many conversations—both in person and online.

Texas A&M University restructured its University Libraries’ administrative system, including rescinding tenure—and eliminating the tenure process—for librarians. As of the fall semester, library faculty will be required to either give up their tenured status to remain full-time library staff members, or transfer to another academic department to keep or continue to pursue tenure, and teach credit-bearing courses with between 10 and 70 percent service in the libraries.