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Latest Episodes:

Episode 26: Becoming a Library Advocate Jun 08, 2018

Show notes

The American Library Association’s (ALA) Policy Corps is an initiative that aims to develop advocates for conveying the importance of libraries and librarians to politicians at the local and national level. On Episode 26 of the Dewey Decibel podcast, host Phil Morehart speaks with four members of the Policy Corp group—Lisa Varga, executive director of the Virginia Library Association; Qiana Johnson, collection and organizational data analysis librarian at Northwestern University Libraries; Larry Neal, Director, Clinton-Macomb (Mich.) Public Library, who is the ALA Policy Corp Fellow; and Deborah Rinio, secretary of the Alaska Association of School Librarians—about their Policy Corps experiences, why librarians are the best advocates for the profession, and more.

Episode 25: Disaster Response May 08, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 25, Dewey Decibel features interviews with two librarians whose expertise has them on the front lines of environmental disaster relief and preparedness. First, American Libraries' Associate Editor Terra Dankowski talks with Miriam Centeno, a collections care coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Libraries. Miriam traveled to Puerto Rico to help train librarians there in preservation and collections care following Hurricane Maria in fall 2017. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, coordinator for library sustainability at Mid-Hudson Library System in Poughkeepsie, New York, and author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring Your Library's Future in an Uncertain World and Resilience, both published by ALA Editions.

Episode 24: Money Talk Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Tax season is here, and money, investing, and financial matters are on everyone's mind. For some, making sense of it all can be intimidating and scary. Episode 24 of Dewey Decibel features interviews with two librarians who developed successful financial literacy programs to help their communities overcome money fears. First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Lori Burgess, director of operations at Fond du Lac (Wis.) Public Library and the recipient of a 2012 Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award, about her library's programs and why financial literacy education is important. Next, Morehart speaks with Heather McCue, a children’s librarian at Richland Public Library (RPL) in Columbia, South Carolina, about Growing Savers, an RPL program that teaches financial literacy to kids and their parents.

Episode 23: Saving Lost Cinema Mar 04, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 23, Dewey Decibel looks at two organizations working to preserve films and other moving-image media in an effort to better understand the history of both cinema and the United States. First, Steve Zalusky, manager of communications for the American Library Association's Public Awareness Office, reports from the 6th annual Mostly Lost film workshop at the Library of Congress's Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. Next, Phil Morehart, Dewey Decibel host and associate editor of American Libraries Magazine, talks to AJ Lawrence, media conservation and digitization assistant at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian, about the Great Migration Home Movie Project, a program that digitizes home movies documenting the African American experience.

Bonus Episode: Inside the 2018 Youth Media Awards Feb 16, 2018

Show notes

In this special bonus episode, Dewey Decibel goes behind the scenes at the 2018 Youth Media Awards, held February 12 at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver. American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart joins the award-selection committees as they make phone calls to the winners the morning before the award announcement event. Morehart then talks to the heads of the Coretta Scott King Book Award and Newbery Medal committees to learn more about the award-selection process. Finally, we join the Mock Newbery Club from Oakridge Middle School in Clover, South Carolina, as they watch the award announcements and discuss the winners.

Episode 22: Diversifying Comics Feb 05, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 22, Dewey Decibel features two people who are helping to bring more diverse voices and representation to the comic book world and libraries. First, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries Associate Editor Phil Morehart talks to G. Willow Wilson, the writer of the Ms. Marvel comic book. They discuss the inspiration behind the character Kamala Khan, the first Muslim-American superhero at Marvel to have her own comic, and why diverse comics are essential to creating a true representation of the world. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Mara Thacker, a librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) who curates the library's collection of South Asian comic books. They discuss the UIUC comics and tips librarians can use to diversify their own collections.

Episode 21: Looking Back at Books Dec 29, 2017

Show notes

2017. It’s done. We did it. It was a doozy of a year in many ways, but we at Dewey Decibel are focusing on year-end cheer. Specifically, we’re retreating into and reexamining some of our favorite things (and I’m sure yours)—books. In Episode 21, Dewey Decibel looks back at some highlights from the book world in 2017. First, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski talks with author Stephanie Powell Watts in a conversation taped right after her book No One Is Coming to Save Us was announced by Sarah Jessica Parker as the first selection in ALA’s Book Club Central. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Andy Weir, author of The Martian, which was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. They talked in June at ALA’s Annual Conference in Chicago about the process of adapting The Martian to the big screen and Weir's new book, Artemis, which was just released in November. Finally, Morehart sat down with Booklist Books for Youth Editor Daniel Kraus to discuss Booklist’s list of the 50 best young adult novels of all time.

Episode 20: Escape Rooms and the AASL Standards Dec 09, 2017

Show notes

The recent American Association of School Librarians (AASL) national conference in Phoenix served as the launch site for the updated National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries—a fascinating matrix of shared foundations and competencies that allows librarians and educators to address and meet the needs of 21st-century learners. The Standards were the talk of the conference. They even infiltrated it in an unlikely place—an escape room. The escape room at the AASL conference found participants using elements of the Standards to solve clues: collaboration, investigation, exploration, engaging with others, sharing, and so on. In Episode 20, we explore the intersection between the Standards and escape rooms. First, host Phil Morehart speaks with Marcia Mardis, associate professor and assistant dean of interdisciplinary research and education in the College of Communication and Information at Florida State University and chair of the Standards editorial board, about the Standards, why they were updated, and what’s in the new edition. Then we report from Phoenix where ALA Editions editor Jamie Santoro talks to former AASL president Terri Grief about the escape room before joining a team of librarians from Oklahoma as they tackle the AASL escape room. Finally, Santoro talks with Patty Jimenez, a teacher-librarian at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, about an escape room that she set up for her students in the library.

Episode 19: The A1 Mystery of Avon Lake Oct 25, 2017

Show notes

In early 2017, A1 Steak Sauce bottles began mysteriously appearing in the stacks at Avon Lake (Ohio) Public Library. How did they get there? Who would do such a thing? And why? In this special Halloween episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries associate editor Terra Dankowski attempts to answer those questions and more as we investigate The A1 Mystery of Avon Lake.

Teaser: The A1 Mystery of Avon Lake Oct 19, 2017

Show notes

Whodunit? In early 2017, dozens of A1 Steak Sauce bottles began mysteriously appearing in the stacks at Avon Lake Public Library in Avon Lake, Ohio. Dewey Decibel investigates in a very special Halloween episode, available October 25.

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