Call Number with American Libraries Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode Nine: "Looking Back" Jan 03, 2017

Show notes

In this very special episode of the "Dewey Decibel" podcast, host Phil Morehart presents a series of short interviews with a variety of luminaries who have spoken with "American Libraries" over the years, each of whom discussed the impact of libraries on their lives, including Khaled Hosseini (author of "The Kite Runner"), Alexander McCall Smith (creator of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series), game designer and writer Jane McGonigal, public speaker Jennifer Kahnweiler, Lois Lowry (author of "The Giver"), Nick Offerman (from TV's "Parks and Recreation"), author, curator, and university professor Sarah Lewis, writer and "This American Life" regular Sarah Vowell, and Margaret Atwood(author of "The Handmaid's Tale"). See the interviews in full at https://www.youtube.com/user/AmLibraryAssociation.

Episode Eight: "Hail to the Chief's Library" Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

In this post-election episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, join American Libraries associate editor and host Phil Morehart as he examines presidential libraries and presidential history with three esteemed guests: Meredith Evans, director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta Jodi Kanter, associate professor of theater at George Washington University and author of the book Presidential Libraries as Performance: Curating American Character from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush Ken Burns, director of the acclaimed documentary films The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball, Prohibition, The War, and many more, and author of the new book for kids, Grover Cleveland, Again!: A Treasury of American Presidents

Episode Seven: "Night of the Living Dewey Decibel" Oct 27, 2016

Show notes

It's that time of the year again, when the days grow shorter, a chill creeps into the air, and the supernatural and otherworldly are ubiquitous—even in the library world. Join American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart for a very special Halloween edition of the podcast, featuring conversations with: Greg Hager, director of Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana, which is notorious for being one of the most haunted libraries in the United States. Phil and Greg talk about the library’s history and haunts, and how it uses the internet to help visitors spot its ghosts. Jake Adler, head librarian at the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City, a library and research facility devoted to the magic arts. Phil and Jake discuss the facility's collection of magic-related books and periodicals, its availability to researchers and the public, and more. Daniel Kraus, award-winning author of numerous horror and fantasy books, including The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, the latest volume of which was released October 25, and Trollhunters, a book coauthored with filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro that is coming to Netflix as an animated series in December. Phil chats with Daniel about his projects and inspirations, their favorite horror films, and more.

Episode Six: "It Could Happen to You: Banned Books" Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

To coincide with the conclusion of Banned Books Week, Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart looks at book banning, challenges, and censorship with three individuals at the forefront of the conversation: James LaRue, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom and the executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. James and Phil talk about the difference between a challenge and a banning, the reasons behind books bannings in the US, and more. Sara Stevenson, a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in Austin, Texas, who recently experienced a book challenge situation at her school. She relives the experience and offers tips to librarians facing similar books challenges or bannings. Marjane Satrapi, the author of the award-winning graphic novel, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, and director of the Oscar-nominated film adaptation. Satrapi's book was briefly banned in a high school in Chicago in 2013. Phil spoke with Marjane from Paris about her work, the situation in Chicago, the nature of censorship, and more.

Episode Five: "Library Design: If You Build It, They Will Come" Aug 30, 2016

Show notes

Episode Five tackles a topic close to host Phil Morehart's heart: library architecture and design. As editor of American Libraries Magazine's annual Library Design Showcase, Morehart was primed and perfectly suited to talk to this episode's three guests: Brian Lee from Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, the chief architect behind Chicago Public Library's new, award-winning Chinatown branch. Lee and Morehart discuss the new Chinatown library and importance of a library integrating itself and reflecting the community in which it serves. Kimberly Bolan, the library consultant behind Kimberly Bolan and Associates and author of "Teen Spaces: The Step-by-Step Library Makeover." Bolan and Morehart talk about the importance of teen spaces in libraries. Fred Schlipf, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois, Urbana. Schlipf and Morehart take off the gloves to talk about bad library design and how libraries can prevent it.

Episode Four: "Annual Recap: 16,000 Librarians Can't Be Wrong" Jul 26, 2016

Show notes

For Episode Four of the Dewey Decibel podcast, host Phil Morehart and a staff of reporters recap the American Library Association's (ALA) 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, highlighting the celebrity interviews, staff and member conversations, and exhibit hall action for those librarians who attended, those who could not, and any listeners who may have wondered what kinds of programming and people you'll find at Annual. Sociology professor, author, and political analyst Michael Eric Dyson sits down with American Libraries Senior Editor George Eberhart for an energetic, poetic interview about discovering literature, hip-hop, the Obama presidency, gun control, and “reaching young people where they are.” The Pulse nightclub shooting, which happened two weeks before Annual, was much on the minds of organizers and attendees. ALA's then-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table Peter Coyl speaks to AL Senior Editor Amy Carlton about how the Saturday morning memorial came together, the importance of remembering victims as individuals, and how civil rights pioneer US Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) came to participate. ALA Editions Marketing Coordinator Rob Christopher reveals to Samantha Imburgia, ALA Publishing’s associate editor for e-learning solutions, what really goes on at the ALA Store, from bestselling books to setup and tear-down to author signings. Plus, AL Associate Editor Terra Dankowski provides roving dispatches from the convention center.

Episode Three: "Celebrating the Carnegie Medals" Jun 24, 2016

Show notes

American Libraries magazine is back with another installment of the Dewey Decibel podcast, and this time host Phil Morehart is taking on the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. Episode Three features interviews with Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the Carnegie Medal– and Pulitizer Prize–winning novel "The Sympathizer," and Nancy Pearl, renowned librarian, literary critic, and Carnegie Medals committee chair. The awards, cosponsored by Booklist and the American Library Association’s (ALA) Reference and User Services Association, were announced in January. Carnegie Medal winners Nguyen and Sally Mann (for the nonfiction book "Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs") will be honored at ALA’s 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, June 25. Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose confessional thriller is set in the years following the Vietnam War, talks to Phil about why he chose to tell his story as a spy novel and how he conceived his main character (“I thought of him like a bad James Bond”). He shares how growing up as a refugee in San José, California, influenced the book, and why, in researching his novel, he wanted to learn as much as he could about the making of the film "Apocalypse Now." Nancy Pearl, chair of the Carnegie Medals nominating committee, explains who makes up the committee, how the nomination process works (“it’s not that formal”), and which lists are consulted for finalists. She talks about the difference between an enjoyable book and an important book—and what made "The Sympathizer" and "Hold Still" stand out.

Episode Two: “Library Security: Making Your Space Safer” May 23, 2016

Show notes

Episode two examines a multi-faceted, important issue: library security. American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks to three people from the library world who work to help us understand how to handle safety issues—both large-scale, harrowing encounters and smaller but still disconcerting events—in our buildings and on our campuses. Mary Ann Jacob, a library aide who works at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, who was present during the fatal shootings on December 14, 2012, shares her powerful story and how it led to her current work with Everytown for Gun Safety. Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer, director of New Mexico State Library, explains some of the active shooter training programs she made available to her staff at the New Mexico and New Jersey state libraries. Steve Albrecht, former San Diego police officer, host of the podcast Crime Time with Steve Albrecht, and author of Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities (ALA Editions, 2015), provides tips on what libraries can do to stay safe on a day-to-day basis.

Episode One: "Preservation: If You Don’t Have the Keepers, You Don’t Have the History” Apr 24, 2016

Show notes

In the first episode of American Libraries Dewey Decibel podcast, host Phil Morehart talks to Brad Meltzer, bestselling author and host of "Brad Meltzer's Decoded" and "Brad Meltzer's Lost History" on the History Channel; Michele Cloonan, preservation scholar and dean emerita at Simmons College School of Library and Information Science, and Michael Witmore, dean of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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