Call Number with American Libraries Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 53: Library Architecture and Design Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

In Episode 53, Dewey Decibel explores new ideas and issues in library architecture and design. First, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries Senior Editor Phil Morehart speaks with Wardell Ross Jr., director of Houston operations for architectural firm Moody Nolan, who was project manager for Texas Southern University’s new Library Learning Center. Morehart and Ross discuss the library’s features and how its design reflects and showcases the heritage of the historically Black university. Next, Morehart talks with Susan Nemitz, director of Santa Cruz (Calif.) Public Libraries, about how the library shifted its remodeling and rebuilding plans to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode 52: Libraries and Sustainability Jul 17, 2020

Show notes

In 2019, the American Library Association (ALA) added sustainability as one of the core values of librarianship, and libraries across the US are working to reduce their environmental footprint and raise awareness about resilience, climate change, and a sustainable future. In Episode 52, Dewey Decibel talks with librarians who are implementing sustainable practices in both their libraries and their lives. First American Libraries Associate Editor Sallyann Price speaks with Gabrielle Griffis, assistant youth services librarian at Brewster (Mass.) Ladies Library, about the Blue Marble Librarians, a group that helped promote Climate Prep Week across the state last year. Next, ALA Editions Acquisitions Editor Jamie Santoro speaks with René Tanner, associate liaison librarian for the humanities division at Arizona State University (ASU) and Susan Norton, program manager for ASU's University Sustainability Practices, about sustainability programs they implemented at the university. Finally, American Libraries Editorial and Advertising Associate Carrie Smith speaks with three library workers from Queens (N.Y.) Public Library—Library Manager Kacper Jarecki, Youth and Family Counselor Desmond Bonhomme, and Assistant Community Library Manager Sarah Gluck—who biked from New York City to the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia last winter to raise awareness about sustainability.

Episode 51: Telling Stories with Pictures Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

In Episode 51, Dewey Decibel welcomes two winners of 2020 Coretta Scott King Book Awards for illustration to discuss their work in the lead up to the American Library Association's Book Award Celebration on June 28. First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with James E. Ransome, author and illustrator of The Bell Rang, a 2020 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Honor Illustrator Book. Next Morehart talks with April Harrison, whose illustrations in What Is Given from the Heart by the late Patricia McKissack earned her a 2020 Coretta Scott King Book Awards John Steptoe Award for New Talent for illustration.

Episode 50: Privacy Concerns May 15, 2020

Show notes

In Episode 50, Dewey Decibel looks at privacy issues in libraries, including how COVID-19 is affecting privacy for both patrons and librarians alike. First, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries Senior Editor Phil Morehart speaks with Becky Yoose, a library data privacy consultant with LDH Consulting Services, about Zoombombing—what it is, who it targets, and how to stop it. Next, Morehart talks with Peter McCracken, electronic resources librarian at Cornell University, about a privacy-services program instituted by the library to protect patron data and how the pandemic is affecting those services.

Bonus Episode: Freddie Gray and Baltimore: A Conversation with Wes Moore Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

Five years ago this week, the city of Baltimore was upended by protests and riots following the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old unarmed black man who died while in Baltimore Police Department custody. Wes Moore, a Baltimore native and author of The Other Wes Moore and The Work: Searching for a Life that Matters, looks at Gray’s death and its aftereffects in his upcoming book, Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, cowritten with former Baltimore Sun reporter Erica L. Green and available August 18 (One World/Penguin Random House). In this special bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Moore about his book, socioeconomic conditions in Baltimore, and how Enoch Pratt Free Library was the bedrock of the city during the riots.

Episode 49: Libraries Respond to COVID-19 Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

In Episode 49, Dewey Decibel looks at the library world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Felton Thomas, Jr., CEO of Cleveland Public Library, about the library’s use of 3D printers to make personal protective equipment for emergency workers. Then Morehart talks with Evan Knight, preservation specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, about how to safely sanitize and clean collections to prevent spread of the virus.

Bonus Episode: Exploring Gale's Women's Studies Archive Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

It’s Women’s History Month, and librarians looking to supplement lesson plans and readings for students can find a wealth of resources in Gale’s Women’s Studies Archive, an online repository of primary sources and other materials that examine the social, political, and professional aspects of women’s lives and the experiences and achievements of women throughout history. In this special bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, sponsored by Gale, a Cengage Company, American Libraries Associate Editor Sallyann Price speaks with a librarian doing just that. Kimberly M. Gay, head of reference and information services and academic reference and instruction librarian at Prairie View (Tex.) A&M University, shares how she uses the Women’s Studies Archive to shape programming and enhance students’ understanding of women’s roles, particularly in the areas of of agriculture, architecture, engineering, and more.

Episode 48: Telling Women's Stories Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

In Episode 48, Dewey Decibel celebrates women's history with conversations about feminism, the importance of oral histories in social justice movements and in telling women’s stories, and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with authors Mikki Kendall (Hood Feminism), Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist, Hunger), and Marilyn Harhai, professor of library science at Clarion University.

Bonus Episode: One-on-One with New ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall Feb 24, 2020

Show notes

On February 24, Tracie D. Hall took the reins at the American Library Association as the new executive director. In this special bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, Hall sits down with American Libraries Editor and Publisher Sanhita SinhaRoy to discuss the changing face of the Association, the future of librarianship, library work with social justice issues, her favorite music, and more.

Episode 47: Presidential Libraries, Then and Now Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

Presidential libraries have changed significantly since President Franklin D. Roosevelt conceived the system as a means to preserve evidence of the presidency for future generations to study and appreciate. In Episode 47, Dewey Decibel celebrates Presidents’ Day through conversations with directors of two presidential libraries about those changes and more. First, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Paul Sparrow, director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, about the beginnings of the presidential library system and how Roosevelt's library has changed since it opened in 1941. Next, Morehart talks with Brooke Clement, deputy director of the Barack Obama Presidential Library, about why the library decided to eschew a physical building and become the first all-digital presidential library.