American Libraries Dewey Decibel Podcast

Looking for a job can be arduous and anxiety-inducing. It's not surprising: The end results can be life changing. And organizations looking to hire new employees face challenges, as finding the right candidate for a job can be difficult if the search isn’t conducted correctly. What can job seekers and employers do to improve the process to everyone’s benefit? In Episode 32, we find out. First, ALA Editions acquisitions editor and Dewey Decibel contributor Jamie Santoro speaks with Caitlin Williams, author of Be Opportunity-Minded: Start Growing Your Career Now (ALA Editions, 2019), about tips for those on the job hunt and job market trends. Next, Dewey Decibel host and American Libraries associate editor Phil Morehart talks with David Connolly, recruitment ad sales manager for the American Library Association’s JobLIST, about what job hunters should be doing to find the right fit and what employers should be doing to find the right candidates.

Books flying off the shelves. Shadowy figures roaming the hallways. Unexplained sounds. What’s going on at Peoria (Ill.) Public Library? Is the building possessed by spirits hovering above cursed ground? Or are these apparitions just a sign that librarians have been spending too much time in the stacks? Do not attempt to adjust your audio. In Episode 31, “The Haunting of Peoria Public Library”—our special Halloween episode sponsored by Gale, a Cengage Company—Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart road-trips to Central Illinois to get to the bottom of these strange happenings. Along the way, he enlists the advice of professionals—including award-winning nonfiction author and well-known debunker Mary Roach (Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife) and paranormal writer and speaker John B. Kachuba (Ghosthunting Illinois)—and interviews staffers at Peoria Public Library and Bradley University Library about their otherworldly encounters.

Ever wonder what your colleagues do outside of the library? Many of us have hobbies, intellectual and athletic pursuits, a travel bug, the desire to write or cook—you name it. We all live lives beyond the stacks, of course, but some of us do things that may surprise coworkers and patrons. In Episode 30, we explore these secret lives of librarians. First, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with Adela Justice, senior librarian at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who’s a former Texas reserve deputy and the bassist in rock and blues bands. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Sarah Ramsey, media specialist at Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, who works as a certified life coach in her off hours. Finally, Dankowski speaks with Susan Maguire, senior editor, collection management and library outreach, adult books, at Booklist, who writes the Librarians in Love romance novel series under the pseudonym S

In Episode 29, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with two architects whose work with libraries was featured in American Libraries’ 2018 Library Design Showcase. We get behind-the-scenes perspectives on the buildings’ designs, construction, and effect on their communities.[/lead] First, Morehart speaks with Jim Stufflebeam from SAAP Design Architects about the new library in Joplin, Missouri, which has become a symbol of rebirth for the town after it was devastated by a tornado in 2011. Next, Derek Jones from the architecture firm Perkins + Will talks about the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in New Castle County, Delaware—a unique facility built to alleviate an information desert in the area.

Cybersecurity has been dominating news cycles this year. Whether its allegations of Russians hacking computers to influence US elections to reports of private individuals who have had vicious malware installed unknowingly on their computers, cybercrimes and cybersecurity affect us all. And libraries are no exception. In Episode 28, Dewey Decibel looks at cybersecurity in the library world. First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Patrick Craven, director of the Center for Cyber Security Safety and Education. They discuss the center’s mission, its programs for libraries, and tips on making you and your library cyber safe. Next, Morehart talks with Todd Stephens, county librarian, and Chris McSwain, information technology and systems director, at Spartanburg County Public Libraries (SCPL) in South Carolina. SCPL was the victim of a ransomware attack in January. They recount the incident and provide tips on what you can do if you find yourself in a similar si

On Thursday, June 21 it begins: the American Library Association’s 2018 Annual Conference in New Orleans. Thousands of librarians, library workers, book vendors, students, scholars and more will descend upon the Crescent City for five days of programs, speakers, exhibit hall wanderings and more. It’ll be a packed, long weekend, but the action isn’t limited to the confines of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. A city known for its pleasures, be it food, music, historical sights, nightlife…you name it you can probably find it in New Orleans. So what to do? On Episode 27, we get must-see and must-eat recommendations from two folks who know the city well. First, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski talks with David Slater, director of culinary development at famed New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse's Homebase. David shares his favorite places to eat in the city and more. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Shellie Lister, a librarian and pub

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 di

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

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.

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.

In Episode 18, Dewey Decibel steps out onto the international stage. First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Sandra Uwiringiyimana, author of How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of War Child (HarperCollins, 2017), which chronicles her life as a survivor of the 2004 Gatumba massacre in Burundi and as a refugee in the United States. They discuss the book, the plight of refugees in the US, and the importance of books and learning in her life. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel Foreign Correspondent Terra Dankowski reports from the 2017 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions World Congress in Wroclaw, Poland, where she talks to librarians from around the world about cataloguing, LGBTQ issues, and more. Finally, Morehart talks to acclaimed author and poet Kwame Alexander about LEAP for Ghana, a program that he cofounded in 2012 that’s working to build a library for a small village in eastern Ghana.

In Episode 17 of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries looks at the protests that took place on August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, through the eyes of the library world. First, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks to John Halliday, director of Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Charlottesville, and Krista Farrell, assistant director and branch manager of Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s Central Library. The Central Library sits on what was the frontlines of the protests. John and Krista shared with Phil the events of that day and how their library handled it. Next, Phil sits down with Jody Gray, director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, and Kristin Pekoll, assistant director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, to discuss ALA’s tracking of hate crimes at and in libraries and what you can do if your library falls victim to hate. Finally, Phil talks to Peter Berg, associ

In Episode 16 of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries magazine looks at the "fake news" phenomenon—its history, how we become susceptible to it, and how we can fight it. Host and AL Associate Editor Phil Morehart talks with Joanna Burkhardt, fake news expert, professor and director of the University of Rhode Island branch libraries, and author of Teaching Information Literacy Reframed: 50+ Framework-Based Exercises for Creating Information-Literate Learners, about the history of fake news and how and its pernicious presence in today's media landscape. Next, Dewey Decibel Senior Game Show Correspondent and AL Associate Editor Terra Dankowski quizzes librarians on fake news headlines and talks with them about news literacy at their libraries. Finally, Morehart talks with Marnie Shure, managing editor of The Onion, about the satirical newspaper's very specific brand of fake news, the role of comedy in truth telling, and how current US politics affects its work.

In the new episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries shares tips and tricks for starting a library podcast. AL Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Steve Thomas, manager of Buford-Sugar Hill branch of Gwinnett County (Georgia) Public Library and host of the Circulating Ideas podcast, on his experiences interviewing librarians to find out more about their work. Next, Morehart talks with Frank Collerius, manager of Jefferson Market branch of New York Public Library, about his work as cohost of The Librarian Is In.