2024 was an eventful year for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and its membership of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and...

This paper introduces a subfield of management studies, "critical management studies" (CMS) in order to rethink mainstream management practices in academic libraries, with strategic planning as an illustrative example. Mainstream management models from the corporate sector prioritize efficiency, productivity, and numerical measures for assessing impact. Academic libraries have generally borrowed uncritically from this mainstream management praxis, but how well does this serve our needs, especially when it comes to the most complex issues we face? CMS draws on critical theory to interrogate the methods and goals of mainstream management, with an emphasis on denaturalizing "taken for granted" practices and prioritizing ethics and worker equity. After providing a brief overview of the history and adoption of mainstream management in academic libraries, this paper focuses on strategic planning as an illustrative exploration of CMS principles in an academic library context. Strategic planning is a common managerial practice that has been embraced by academic libraries and generally modeled after mainstream approaches. Yet, CMS scholars contend that traditional strategic planning reproduces workplace inequities and universalizes managerial interests. In this article, I employ ideas from CMS to rethink library strategic planning by opening participation, reframing problems, and embracing our ethical agency.

The School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is pleased to announce the publication of Library Trends 72 (1). This issue, "Indigenous Librarianship," examines the current state of Indigenous librarianship. Ulia Gosart and Rachel Fu served as guest editors. Library Trends, in partnership with the guest editors and select authors, will host a virtual webinar featuring lightning talks based on articles from the upcoming issue.

The American Library Association and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative have announced the new National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries and created an implementation guide to help libraries incorporate climate action locally into strategic and facility plans.

Have you ever wondered how library catalogs, like Emory’s Library Search, are built and maintained? Or how library catalogers decide upon the best terms to describe the books, articles, and other m…

Hidden Barriers: The Experience of Academic Librarians and Archivists with Invisible Illnesses and/or Disabilities

This personal narrative explores the tensions between libraries and academia as sites that reinforce colonialism, and what is required of vulnerable and minoritized populations in order to secure livelihood in the profession of librarianship. This paper explores the culture of diversity initiatives through the framework of conditional hospitality, and attempts to reconcile indigenous participation in libraries and academia as colonial power structures through historical trauma theory. Barriers to inclusion for indigenous peoples are also explored, including examination of how indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing are included within the LIS curriculum. This chapter is included in The Politics of Theory and the Practice of Critical Librarianship, edited by Karen P. Nicholson and Maura Seale, and published by Library Juice Press in March 2018.

EveryLibrary is issuing a comprehensive report on 2023 state-level legislation affecting libraries. The report, “Unpacking 2023 Legislation of Concern for Libraries”, is designed to support and assist state library associations in future legislative advocacy campaigns. The recent wave of state legislation affecting libraries across the United States has been largely negative, with a focus on restricting access to certain materials, particularly those deemed harmful or inappropriate for minors. Through June 17, 2023, twenty-four bills have passed in state legislatures. Two were vetoed, and 22 are in various stages of enactment. These bills have been enacted in fourteen states: Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The bills encompass several recurring themes that pose potential challenges to library operations and services. [Clip] This report provides a moment-in-time review of state-level legislation affecting libraries and education while looking at key themes across and between states. The report offers strategic recommendations for state library association leaders and legislative advocates to build coalitions, activate constituents, and work across the entire lifecycle of a bill, including pre-session communications and post-session actions.