Fyi: The Public Libraries Podcast

We talk with Nicholas Higgins, director of Outreach Services at the Brooklyn (NY) Public Library. Higgins, author of the latest book in the PLA Quick Reads series, shares wisdom gleaned from his years of experience providing library service to incarcerated persons; provides a thoughtful perspective on the American criminal justice system and shows how to provide the absolute best service to this group and the families they have left behind.

Librarian Kyra Hahn shares her experiences navigating the intense bureaucracy of the Federal Public Service Student Loan (PSLF) program and provides tips, advice, and explanations that can make the process easier for applicants.

PLA's Brendan Dowling Talks with Eric Motley, Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute about his new book, "Madison Park: A Place of Hope." Motley shares stories from his childhood and about the place he was raised, an African-American community established by freed slaves, and elaborates on how those experiences shaped his journey all the way to the Bush White House.

In this episode we discuss providing the best library service for your LGBTQ community with our guest Joel A. Nichols. Joel is the author of the winner in this year's "Public Libraries" magazine feature article contest, for the article "Serving All Families in a Queer and Genderqueer Way," which you can read at www.publiclibrariesonline.org. He is an administrator for data strategy and evaluation in the Strategic Initiatives Department at the Free Library of Philadelphia, where he previously worked as a children's librarian and branch manager and the author of "Teaching Internet Basics - The Can-Do Guide" and "I-Pads in the Library" both published by Libraries Unlimited.

We talk to Megan Sullivan, writer and college professor (Boston University) about her book, "Clarissa's Disappointment: And Resources for Families, Teachers and Counselors of Children of Incarcerated Parents" about how to best serve this group, the author's own experience with parental incarceration, and more.

We talk with Gillian Robbins and Caitlin Seifritz librarians in the Business Resource & Innovation Center (BRIC) at the Free Library of Philadelphia about the BRIC and new ideas for updating the library model of providing services to business, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits.

PL Online Assistant Editor Brendan Dowling talks with author Michael Callahan, author of 2015’s “Searching for Grace Kelly.” Michael is also a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a former deputy editor at Town and Country and Marie Claire. His new book, “The Night She Became Miss America” was released in April, 2017.

PL's Brendan Dowling talks with author Yoojin Grace Wuertz about her recently released novel "Everything Belongs to Us."

PLA's Project Outcome (PO) is a free online toolkit consisting of surveys, a survey portal, and an interactive data dashboard that helps librarians measure the outcomes of their programs and services. Join us as we discuss this project with Emily Plagman, PO's Project Manager and Samantha Lopez, Project Coordinator.

Larra Clark Deputy Director for the Public Library Association and the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), talks with Marijke Visser, Associate Director at OITP, about ‘Ready to Code” a new ALA initiative in partnership with Google, that aims to investigate the current nature of coding activities in public and school libraries for youth and broaden the reach and scope of this work.

PLA's Kathleen Hughes talks with Erin Hoopes. Erin is head of the Free Library of Philadelphia's Philadelphia City Institute Branch. We talk with her about an initiative she spearheaded at the Free Library, a Teen Social Justice Symposium.

We talk with Jeffrey Fisher, author of the latest book in PLA's 'Quick Reads' Series "Building and Operating a Digital Media Lab." Topics include creating the right space; arranging funding; hiring and training staff; buying the correct equipment; writing policies and procedures, and more.

PLA Deputy Executive Director Larra Clark talks with John B. Horrigan of the Pew Research Center about his report, "Digital Readiness Gaps," which finds that just over half of American adults have low levels of readiness to use digital tools as they pursue lifelong learning.

Kathleen Hughes, PLA Manager Publications, talks to Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly about weeding library collections, awful library books they've discovered, and more. Holly and Mary have recently released a book in PLA’s Quick Reads series, entitled “Weeding Manual.” In addition, they are cofounders of the popular blog Awful Library Book (awfullibrarybooks.com) and co-authors of the book “Making Your Collection Count: A Holistic Approach to Library Collection Management.” Holly Hibner is adult services coordinator at Plymouth District Library in Plymouth, Michigan and Mary Kelly is youth services librarian at the Lyons Township Library in Michigan.

Kathleen Hughes, PLA Publications Manager talks to Sonja Skvarla, the founder of A Social Ignition. Founded in 2012, A Social Ignition was conceived while Sonja was helping various groups fulfill their missions in the field of post-prison reentry. She developed a curriculum of entrepreneurship and professional development and offered it to the Oregon Department of Corrections. Today, A Social Ignition is off and running using its entrepreneurship and professional development program to help people re-enter society after incarceration. The program teaches business lessons but participants also develop self-confidence and learn to use the experience they already have. We talked to Sonja about A Social Ignition, success and stumbling blocks, how libraries might incorporate similar programming, future expansion plans, and more.

In this episode, Kathleen Hughes, PL Editor, talks to Ady Huertas, Branch Manager of the Logan Branch/San Diego Public Library about the library's program, "Out of the Shadows." The program is designed to raise public awareness about the problem of sex trafficking in San Diego, bring to light the plight of sex trafficking victims and at-risk youth, and provide resources and support services for those in need in the San Diego area.

In Episode 10, we talk to Sarah Lawton, Neighborhood Library Supervisor, Madison (WI) Public Library and Tariq Saqqaf, Neighborhood Resource Coordinator, City of Madison, Office of the Mayor, about how libraries can address racial disparities and create more inclusive public spaces. The Madison (Wis.) Public Library is working with local government to establish racial equity and social justice as core principles in all decisions, policies, and services. We discuss this model which focuses on dismantling structural barriers to equity through both an “equity impact tool” and participation on Neighborhood Resource Teams (action groups that support communities in identifying and addressing community needs). Recorded live at PLA2016 Conference in Denver.

Nichole Shabazz, Youth Outreach and Programming Coordinator at the Cleveland Public Library and Phyllis Hunter, Reading and Literacy Expert, Phyllis C. Hunter Consulting, Inc., presented "Where the Black and Brown Boys Aren’t (and Why) at PLA 2016." Here they talk with PLA's Brendan Dowling about closing the achievement gap, increasing representation, and finding entry points to engage this demographic. Follow Nichole at @BEattheLIBRARY and Phyllis Hunter at .@phyllischunter

Dan Wilson, Associate Director for Collections & Library Services at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia Health System, and Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Librarian at the National Library of Medicine, presented “Disasters Bring Out the Best in Us: Providing Community Support When it is Needed Most” at PLA 2016. Here, they discuss, with PLA's Brendan Dowling, how librarians and libraries are vital resources for the community during disasters, as they are in the best position to verify and disseminate correct information to the community. They provide tips on building partnerships with local agencies so that your library has a plan in place when disaster strikes. Listen here and also find more information at disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov.

The BOOMbox is an experimental space designed to facilitate STEAM learning for all ages. Every few months the theme of the room changes. Programming includes events, classes, micro-workshops, movies, books, resources lists, and more. We talked to Amy Holcomb, Experiential Learning Coordinator and Mikael Jacobson, Learning Experiences Manager at Skokie (Illinois) Public Library at The Boombox.