2026
"Every time I walk into a library, I’m reminded what public money is supposed to do."
Matt Lillywhite on Substack substack.com/@mattlill…
Every time I walk into a library, I’m reminded what public money is supposed to do.
A seat you don’t have to earn.
WiFi you don’t have to pay for.
Time no one asks you to justify.
Someone applying for jobs, someone studying for exams, and another just staying inside for a while and reading books.
No gate at the door.
If you want to see what it looks like when a system still works, it’s right there.
“As the Alberta government moves to set rules on access to some public library materials, a new survey suggests most Albertans trust local libraries, not the province, to decide what should be available on library shelves. "
Steel-Manning Can Be More Useful Than Fact-Checking How engaging with the strongest version of an opposing argument builds a deeper defense than verification alone. A practical guide with a downloadable worksheet. cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/steel-m…
Steel-Manning Can Be More Useful Than Fact-Checking How engaging with the strongest version of an opposing argument builds a deeper defense than verification alone. A practical guide with a downloadable worksheet. cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/steel-m…
Airport Libraries Take Off In these spaces, travelers pick up books before they board americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2026/03/0…
Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions; few are in book clubs www.pewresearch.org/short-rea…
Fear and Burnout At the Interface of Librarianship and Māori Knowledge in Aotearoa New Zealand www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2026/libr…
“A key theme was fear on the part of non-Māori librarians. This acted as a barrier to engagement for non-Māori participants and created extra work for Māori librarians who were expected to pick up tasks related to Māori people and culture that their non-Māori colleagues declined to undertake.”
A new environment for license negotiations: 40% of recent articles in the top publishers' subscription/hybrid journals are freely available online www.sciencedirect.com/science/a…
Creating Inclusive Collections at #PLA2026 www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2026…
Designing for Resilience: The 7 Types of Rest in Library Work librarianbyday.net/2026/03/2…
The Hidden Crisis Behind Rising Library Use: Staffing and Budgets Aren’t Keeping Up The mismatch between increasing usage and decreasing staff and budget levels is a recipe for disaster medium.com/everylibr…
Librarian Hotline: The Difference Between Asking AI and Thinking With AI AI can make us better thinkers or replace the thought process entirely. The difference lives in how we show up to the conversation. cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/librari…
Public Library Boards, Democracy, and Authoritarianism Filing away a research project dear to my heart. courageousleadersproject.substack.com/p/public-…
Free Guide and eCourse: Libraries as Leaders in Bridging Divides programminglibrarian.org/articles/…
Get a sneak peek of the Guelph Public Library’s future archival space An event by the Guelph Historical Society will provide a glimpse into the future of the library’s expanded archival space www.guelphtoday.com/local-new…
Ramadan Iftar Party for Families! – Association for Library Service to Children Blog www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2026…
Building a civic statecraft To support civic renewal, government needs new capabilities medium.com/@jamestpl…
Information Triage: A Librarian’s Guide to the Current Threat Environment Reliable information doesn’t disappear in a crisis. It gets buried under everything that isn’t. cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/informa…
Why Librarian-Run Programs Matter (Even in a World of Amazing Performers) www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2026…