Bobbi L. Newman 🏳️‍🌈

Thank you for including #ThriveLib. Dates are confirmed for August 11, 12, 13, 2026 and the CFP is open!

www.thrivelib.com/2026-cfp

Tribute Post for Fobazi Ettarh - ACRLog With immense sadness, the writers of ACRLog acknowledge the passing of Fobazi Ettarh, library worker and influential LIS scholar. If you are able to contribute, there is a GoFundMe established for Fob...

My colleagues at ACRLog wrote short tributes to the life and work of Fobazi Ettarh @fobettarh.bsky.social. I wrote about her work on disability, which I think deserves more recognition. acrlog.org/2026/03/04/t...

Thanks @ezerrenner.bsky.social for coordinating. #CripLib #VocationalAwe

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Read this -> Pionke, J. J. (2026). Paying the Disability Tax: Ableism in the Library. Journal of Library Administration, 0(0), 1–7. doi.org/10.1080/0193...
Open Access

Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds.

"Birds in the United States are not only declining, but they are declining faster, especially in areas with intensive agriculture...Overall drops in bird population, measured from 1987 to 2021, were sharpest in warm and warming areas, suggesting that climate change may play a role."

Gift link

ha! Great minds. I just reposted saying libraries have always been third spaces.

Libraries have always been a third space.

Lawmakers discuss restrictions to library and public assistance access Active bills at the Iowa Statehouse involving public libraries and public assistance programs are the focus of this Legislative Monday episode. First, Sam Helmick, shares their perspective on proposal...

Iowa Lawmakers discuss restrictions to libraries
HF 2324 prohibits agreements public and school library partnerships
HF 2622 transfers local control from library boards to city councils.
www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/rive...

COMMENTARY: Why teacher librarians are critical for students living in an AI-driven world California lawmakers passed laws to improve student literacy in media and artificial intelligence, but without funding to implement these critical skills, students are being shortchanged.

Why teacher librarians are critical for students living in an AI-driven world

edsource.org/2026/ai-lite...

Close-up photo of a black leather shoe with a decorative metal buckle. The shoe is heavily damaged, with the leather torn open across the top and fabric exposed and frayed. The shoe is resting on a white chair over a tiled floor, with part of a wooden stool and someone’s legs visible nearby.

First victim of the puppy. Guess who’s never had a puppy big enough to actually destroy a pair of shoes before? 😢

This post is going around again so I will add this excellent resource: leavesubstack.com

waffle fry is the best form of the potato!

How Toxic Is Your Workplace? If These 6 Things Happen Every Day, It’s Worse Than You Think If these warning signs feel normal where you work, the damage is already happening.

How Toxic Is Your Workplace? If These 6 Things Happen Every Day, It’s Worse Than You ThinkIf these warning signs feel normal where you work, the damage is already happening.
www.inc.com/marcel-schwa...

Former ICE detainee recounts experience in Muscatine County Jail Released from Muscatine County Jail after nearly a year and a half in ICE detainment, a former detainee was relieved to see the sun again. Granted anonymity by The Daily Iowan due to safety concerns, ...

Former ICE detainee recounts experience of nearly a year and a half in ICE detainment in Muscatine County Jail

The jail is one of six county facilities in Iowa that contracts with the federal government to hold detainees, including those arrested by ICE.
dailyiowan.com/2026/03/03/f...

ALA Workers Initiate Union Drive On March 2, employees of the Chicago-based American Library Association announced plans to form ALA Workers United, joining AFSCME Council 31 in Illinois.

Employees of the American Library Association have announced plans to form the ALA Workers United (ALAWU), working with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 in Illinois.

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

decorative

Read this -> Logue, N., Garner, J. C., & Hendren, S. (2026). Interventions for Reducing, Preventing, or Overcoming Librarian Burnout: A Scoping Review. College & Research Libraries, 87(1), 20.

crl.acrl.org/index.php/cr...

Same! I had on boot leg yoga pants which felt "safe". Obviously a trap.

I do not have the nature grace required to embrace wide leg pants. They're a fall waiting to happen

Why were there so many things????

Same!

See Fight Club and Breaking Bad.

Volunteering in Public Libraries: Insights from the Libraries Connected Surveys | Libraries Connected This report presents national insights into who volunteers in public libraries, why they get involved and how their contributions support community engagement, digital inclusion and wellbeing. It…

With mounting workforce & infrastructure pressures, use of volunteers in English public libraries continues to rise. The evidence across all sectors is clear that to get the most from volunteers requires investment in professional staff time & skills www.librariesconnected.org.uk/resources/vo...

A woman named Norma Jean Warner left her estate to hundreds of small-town Iowa libraries and senior centers.
Her trust benefits 485 public libraries and 128 senior centers in towns with fewer than 7,000 residents.

archive.ph/dikpm

Public, private higher education Holt also introduced House File 2488, which would put Iowa Tuition Grant dollars on the line for private higher education institutions that open or maintain offices of diversity, equity and inclusion. Brown-Powers said the legislation is a “gross overstep” of the Legislature into private colleges, many of which are affiliated with a religion — described by her as a tenet of DEI. “If we implement this bill and remove the Iowa Tuition Grant Program, we will see our private colleges failing across the state of Iowa,” Brown-Powers said. Holt said the objective for those in support of the legislation is laid out in the bill itself — colorblind, sex-neutral admissions and nothing else thought of than merit, which he called the “ultimate goal of the Civil Rights Movement in this country.” The bill passed through the House with a 57-34 vote.

The MAGA party in the Iowa legislature is going after private colleges and universities again. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/02/24/i...

State librarian impressed after visiting IVH Friday From Sioux City to State Center to Clinton, there are 544 libraries in Iowa. Only California, New York state and Illinois have more, said state librarian Brenda Hall on Friday at the Iowa Veterans Hom...

From Sioux City to State Center to Clinton, there are 544 libraries in Iowa. Only California, New York state, and Illinois have more, said state librarian Brenda Hall on Friday at the Iowa Veterans Home (IVH) during a presentation before residents and staff.

www.timesrepublican.com/news/todays-...

Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once Podcast Episode · Up First from NPR · March 1 · 27m

I’m so glad I listened to this episode of Up First yesterday so I understand sites like Polymarket better.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u...

I had an anxious dream about packing up things in a hotel room and I’ve brought that anxiousness with me into Monday. Ugh.

Congratulations!

ThriveLib 2026 Call for Proposals This was shared on the ThriveLib blog and social media earlier this week and I cross posting here. I'm caught up in the new day job, finishing the new book, and working with some great clients in my consulting work and working with a great team on ThriveLib 2026. I hope to get back to regular posting this month (Hello March!)

ThriveLib 2026 Call for Proposals

This was shared on the ThriveLib blog and social media earlier this week and I cross posting here. I'm caught up in the new day job, finishing the new book, and working with some great clients in my consulting work and working with a great team on ThriveLib 2026.…

The Citation for Wellness in the Workplace is given to libraries who meet the needs of their staff in the areas of continuing education, wellness, positive work environment, unions, salaries, gender equity, pay equity initiatives, and other activities.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Opinion: Iowa Republican bills threaten public libraries Some cleared the funnel deadline, some did not. But the threat to libraries isn't going away

We espouse a lot of grand ideals about the need for an informed citizenry, the importance of education, the value of free speech & expression & the promise of equality. And public libraries in more than 500 Iowa towns, big and small, are fulfilling them all.
www.thegazette.com/staff-column...