Podcasts about everylibrary

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight on APEX Express, join the Powerleegirls Host Miko Lee speaks with children's book authors Lorraine Nam, Uma Krishnaswami and Maggie Tokuda-Hall about Library Joy in honor of National School Library Month! To Learn More Lorrraine Nam, illustrator and  author Michael Threet's book: I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy    Uma Krishnaswami Her books: Book Uncle Triology   Maggie Tokuda-Hall Her book: Love in the Library  Every Library Authors Against Book Bans   Show Transcript [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:35] Ayame Keane-Lee: Welcome to tonight's episode of Apex Express Celebrating Library Joy. I'm Ayame Keane-Lee the editor of tonight's show, and part of the PowerLeeGirls bringing you the introduction to tonight's show. Did you know that April is National School Library Month and in just 10 days from April 19th to 25th is National Library Week? The theme for this year's National Library Week is Find Your Joy with Honorary Chair Mychal Threets. The first of three interviews you'll hear my mom, Miko Lee have tonight is with Lorraine Nam the illustrator for the newly released children's book written by that very Mychal Threets called, “I'm So Happy You're Here”. You will then hear Miko speak with Uma Krishnaswami about her children's book “Book Uncle and Me,” and lastly with Maggie Tokuda-Hall about her children's book, “Love in the Library,” and the important work of Authors Against Book Bans. As a library kid and current library worker, I have experienced firsthand the transformative power of library access and the importance of inclusive and diverse storytelling. In and out of schools, libraries are vital to nurturing and uplifting the autonomy and sovereignty of children, which always has and continues to be a liberatory practice. We hope tonight's show will inspire you right into your local library to check out some of the great books mentioned here or to put them on hold. Let's listen in.    [00:02:06] Miko Lee: Welcome, Lorraine Nam, illustrator of amazing  children's books. Welcome to Apex Express.    [00:02:13] Lorraine Nam: I'm excited to be here.    [00:02:16] Miko Lee: I wanna start with a question I ask all of my guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:02:24] Lorraine Nam: Who are my people? I would say creative people. People who are interested in having an open mind, and looking at the bright side of things, the beautiful things, people who are curious. The type of legacy that I bring I think is just my parents who are creative and then bringing that, to this new generation.    [00:02:57] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. I am, I'm looking at your beautiful face, and behind you is this, find your joy and, and it's in lots of colors on this pink banner and in at the top we see opening up of a library door with Mychal Threets, who's the author of this book, “I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy.” I'm wondering if you can talk about your collaborative process with Mychal Threets.    [00:03:25] Lorraine Nam: The first impression that you have of writer and illustrator for a picture book is that they work really closely together, and that's actually not the case. We work pretty separately, but I was very excited. Mychal wrote the words to this book and they were looking for an illustrator and my agent called me and she asked me if I was interested. I was very excited about the project. I signed up for it and we worked pretty separately. We connected on Instagram, but he pretty much had no art notes, everything was pretty much whatever I was open to. Then we met for the first time and we got our very first copy of the book and we met in New York.    [00:04:10] Miko Lee: And what was that like?    [00:04:12] Lorraine Nam: Um, amazing. He is exactly who he is in his videos.    [00:04:18] Miko Lee: Can you share for our audience who he is and a little bit more about him, just in case folks don't know.   [00:04:24] Lorraine Nam: The book calls him a librarian ambassador. He describes himself as a reader, a lover of librarians or the number one fan of libraries. This is his first book and he's also the host of Reading Rainbow on PBS. We met at the New York Library, public Library for the first time, and he's just so nice, very kind. Honestly, it felt like we already knew each other just because we had been talking through the publisher about the book.   [00:05:02] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing. It's so beautifully illustrated and you have a incredibly diverse,, amount of people in the book, both racially but also physically, and I really appreciate how you encapsulated that. I'm just wondering what inspired you to develop this specific imagery for this book?    [00:05:22] Lorraine Nam: Yeah, so one of the only stipulations in the art notes was that he wanted to have a diverse group of people attending the library. People of all ages of all color, all sizes, all disabilities. That seemed like a no brainer to me because I just know the message that he puts into the world. The only difficult part was narrowing down the cast. There's all these different types of people and just trying to figure out who to focus on. I wanted to make sure that you still see the same group of kids over and over. So it felt like you were following the along throughout the day, while still having lots of diversity and lots of different types of people.    [00:06:11] Miko Lee: Had you set what the cover was gonna be at the beginning or did that come after you had already finished the whole book?   [00:06:19] Lorraine Nam: Oh, that came much later. We pretty much had the art for the interior nailed down, and then we were working on concepts for the cover. I knew from Mychal's social media presence that maybe he didn't want to be the poster cover of the book. He wanted to be about the library goers and the people rather than himself. And so I was kind of towing that line of like obviously people wanna see him, it's his first book. They're such huge fans, and so like how much to put Mychal in and how much to showcase him, as well as showcase like all the other people who go to the library.   [00:07:02] Miko Lee: He definitely does have a joyous kind of ebullient vibe to him. I recommend for audience to check out his socials because he has this, you wanna listen to him. He's so inviting and I love the poster behind you because he is saying, like, “welcome, come into the library. This is my world.” And you also made him look so cute. Really looks like a cartoon version of him. So sweet. In your artistic process, I'm wondering what helps you define the style of art you utilize? I'm thinking about the paper cutouts that you did for a tale of two princes. What is it about the work that inspires you to select that type of style?   [00:07:43] Lorraine Nam: I actually had a very winding path to the style that I have today. So the style that I have today is very much layered. It's painted, a lot of it is painted. And then I cut it out and then I glue and collage different elements, and then I scan everything in and enhance certain aspects through Photoshop. But a lot of it started actually in wanting to make a physical book. So it was with book binding and then with book binding, because that's just a technique to produce a product, it was what goes in those pages and that's when I started doing cut paper. So just silhouetted, cut paper. And I was doing that for a long time, just cutting out rice paper to make silhouettes. I wanted to tell more of the story and depict people. So then I started making paper cut [laughs] sets. So I would build —almost like Legos— a whole set of paper buildings and paper people and paper objects that are three dimensional. And then I would photograph them. And then from there, I landed in this more 2D, but playing with still technique and texture and layers.    [00:09:10] Miko Lee: Wow, that's so interesting. Can you share a little bit more about your artistic process? Do you start at a certain time of day? Do you only work at night? Do you have a whole studio set up?   [00:09:20] Lorraine Nam: well, For the book projects because there's such a timeline to 'em and they're very specific. I'll do very loose sketches on Post-it notes. They're readily available and then you can stick two of them next to each other to make a full spread. I use these post-its, and then I would just fold them in half and use that as like very quick pencil drawings. And then if I had something that I liked, I would just go in and pen. But they were still very small. So it was more about looking at silhouettes and composition. And then I would print, it's a very old school technique, but I would print out all the text for the book and cut 'em out. And double sided tape and just stick them on to see where the text should be on the page and where it could fit. I would just do that manually until I had something that I liked a little bit more. Then I would start creating digital, like line drawings.    [00:10:21] Miko Lee: And are you lining this all up on a wall or putting it on the desk?   [00:10:26] Lorraine Nam: Um, so they're in like a notebook.    [00:10:29] Miko Lee: Oh, you put 'em in book format?    [00:10:31] Lorraine Nam: It's all the spread. So it should take about two pages basically. You should be able to look at it and look at it from like an eagle eye perspective of what the entire book will look like and what the flow will be like, and if there's closeups or this is like a far away saying, you get more of the like, setting of the library.   [00:10:52] Miko Lee: And with the font printed out really small so that it's on the bottom of that Post-it note.    [00:10:56] Lorraine Nam: Mm-hmm.    [00:10:57] Miko Lee: Wow, that is so fascinating. And what is it when you're eagle eye-ing, what are you looking for?    [00:11:04] Lorraine Nam: I'm pretending that I'm a kid looking at a book for the first time, with zero context and maybe zero reading level skill and just looking at the pictures and seeing if I can spot the same character and if there is a story that follows along, because this is a library book where it doesn't talk about specific people. I wanted to be able to follow each character in the book and see what their day was like in the library. So when they first came into the library, what they were doing during the day, what friends they made, and then maybe them leaving or, you know, a resolution of some kind, like their parents are checking out symbols at the library.    [00:11:52] Miko Lee: the concept of having the character go throughout the book. Was that in the instruction or was something that you created.   [00:11:59] Lorraine Nam: That was something that I wanted. Because I know looking at picture books, the pictures can also tell a story where, the words, it might not be in the words. So I wanted there to be more of a layered storytelling through image.    [00:12:18] Miko Lee: I appreciate that as a mom. I remember when my girls were little, they would always say, where is that rabbit on the page? Or where is that thing? And so being able to track a character all the way through, is quite delightful. It adds another dimension for the multiple readings. You mentioned before about how you didn't really meet Mychal, the author of the book until the very end, and I guess that's common as an illustrator and you've worked with so many different experts in their fields from, physicist Neil Degrasse Tyson to Skater Nathan Chen. How is their very different fields, how does that impact your art making?    [00:12:57] Lorraine Nam: It's actually the most fun. It's what drew me to illustration in the first place. I love being able to do like a deep dive and a specific subject that I wouldn't necessarily have gravitated towards and do that research. I actually do go to the library. I start the process at the library and I look at all the books about that particular topic, and then see what other people have done. And so working on the book for Neil deGrasse Tyson, it was so much fun looking at different how space is depicted the idea of galaxies and making that tangible and real for kids. And then for Nathan Chen, I was already a fan before I got the project, so it was very easy. But watching the videos, seeing all the different techniques and for his book it was more looking at sports books. Because he's such a unique person in his specific field in figure skating that there weren't very many books on figure skating and most are of a female portrayal. I was looking more at sports and how people show different types of movement, , and show like form. And the more technical aspects that are very, very, very specific and very critical to those things.    [00:14:32] Miko Lee: And how did that manifest into your book?    [00:14:35] Lorraine Nam: Um, a lot of drawings of like, the breakdown of his jumps and trying to figure out can a child do this jump [laughs]? And also doing a lot of research 'cause he's a very private person. His book is not about him, it's not a biography, but it's also loosely based off of him. You know, I have two other siblings. If I had a book based off of me, I want my siblings to be involved and represented in that as well. So I included his family, even though they're not a huge part of the book, his siblings are not like big characters. But they're still represented in there. So he can still be like, oh that's my family. This is based off of my story.   [00:15:32] Miko Lee: So when you're doing these approaches, like including Nathan's family or in the library book, making sure characters go all the way through, is that something you have to check in with the writer about, to see if they're okay? Or is that something that you just do and then you submit and you see if they like it?   [00:15:50] Lorraine Nam: That's something that I do, that I find joy in and see. Usually the first eyes on my sketches are the publisher and the art director. And I actually have no idea what, at what stage they really share the sketches, if it's like at a more finalized stage or if it's an early on one, but I usually just go with my own ideas and see what they think about it.    [00:16:20] Miko Lee: Wow. I didn't know that you could have that much say into it. That's lovely. You talked a little bit about using the library for research. Gosh, I imagine that Neil deGrasse Tyson, there's so much research on it, that must have been a deep dive. I'm wondering what the library meant to you as a child.    [00:16:38] Lorraine Nam: Yeah. I grew up as a big reader. The library for me it was a magical space that I wasn't really sure what it was. My parents, because they grew up in Korea and moved here to the States, there was a big language barrier between us and they're also very not talkative people. They just took us to this place one day and it was our local public library and it was right before closing and we were able to check out as many books as we wanted in whatever type of book that we wanted. I felt like that was magical, that there was no limit to it.    [00:17:19] Miko Lee: My last question is, what are you working on now?    [00:17:22] Lorraine Nam: I'm working on a few books, actually. I'm juggling a few, but they're all very fun and different. I'm doing a book about a boy dreaming of flying, being a pilot. So I think that will be a really fun imaginative book.    [00:17:43] Miko Lee: What is one of your books that you would've liked to read to your younger self?    [00:17:50] Lorraine Nam: Mm, I probably Wei Skates On, the book with Nathan Chen. ‘Cause his story is about overcoming obstacles and being disappointed. And just feeling frustrated and upset. And I feel like that's an important lesson even in adulthood. It's not really resolved through words. It's more of like the, everyone is there for him, his family is there for him, and they all just want him to enjoy what he's doing and to not care about winning or losing.    [00:18:33] Miko Lee: Lorraine Nam, thank you so much for chatting with us about your work and about the library as a magical place, appreciate talking with you.    [00:18:42] Lorraine Nam: Thank you so much. I had so much fun talking with you.   [00:18:45] Miko Lee: Welcome, amazing award-winning children's book author Uma Krishnaswami, I'm so happy to have you here on Apex Express.   [00:18:54] Uma Krishnaswami: Miko, it's my pleasure to be here.    [00:18:57] Miko Lee: I wanted to start with a question I ask all of my guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:19:05] Uma Krishnaswami: What a wonderful question. Who are my people? My people are children who are, my ideal readership is the eight to 12-year-old group. I write for children. I'm not particularly thinking about audience when I begin writing. But at some point I want my readership to feel validated, whether they recognize themselves as being in my stories or my stories are offering them a window into a world that they are not immediately familiar with. So I would say those are my people.    [00:19:45] Miko Lee: And what is the legacy that you carry with you?    [00:19:48] Uma Krishnaswami: I grew up in India. The year that I was born India had been independent for all of nine years. So I carry very much that colonial legacy. I also am an immigrant to two countries, early in my adulthood to the United States and about 12 years ago to Canada. So my legacy is one of moving and finding new roots, finding community. Those are the things that I try to carry forward in my stories. When I began writing, I lived in the US and I started writing when my son was born. So there I was with a little brown baby and I went looking for books that would represent him and I didn't find them. And I think that is what made me think in my early thirties that, real life people could write children's books because of course the books I had read as a child were all written by people from England and many of them were dead. I kind of thought you had to be dead and British to be a writer. So yeah, it's complicated, isn't it? All of that works into, what you think of as, as your legacy. Having done this for 30 plus years now.    [00:21:03] Miko Lee: And you've written so many beautiful books. Tell us about a little bit more about that first book.   [00:21:09] Uma Krishnaswami: So the very first book, it was called Stories of the Flood. I realized very quickly that I didn't really know what I was doing. I looked to folk tales and traditional tales as a way to teach me about story. My second book called The Broken Tusk Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha. That is the one that I consider as the book that taught me how to write. I had a wonderful editor [unintelligble] Thorpe at a small press in Connecticut, Linnet Books. She told me to lean into story and to see myself as a storyteller. In a way, every book I've written has taught me how to write.   [00:21:47] Miko Lee: Can you tell us about your favorite book as a kid?    [00:21:52] Uma Krishnaswami: My favorite book as a kid, it would have to be Winnie The Pooh.    [00:21:58] Miko Lee: And what was it about Winnie the Pooh that enamored you?    [00:22:01] Uma Krishnaswami: I came to it very early and aunt had traveled to England and she brought me my copy of winnie the Pooh in the House of Poo Corner. And I read them, sitting in very Indian gardens, sometimes up in trees. I spent lots of time up in trees and I took my own geography and placed it over the geography of the book. , So that for me, the a hundred acre wood had lime trees and banyan trees and possibly mango trees. It didn't occur to me, until much later when I read an Enid Blyton reader. I had my moment of disillusionment with Enid Blyton and that's when it really occurred to me that there was an us and a them in, in some of the storytelling I was consuming.   [00:22:49] Miko Lee: What age was that where you recognized that?    [00:22:51] Uma Krishnaswami: My post-colonial moment?    [00:22:53] Miko Lee: Yes.    [00:22:54] Uma Krishnaswami: I might have been a 11.    [00:22:56] Miko Lee: Oh, wow. And were you still living in India at that time?    [00:22:59] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah, yeah. 11 was a very formative year for me. My grandfather passed away, so it sort of brought mortality , into the framework for me. Also that was my year of disillusionment with Blyton. 'cause I read The , river of Adventure. And the villain in it had my name. He was called. Uma, Raya or Raya Uma or something like that. And yeah, I was just shocked. Just totally shocked. It was pure coincidence, I'm sure. She probably just, pulled the name out of the air and plunked it in. But. I began to notice that he was described as dark skinned and he was described as cunning. All this language that had slid right past me before began to be apparent. So, yeah,    [00:23:47] Miko Lee: I love that. That is so amazing. This name, like what? That's my name as the villain.    [00:23:53] Uma Krishnaswami: I'm the Bad Guy. No, I'm not.    [00:23:56] Miko Lee: And all of your books are such a wonderful clap back to that because you have a multitude of characters and so many different worlds. Initially reached out to you because I started reading book Uncle this trilogy of books that are so lovely. Can you first share a little bit about what the Book Uncle's Trilogy is about.    [00:24:16] Uma Krishnaswami: Okay, so it didn't start out as a trilogy. It didn't even start out as a book. It started out as a short story and then it didn't quite fit. It wasn't a picture book. It seemed to have more layers than that, so it kind of grew. But what started Book Uncle and Me was I was visiting my parents in India. At the time, and I was on this very busy urban street and there was this kid sitting on this on the, on the sidewalk. Um, it was kind of a broken brick sidewalk, and she was sitting cross-legged right in the middle and she was reading book and she was just oblivious to the crowd going around her and the. Buses on the road and there were, you know, random goats and dogs running around and she just was ignoring everything and she was absorbed in her book. And I remembered that I had been that kind of reader as a child. There was an election going on at the time as well, and I thought, I wonder what would happen if I put those two things together. And that is how Book Uncle came to be.    [00:25:14] Miko Lee: And then there was just, you wanted to live in those characters more, so you ended up writing additional books?    [00:25:20] Uma Krishnaswami: Hmm and that's a very good question. And actually no, I didn't, I thought I was done. I wrote Book Uncle and Me back in, I'm say 2009, 2010, something like that. I probably started it in 2010. Um, it got published originally in India in 2012, I believe. And then it was picked up by Ground Wood in Canada and published in Canada and the US so North American edition in 2016. And I thought, you know, I'm done. I'm writing other things. And then come the pandemic and we're all in lockdown. And like a lot of writers, I was doing, um, many, many, virtual. Presentations and programs. Um, and I did something through the North Vancouver Public Library and, there were kids zooming in from, you know, some from home, some from their bubbles, some from classrooms, whatever. And we were talking about book uncle and one of the kids, I think in third grade maybe, she said, Are you gonna write a sequel? And I am just joshing, right? I am. I said, yeah, should I? And they're all going, yeah, you should. And you should write three because you've got three characters you should give them each a [story]. And I'm like, all right guys i'll think about it. I absolutely will but not really taking it seriously. And then as often happens. the session ended and, you know, there we were all in lockdown going nowhere. And I thought maybe, maybe there's something there. Maybe I could return to that. And in a way I was kind of intrigued because I hadn't, had never thought about a trilogy and I was interested in how that would play out. Um, and it was kind of a writing challenge to myself, but honestly, once I started writing Birds on the Brain, which was book two it just kind of, I hesitate to say wrote itself 'cause I, that just seems, you know, so kind of woo woo. But, um, it did, it did. Uh, the, the kid came in and she took over and then a bird flew onto the rooftop and there I was on my way. So that's the story of, of how that that happened. In retrospect, I'm really sorry I didn't ask that child's name because I would've absolutely loved to have acknowledged her in the book. But thank you child from North Vancouver, whoever you are.    [00:27:40] Miko Lee: That is so amazing. That's by request, by audience request. You fulfilled this goal of a trilogy and and I I love that they even said, not just a sequel, but a trilogy.    [00:27:52] Uma Krishnaswami: Oh, they were. Yeah. They had it. I mean, they had, then they, they figured it out, which was really lovely.    [00:27:58] Miko Lee: And those, that trilogy is really geared, as you were saying to the second and third grade audience and I So many of your books are written around kids that can make a difference. What is it about that age that appeals to you and that motivation to show them how they can change the world?    [00:28:16] Uma Krishnaswami: I think they have this really, strong sense of what's fair. It's the age at which, you know, you start pushing back against what you see as small unfairnesses in your life. Parental restrictions quite often, or older siblings. You're pushing back. You're doing a little bit of finding who you are. And I think that uh, you begin to get a sense of awareness of the big world outside your small circle. And I think also one of the things that drives me, with writing to this age is that, I feel that it is so unfair that grownups, the adult world, has created so much injustice. And we just kind of expect the next generation to step up and step into it and, and do the best they can. and it just, it doesn't seem right not to at least give them the wherewithal to think about that. And they do, they have children have voices and their voices matter. As we found out with, the climate strikes. I mean it really was young people who brought those messages out into the world and forced us to think about them and talk about them. So, I think that we owe children that.    [00:29:34] Miko Lee: So which of your books would you want to read to the second or third grade Uma?   [00:29:43] Uma Krishnaswami: [Laughs] Maybe Book Uncle and Me. Because I think there's a lot of second and third grade Uma in that book. I was a compulsive reader like Yasmin. I would've absolutely read a book every day for the rest of my life if I'd had that many books available to me. I didn't. So I read the ones I had over and over again. I lived in an imaginary world, quite a bit of the time.   [00:30:06] Miko Lee: Speaking of having access to lots of books, I'm wondering what your relationship was like to libraries, both as a child and then now.    [00:30:15] Uma Krishnaswami: I'm a proud and inveterate library goer. I put holds on things. I go browse on shelves. I download eBooks and audio books. I always have a pending list. I'm very, very grateful for libraries and also for librarians whom many of whom I have come to know over my life and am immensely grateful for. I did not have access to libraries much as a child. We didn't have a public library system that was free and available and open to everybody. There were the kind of unofficial lending library types that I feature in Book Uncle and Me. There are sadly fewer of them now, but you still find them on street corners in India. I remember taking a book and giving one and then getting one back in return. That was, that was part of my life in some of the places we lived.   [00:31:07] Miko Lee: Did you know an actual book uncle?   [00:31:10] Uma Krishnaswami: I didn't actually pay much attention, to the people who handed those books out. I was much more, focused on the books I was getting. There are characters who I've seen who have run these things. I once had somebody email me and say, I'm a book uncle. This is what I do. So that was really nice.    [00:31:31] Miko Lee: That's sweet. I wanna roll back and talk a little bit more about your artistic process. I'm wondering if you, as a writer, as illustrator, you can sometimes be in your own world, and I'm wondering what your process is.   [00:31:43] Uma Krishnaswami: My place is right here. This is my office room, and I'm standing at a treadmill desk, and usually what I will do, is when I'm writing, I will turn that on very, very slowly. I usually start out at the idea stage with a notebook and a pen. I have fountain pens with very varied colors of ink, and I use those always to write my initial notes and questions about a new story idea. I don't go to the computer and the keyboard until the idea has started showing up quite a few times. In, perhaps in a few iterations, almost as if I'm actually pushing it away at first, you know, saying, don't scratch up my window until you are developed a little bit more. I'm not going to, indulge, the initial shallowness that usually the first idea is often not what it's gonna end up being. I question that, and sometimes this is gonna sound really crazy, but, if I write those questions many times over in different colored inks, the answers begin to break out in clumps. Once I've begun to think, okay, well maybe I, I know what I could do with this. That's when I open up a file.    [00:32:56] Miko Lee: Ooh share a little bit more about the different colored inks. How does that work?    [00:33:00] Uma Krishnaswami: Um, right over there, there's a whole row of inks, and right over here is a fountain pen, and I have several of them. I change the ink colors, and when I get stuck with something, it really does help to write those questions to myself, in a journal notebook. I have a terrible handwriting, so I used to really worry about when people gave me nice notebooks. Little empty notebooks with beautiful glossy pages. I used to think, God, my writing is so awful. I feel like I'm desecrating this beautiful book. I've gotten over that and it's actually really helpful to physically write that thought for me is very, very useful.   [00:33:39] Miko Lee: And when you see the different colors, is it like words that stand out to you, that you piece together? Yeah.    [00:33:44] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or sometimes I'll write something, in a paragraph, and then I'll break it up and write it in a lineated way, maybe in a different color. You just start seeing things differently when you try different ways of thinking about the same thing. It's all a trick to get the kind of managerial editorial mind out of the way. You need her later, but I don't need her when I'm trying to shape something.    [00:34:13] Miko Lee: The, for the creative process. Mm-hmm. The multiple colors just helps    [00:34:16] Uma Krishnaswami: Right.    [00:34:16] Miko Lee: Pull you into that.    [00:34:17] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah. It just loosens, it loosens my mind up so I don't feel so focused on the objective. I often tell myself, I think Linda Sue Park used to say this. You don't have to write a whole novel. You just write a scene. And so that's what I tell myself, I'm a sceneist. I'm not a novelist. I'm just a sceneist. I write one scene. And that's all I need to write. Then I will write another one and so forth.    [00:34:38] Miko Lee: And do you use sticky notes or something to keep those scenes separately or    [00:34:42] Uma Krishnaswami: just all kinds of things? I use sticky notes. I use little boards on which I draw plot lines, and then I write, notes to myself. I use the journal notebooks. I've started using Scrivener and I actually have found that helpful but not until I've got something, in enough shape to plug things in.   [00:35:01] Miko Lee: Oh, I love hearing about artistic process. That's so fascinating. I appreciate you and you're showing your beautiful pen and everything. It's so great.    [00:35:08] Uma Krishnaswami: It's messy, right? One of the things I've learned is to lean into the messiness and not try to organize things too fast, too early.    [00:35:16] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm. Giving yourself the time for the creative juices to flow.    [00:35:20] Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah. Yeah.    [00:35:21] Miko Lee: So my last question is, what are you working on now?    [00:35:25] Uma Krishnaswami: I've actually just got done with edits on a picture book, which is going to be called Mango Sun. And then I'm working on another picture book. That's just gone to my agent. It's got to do with wildlife rescue and conservation in the Himalayas. It's an Indian setting, but a very different setting from Mango Sun.   [00:35:44] Miko Lee: And most of the ideas from your books are just coming from your imagination or something you read or where are you pulling from to get your inspiration?    [00:35:52] Uma Krishnaswami: Everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. I have a picture book that came out of a trip that we took to Galapagos and will it ever take form? I don't know, it's about the rewilding of an island , and how when you bring one species back, the other one follows. Some of it's from my childhood. I have two picture books that came out of a memory of planting a mango seed and watching it grow.   [00:36:21] Miko Lee: Sounds lovely. Two of my favorite things, mango and Sun [laughs], appreciate you joining us and sharing about your artistic process and your amazing book. And I'll put a link to your website in our show notes. And thank you so much for joining us and talking to us about Book Uncle and your work.    [00:36:37] Uma Krishnaswami: Miko, thank you so much. It's really a delight.    [00:36:41] Miko Lee: Welcome, Maggie Tokuda Hall to Apex Express.   [00:36:45] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Thank you so much for having me.   [00:36:47] Miko Lee: I'm so happy to have you talking about, your wonderful book, love in the Library. But first I wanna, ask you a question I ask my guest, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   [00:37:01] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Oh man. I feel like I have so many tribes that I identify with in different ways. , Gosh, who are my people? I mean, generally speaking, angry queer teenage girls very much my people. Tired Jewish aunties also my people. Exhausted Asian mothers also my people, [laughs] librarians and book people are my people. I, I, I don't know. I feel like I have so many people that I feel an affinity toward and an affection for, and kinship with.    [00:37:38] Miko Lee: I like you naming all of those because we're multifaceted people and there's many different things that make up who we are. Yeah. And what is the legacy that you carry with you from all these tribes you're a part of?   [00:37:50] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: From my mother, I carry a legacy of honoring the truth, like really believing that children are owed the truth and that part of being an adult is being courageous enough to tell it. but I also come from like a vibrant family of Jewish storytellers and I feel like I have that, that I carry with me as well.   [00:38:17] Miko Lee: Thank you. So you've written the book Love in the Library about Tamma, a woman who works at a library in the Minidoka concentration camp during World War ii.    [00:38:28] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Mm-hmm.    [00:38:28] Miko Lee: And she meets George and falls in love. Can you tell me about how you very first heard this true love story of your grandparents?   [00:38:40] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I can't actually, I don't remember the first time I heard this story. It is a story that I've just always known. like for me it's very much a fabric of how I came to understand the world and my place in it. Like sky is blue, grandma and grandpa met in a prison camp, you know, normal stuff. And so, um,    [00:39:00] Miko Lee: so it's just part of the family lore?   [00:39:03] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. Like, it's not something my mother was ever shy about telling us. And I truly do not remember the first time she talked to me about it because I remember being very small and already feeling like I knew that story.    [00:39:15] Miko Lee: Okay. Then how did you decide to turn it into a children's book?    [00:39:19] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah, so, in 2017 when President Trump took office for the first time, in his very first executive order was to sign the travel or Muslim ban where he was banning people from Muslim majority countries from coming to the United States. It was clear immediately that he was gonna be using his time and power to enact a white supremacist agenda. I knew I needed to do all the things that we're supposed to do. Like I called my representatives and I wrote my postcards and I marched and I did all those things. But I really did try to audit what I had to offer, particularly children in that moment. That was unique to me. And I realized I had this beautiful story in my own family, not just about the cruelty of those sorts of policies, but also the resilience and power of the people who they target.    [00:40:05] Miko Lee: Ooh. Fired up the, that truth teller part of you just became ready to go.    [00:40:11] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah.    [00:40:11] Miko Lee: Um, speaking of the impact of politics and what's going on and how that relates to books, I know that in April, 2023, Scholastic wanted to include love in the library in a collection around AANHPI folks, but they wanted to edit your amazingly fierce author's note. Can you share with our audience what happened?   [00:40:34] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, first of all, thank you for calling it amazingly fierce. In my author's note, I talk about how what happened to my grandparents wasn't an isolated moment in American history and that it was racist, which I think is a, a reflection of a very basic understanding of that history. It, it's not, a creative extrapolation and. Scholastic offered to license the book, but my licensing offer came with a caveat, which was that I had to remove that entire paragraph. Um, and I had to remove the word racism from the text altogether. And so I decided to say no and say no publicly. And for about three months, my full-time job was talking about Scholastic, but also about our obligation to tell children, American history, honestly.   [00:41:19] Miko Lee: And they wanted you to get word of the word racist. Did they say why?    [00:41:24] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes, they basically said, the language is too strong and we fear that some teachers won't bring it in for fear of this political climate, which is the nice way of saying like, we have to sell into places where book bans are happening and we think that this language is too incendiary for people who would ban books, which to me was always really, Unsatisfactory logic, because books about Japanese American incarceration are banned all the time and they don't use as strident of language as I use in that author's note. baseball saved us, gets banned. They called us, the enemy gets banned. This story is already considered dangerous by the people who would ban books, so they were trying to hold a center that just doesn't exist.   [00:42:04] Miko Lee: And so what did you end up doing?    [00:42:07] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I said no and said no publicly, just with like, sort of the hope of, sparking some intra community conversation among kid lit creators about what sort of edits are appropriate to offer people. I would, I still posit, that that's a completely inappropriate edit and that's about sanding down people of color's, history and perspective to cater to a white audience. And I was unwilling to do it. and Scholastic initially released like a very, incomplete apology. And then when they received a lot of pushback about that, they offered a much more full apology. They offered to meet with me and my publisher, the CEO of Scholastic and the head of their education divisions, which is the division that made me this offer. And then they also had me work with a restorative justice consultant, for like a year to try to figure out what they could do better. But what I said to them at the end of that time that I told them, I was extremely transparent that I would be talking about this publicly. So I don't feel bad saying exactly what I said to them here is, I think the exact same thing would've happened. It just would've happened more politely.    [00:43:17] Miko Lee: Wow.    [00:43:18] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I don't think that they actually reexamined what their role is as a publisher of Books for Children under Unconsolidated authoritarianism. They just figured out how to ask people to make racist edits more, more, uh, gently.    [00:43:33] Miko Lee: And you worked with them for one year with an RJ consultant.   [00:43:36] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, like, not every day, but we had, you know, meetings over the months. And she was a smart lady. Like I don't think that she, you know, did nothing. I think she was trying her best, but I think that, you know, big institutions are very slow to institute cultural change and that that on the one hand has to happen from the top down, but also can't happen from the top down.   [00:43:56] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.    [00:43:56] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: And so I genuinely believe that there CEO was trying his hardest to, to make a meaningful change, but without them really stopping and examining and questioning what their own role in this moment is in a critical way. I don't think that they are going to be able to have answered what I would've required for them to, for me to then accept their licensing offer. ‘Cause they made it again.    [00:44:25] Miko Lee: So at the end of the one year long, they made the licensing offer to you again?    [00:44:29] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. I think just to be kind, just as like a gesture of like, listen, we know we messed up. We'd love to license your book and I still said no because I don't think that they made meaningful enough change.   [00:44:40] Miko Lee: Hmm. Wow. I love this. What did you learn from this experience?    [00:44:47] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: That it is very unusual for people to blow the whistle within publishing, even when the examples are egregious.    [00:44:54] Miko Lee: Tell me about your connection with Authors Against Book Bans. Did that come out of this experience with Scholastic, or were you involved actively involved in this prior to that?    [00:45:05] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: No, it absolutely came as a result of my experience with Scholastic. Authors against Book Bans is an organization that I'm currently the president of. We're over 5,000 book creators across the country who are united under a single point of view, which is that the government shouldn't be allowed to tell us what to read. That's what we believe and that's what we fight for. And I got involved in founding the group along with specifically David Levithan, who's a really wonderful young adult and middle grade author, who had put together most of this group before I even came on board. Cause we realized that authors needed a central place to fight. There was no one organizing specifically us. And so Authors Against Book Bans was born out of necessity and, the dearth of a place that existed for us. Everyone would call on us to come speak, but it was extremely ad hoc. We weren't making any kind of unified movement, even though we all so passionately agree that, you know, book bans are anti-American and in violation of our First Amendment rights. And, you know, the freedom to read is a necessary freedom for a free and democratic society. and the reason I'd reached out to David initially was because I was hoping to put together something like Authors Against Book Bans, but just by myself, which is, maybe a testament more to my own personality [laughs] problems than anything else, but I was like, I'll just figure it out. And he was like, you know, I'm actually assembling a group that's trying to do this. Would you like to be a part of it? And that's how I came aboard. But I had gotten interested in it because as a result of the Scholastic fiasco, I was invited to give the keynote speech at the Idaho Library Association in 2023. I gave my little speech that I'd been giving a lot then, um, about how we have an obligation to tell American history honestly. And, people were like, the reaction was so emotional to it and so profound and like, I thought it was a good speech. I'm proud of the speech, but like it, something else was going on and I could feel it. And I started talking to the people who were there and when these librarians started telling me what they had gone through, just for making books like mine available to children, stalking, harassment, death threats. One of them had been followed home, like really frightening, scary things happening to them on like, in some cases a daily basis. I realized like I was gonna be a part of this fight. That was that. I wasn't gonna let them fight alone. And so, you know, in, in my advocacy work now, Idaho still holds like a very precious place in my heart because I think that it's a very forgotten state. When we think about places that need help, when we think about places that have been gerrymandered, when we think about places where there are so many good people who are disenfranchised and unable to affect meaningful change in their state level, governments. That have just been absolutely run roughshod over by Christian nationalists. We should be thinking about Idaho. They have, I think, like the highest neo-Nazi population in the United States. so it's a very direct line between my grandparents being incarcerated to the activism that I do now. And it wouldn't have happened without Scholastic's offensive offer.   [00:48:22] Miko Lee: I did not realize that librarians were personally being assaulted or attacked or followed. For books.    [00:48:29] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: You should watch, the librarian's documentary that's now streaming on PBS. Okay. Um, it's common across the country. Amanda Jones, who's an Authors Against Book Bans member no big deal, is a librarian in Louisiana that can't go grocery shopping in her own hometown anymore for fear for her own safety because she has taken a stand to like refuse to remove lgbtq plus books from her school library shelves. It's really dire. And I think people understand objectively that book bans are a problem in our country. I do not think that they understand how violent that this fight is. It's a really dark and hard time to be a librarian. So if you're a person who supports libraries, you should be thanking your librarians and letting them know one-on-one and in person face-to-face that you appreciate the work that they do, because there are people who are making their lives really difficult.    [00:49:25] Miko Lee: Can you talk about what the library meant to you as a child?   [00:49:30] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, honestly it was like a part-time babysitter. You're a kid, there's a library. Entertain yourself, you figure it out. I think the first time I really felt like a sense of belonging in the library was in middle school. We moved from LA to Northern California and I had to start a new school in seventh grade. I didn't really know anyone and it was embarrassing to not have people to eat lunch with and things like that. So I would eat lunch in the library. And the librarian was really kind about it. Like she never called attention to it. She never embarrassed me about it. She would let me sneakily eat in there, even though there was a very specific rule that you weren't allowed to eat in the library. she put, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles on an end cap once, and that's how I found them and ended up reading the entire series and that was really when I became a fantasy reader and you know, my debut novel was a fantasy novel. I still feel very much like a fantasy reader kind of at heart, and that started there. I mean, we never know when libraries are going to save a kid's life.    [00:50:39] Miko Lee: Can we go back to how you ended up writing this book about your grandparents' experience? Sure. And what was the first spark for you to say, I wanna turn this into something. It's a family lore, but I want more people to know about it.   [00:50:54] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I mean, the Trump administration thing,    [00:50:56] Miko Lee: it was truly that. You said it was    [00:50:57] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yeah. Trump was it    [00:50:58] Miko Lee: Trump got elected. People should know this happened.    [00:51:00] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes. What do you have to tell children in this moment If they're Muslim, they're scared, and if they're not, they need a way to understand what it means to feel afraid. Both of those things need to happen at the same time of like, you have to offer comfort to the children of the marginalized. You have to offer perspective to the children who have the privilege not to feel that fear. And so I have this story and what I love about this story is. I know that children are capable of holding the complexity of this story is both very romantic and very sweet, and also the circumstances it happened under were completely unfair. That's the kind of logic children are able to hold, and they should be given the opportunity to hold that kind of complexity because it'll serve them for the rest of their life because most of most situations we confront are complex.   [00:51:57] Miko Lee: And how were you able to eke out more details of that story? Did you do family interviews or was it more from your imagination?    [00:52:05] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: My mother is a journalist and she kept my grandmother's journals from the time she was in Minidoka. So some of it comes from my grandmother's journals. Some of it comes from working with my mother to make sure that it felt accurate, tonally and factually. ‘Cause she was not gonna let me publish a book that was nonsense. I always say it's Truman Capote true. ‘Cause the situation, the sensory details, all that stuff real, but the dialogue is made up. The dialogue is art. The dialogue is a way for children to understand how they might've been feeling. They never had succinct, quick conversations like this about their humanity and how they felt about each other. It was a long courting process, and so, you know. That part is made up for children,    [00:52:49] Miko Lee: but you, but you did include actual quotes from her journal too, right?    [00:52:53] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Yes. The book closes with her words, not mine.    [00:52:57] Miko Lee: Can you give us those final words?    [00:53:00] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: The miracle is in us as long as we believe in beauty, in change, in hope. Which are words she wrote while she was imprisoned in Minidoka.    [00:53:11] Miko Lee: And how does that resonate with you in the time of now?    [00:53:15] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: They are words that I desperately cling to in the hope that I can see them become manifest.    [00:53:23] Miko Lee: And what are you working on now?   [00:53:26] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Making Authors Against Book Bans as operational as possible.    [00:53:31] Miko Lee: And what does that look like?    [00:53:32] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: In late 2025, we became a nonprofit corporation. We have fiscal sponsorship under EveryLibrary, which is a really wonderful advocacy group that's a combination [501](c)3-(c)4, which means you can make tax deductible donations to them, but also they do overtly political work. And so now we can receive tax deductible, donations and continue to do the overtly political work that we do. We are an unapologetically political organization. We are more than happy to help get people elected who fight for the freedom to read, and we are delighted to show the door to people who would stand in our way of that freedom.   [00:54:09] Miko Lee: And how can people get more involved in your work?    [00:54:13] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: They could absolutely go to authorsagainstbookbans.com and make a donation. We need it [laughs]. We are one of the only organizations that receives donations that exists for the sole purpose of fighting book bans. Most every other group in our space have an angle that book bans affect them, and so they fight against them, but that's not their only purview. It is our only purview. So if it is something that you were interested in fighting, then you could make a donation to us. I would suggest signing up to be on the email list from EveryLibrary because they mobilize everybody, not just authors and book creators. And if you are a book creator, self-published, traditionally published, we don't care. Then you should sign up to be a member of Authors Against Book Bans and you'll get calls to action every Friday.   [00:55:07] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for sharing with us about your book and educating us about the work you're doing and appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for joining us.    [00:55:16] Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Thank you for having me.   [00:55:28] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night..    The post APEX Express – 4.9.26 – Library Joy appeared first on KPFA.

John Chrastka joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career and founding the EveryLibrary PAC, where they work to support public libraries and help fight against book bans.

Send us a textFrom AfroBets to We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices to a brand-new picture book that sings with history, legendary author and publisher Cheryl Willis Hudson has helped shape what children can see (and become) through books. If you care about diverse children's books, freedom to read, and the cultural power of music, this episode is for you.Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor welcomes Cheryl Willis Hudson, co-founder of the groundbreaking children's publishing house Just Us Books. Cheryl shares why she and husband Wade Hudson created Just Us Books, and what it's meant to write and publish stories that serve as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for children.Cheryl reflects on growing up in the Jim Crow South and how the lack of accurate representation in children's literature shaped her mission to publish books that affirm Black childhood, celebrate multicultural experiences, and expand the canon of children's books. The conversation also addresses book bans and censorship, including how books are challenged by small groups who often haven't read the full text -- and why that's an urgent threat to freedom of expression and access to stories.In a moving highlight, Cheryl introduces her “dream book,” When I Hear Spirituals, and shares how spirituals carry history, resilience, and joy while shaping American music itself. She even sings a portion of “Over My Head,” offering listeners a moment that feels like story, song, and legacy braided together.Chapters:01:00 Cheryl Willis Hudson + Just Us Books origin story08:08 Growing up in Jim Crow South + why representation matters13:49 Book challenges, lists, and censorship ripple effects20:01 Reading from We Rise, We Resist…30:13 When I Hear Spirituals + history of spirituals

Send us a textA book some adults tried to keep off shelves helped a seventh grader make sense of grief, addiction, and forgiveness and shaped the storyteller she became. This episode is a powerful reminder that books can be lifelines and freedom to read matters.In Episode 169 of Adventures in Learning, Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor welcomes Dynahlee Star Padilla-Vasquez for a timely conversation about banned books, empathy, and the transformative power of reading.Dynahlee shares an excerpt from her essay, “Thanks to a Banned Book, I Forgave My Drug Addicted Grandpa and Escaped His Path,” and reflects on how Ellen Hopkins' Crank, a frequently challenged book, helped her understand addiction, humanize a family story, and ultimately choose a path in journalism and storytelling.Together, Dr Diane and Dynahlee unpack why adults fear difficult topics in books, how communication (not censorship) supports kids, and how book challenges often come from organized efforts that pull lines out of context. They close with a hopeful look toward the new year, grounded in the belief that one book can change a life.⏱️ Chapters02:06 Reading from “Thanks to a Banned Book…”07:41 Crank as a transformative tale12:10 What makes a powerful story14:10 Fear, censorship & book challenges19:44 Research, PEN America, EveryLibrary, data, and banning trends26:35 Books vs. the online “wild west”28:23 What brings hope into the new year

The following interview is part of the 2025 Charleston Conference Leadership Interview Series. In this series, we sit down with leaders and innovators who are making a real difference in scholarly publishing, libraries, and the broader information world. Each conversation is a chance to hear firsthand how these decision makers tackle new challenges, rethink traditional models, and collaborate across sectors. Today's episode features the next conversation from the 2025 Charleston Conference Leadership Interview Series.  Meg White, Senior Consultant, Delta Think, and a Conference Director, who talks with Kathleen McEvoy, Senior Policy Fellow, EveryLibrary Institute. Kathleen is a senior communication executive with expertise in public relations, crisis communications, and public affairs. In this conversation, Kathleen talks with Meg about her professional journey from broadcast journalism to public relations to now her work with EveryLibrary. Kathleen also describes the dual role of EveryLibrary with their work to help libraries build local, state and national support as well as secure funding, and EveryLibrary Institute, which is public education on the role and value of libraries in American society. In the past 13 years, EveryLibrary has insured $2 billion in library funding through their efforts. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/pW2f5w45HY0 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megmorelandwhite/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenmcevoy/ Twitter: Keywords: #CharlestonConference #AgainstTheGrain #AnnualReviews #LeadershipInLibraries #InnovationInLibraries #TeamWork #Team #ConferenceEvolution #LibraryCommunity #Librarianship #ProfessionalDevelopment #LibrarianJourney #LibraryEducation #InformationAccess #LibraryCommunity #libraries #librarians #libraryCareer #librarySchool #LibraryLove #academic #AcademicPublishing #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication  #learning #learnon #information #leaders #leadership #2024ChsConf ##career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts  

In this special episode of the Historical Romance Sampler, we return to the topic of book bans with guest Anne Knight. Anne gives an overview of library defunding happening in her home state of Arkansas and opens up about growing up in a Christian fundamentalist community that censored her reading. Plus, we talk about ways for average people (like you, listeners of this podcast!) to get involved in defending libraries and fighting book bans. 00:44 Meet Anne Knight: Author and Advocate 02:00 Defining Book Bans and Library Defunding 07:23 Anne's Personal Experience with Censorship 15:31 Impact of Censorship on Education and Personal Growth 23:38 Fighting Back Against Book Bans 29:13 Conclusion and Call to Action Learn more about fighting book bans at: Authors Against Book Bans (https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com/) EveryLibrary.org (https://www.everylibrary.org/) American Library Association (https://www.ala.org/advocacy/show-up-for-our-libraries)    Learn more about Anne Knight at https://www.anneknightbooks.com/   HRS is an affiliate of Libro.fm! Sign up for a new monthly membership and get three audiobooks for the price of one with code HISTORICAL! (As an affiliate, HRS may earn a portion of your purchase, for which we thank you!) Check out the official HRS playlist at: https://tidd.ly/4hgCquh      Find out more about your host Katherine Grant: Instagram (@katherine_grant_romance) TikTok (@katherinegrantromance) Facebook (@Katherinegrantromanceauthor)  Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19872840.Katherine_Grant) Bookbub (https://www.bookbub.com/authors/katherine-grant)   Follow HRS on social media! TikTok (@historicalromancesampler)  Instagram (@historicalromancesampler)

Welcome to 'AI Lawyer Talking Tech,' your weekly deep dive into the rapidly evolving intersection of artificial intelligence and the legal profession. From courtrooms to contract suites, AI is fundamentally transforming how legal work is performed, offering unprecedented efficiencies and strategic advantages for those who embrace it. Yet, this digital revolution also presents a complex landscape of ethical considerations, data privacy concerns, and regulatory challenges that demand our careful attention. Today, we'll explore how legal professionals and institutions are adapting, leveraging cutting-edge tools, and reshaping the future of law in an increasingly automated world.Can you trust AI to keep your secrets? Probably not, lawyers say2025-08-31 | AOL.comContracts Aren't Scary Anymore: How AI Spots Hidden Risks For Growing Businesses2025-08-31 | Forbes.comElon Musk's xAI Sues Former Engineer Over Trade Secrets Theft2025-08-30 | InvestorsHangout.comBench IQ: $5.3 Million Raised To Expand AI-Based Judicial Intelligence Platform2025-08-30 | Pulse 2.0Legal Tech & AI Companies at CAALA Las Vegas 20252025-08-30 | Legaltech on MediumLegal Teams Could Cut Contract Time and Improve Efficiency by 73% with AI, But Most Stick with Manual Processes2025-08-29 | Legal ReaderAI in the Workplace: Navigating the Legal Minefield in the Digital Gold Rush2025-08-29 | JD SupraSpeaking Human: Lessons in Inspired Legal Tech Marketing from ILTACON 20252025-08-29 | JD SupraHarvey Begins Law School Program To Get Students Hooked2025-08-29 | Above The LawLegal tech latest: News from Harvey, Legora & Bench IQ2025-08-29 | Legal Technology InsiderAttorney General Miyares Puts Big Tech on Notice for Harms Caused by Chatbots2025-08-29 | Attorney General of VirginiaHow a U.S. patent attorney's journey offers key lessons for London innovators2025-08-29 | London Daily News20 Years Ago: When Katrina Struck, the Legal Tech Community Stepped Up2025-08-29 | LawSitesLaw Schools Embrace AI2025-08-29 | Inside Higher EdBrighton law firm harnesses tech in £14.75m battle with Metro Bank A Brighton law firm representing a US software company in a £14.75m claim against Metro Bank says t...2025-08-29 | BusinessCloud.co.ukReflections from ILTACON 2025: A visionary future for legal innovation2025-08-29 | IManage.comLegal AI For Crime, ACAS, Law Punx Ep.1, Juro + Wordsmith2025-08-29 | Artificial LawyerExploring Courtroom Sidekicks LLC on All Access with Andy Garcia2025-08-29 | InvestorsHangout.comHelix Law uses AI to take on Metro Bank in $20m copyright case2025-08-29 | Business Matters MagazineThe Zero-Click Search Era: How to Stay Visible and Build Trust2025-08-29 | Legal Marketing & Technology BlogLibrary Association Federal Government Relations Positions in Difficult Times: SLA, ASIST, ALA, AALL, MLA, EveryLibrary . . .2025-08-29 | Stephen's LighthouseCan AI Save Lawyer Directories like FindLaw and Lawyers.com?2025-08-29 | Legaltech on MediumEuropean Court of Justice Ruling on Works Agreements: Reinforcing GDPR Compliance in the Workplace2025-08-29 | Ogletree DeakinsLawmakers Tee Up Colorado AI Act for Scaling Back in Upcoming Legislative Session2025-08-29 | LittlerSome Congressional Dissent to Trump Administration's AI Chip Sales to China; FTC Cracks Down on AI Marketing Claims — AI: The Washington Report2025-08-29 | Mintz LevinEnd of Grace Period: Implementation of Brazil's Standard Contractual Clauses in International Transfers of Personal Data2025-08-29 | Mayer BrownHealthcare Regulatory Check-Up Newsletter | July 2025 Recap2025-08-29 | McDermott Will and EmeryArtificial Intelligence and law: Guide for legal professionals2025-08-28 | Legal.ThomsonReuters.comInvestigation into Data Breach Impacts Healthcare Customers2025-08-28 | InvestorsHangout.comTransUnion's Data Breach: Protecting Your Personal Information2025-08-28 | InvestorsHangout.com

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/07/max-in-land-of-lies.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/4wQEsnmUalkzvYUesd-o7pDjudQ?utm_source=copy_url Last July, Adam Gidwitz was on the podcast talking about his middle grade Holocaust historical fantasy novel, Max in the House of Spies, and he told us it was part of a duology. Well, now the second book is out, and I think it's even more powerful than the first one. Max in the Land of Lies continues Max's page-turning, hair raising adventures... AND continues the profound exploration of prejudice that we found in Book 1. Adam offers the best explanation I've ever encountered for how the Holocaust could happen. The parallels with today's world are frightening, AND illuminating. To put it simply, this is a book that I think *everyone* needs to read right now.  LEARN MORE: Buy or borrow Max in the House of Spies (Book 1) Buy or borrow Max in the Land of Lies (Book 2) Adam Gidwitz's website Tikkun Olam suggestions: EveryLibrary.org and SGCCAmerica.com "Espionage! Secrets! Suspense!" Holocaust Books with Adam Gidwitz & Steve Sheinkin” on The Book of Life, July 2024 Bonus content for this episode on Substack CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

In this episode of the Around Town podcast, Mayor @ColaMayor Daniel Rickenmann sits down with University of South Carolina seniors Alex Blumenthal and Sophia Mercurio to talk about their experience in USC's public relations program and their national campaign for EveryLibrary. From pitching events and managing media to advocating for libraries across South Carolina, Alex and Sophia share how hands-on learning is shaping their futures—and strengthening the Columbia community.

Episode 257 / Catharine Bramkamp is a writing coach, workshop facilitator, poet, traveler, and has authored 27 fiction, non-fiction and poetry books. She joins us to share about creativity, finding joy in the process of writing, and common mistakes she sees as a writing coach. 

In this episode, we speak with John Chrastka, the founder and Executive Director of EveryLibrary. He explains the recent increase in the number of book challenges and bans in America. We explore the rational and motivations behind book bans, and discuss various ways to protect libraries and intellectual thought for future generations. EveryLibrary helps public schools and college libraries win funding at the ballot box and seeks to ensure stable funding and access to libraries for generations to come. They also support grassroot efforts across the country to defend and support local libraries against book banning, illicit political interference, and threats of closure. Please visit their website (https://www.everylibrary.org/) to learn more.

Hello Libration Nation! So this week I am announcing that I am taking a tiny two week break from the podcast BECAUSE I am working with my friends at EveryLibrary to host some author interviews over the next two weeks. EveryLibrary is the only political action committee for libraries, and I'm thrilled to be partnering with them and doing my favorite thing, promoting storytelling and libraries!Here is the interview schedule: June 13, 2024 at 2pm Mary Jane Wells, authorJune 13, 20247 pm Alexis Landau, author, with Cassandra Campbell narratorJune 18 7 pm Alison Larkin, authorJune 20 7 pm Jason June, author More info and links to tune in can be found on EveryLibrary's WebsiteThe regularly scheduled podcast will be back in 2 weeks on Tuesday June 25. I'm really excited for the interviews I've already recorded and can't wait to get them out to you then. Included here is my very first episode that I did with my husband, Bill, on the book Hyperion. So if you haven't gotten around to that episode, here it is. As I've said before since this was my very first recording the audio isn't the best, however the jokes are solid gold. Enjoy!

John Chrastka is the executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization focused on the future of library funding. In this episode we'll discuss book bans and censorship, free speech and the First Amendment, political action for change, and how indie authors and book lovers can support the libraries that enrich their communities.//Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//  Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor worldwide. We'll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way—and we won't charge you a dime.  We take a small percentage of the royalties for each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money. That's the best kind of business plan.  • Get started now: https://draft2digital.com/• Learn the ins, the outs, and the all-arounds of indie publishing from the industry experts on the D2D Blog: https://Draft2Digital.com/blog  • Promote your books with our Universal Book Links from Books2Read: https://books2read.com  Make sure you bookmark https://D2DLive.com for links to live events, and to catch back episodes of the Self Publishing Insiders Podcast.

Mark interviews John Chrastka, the executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization focused on the future of library funding.  Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update, reads comments from recent episodes, and says a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores. You can get the book online, order it through your local bookstore, or ask for it as your local library. Universal Book Link Smashwords Link (Coupon Discount for Feb/March 2024) In the interview, Mark and John talk about: John starting off his career in publishing as a bookseller in a small neighborhood Chicago community bookstore, and how that led to becoming a publishing sales rep Migrating over to the Ed-Tech realm as the internet came around Moving on over to The American Library Association from there What EveryLibrary is: a 501(c)(4) organization that is a political action committee for libraries How it's more of a network than a membership that is about 330,000 people strong Telling stories about how libraries are solutions to problems for people and librarians as enactors of those solutions In about 37 states, public libraries actually have to go to election days to get their funding secured The four different ways that voters stratify: Believers - People who love the library and have a relationship with their library (25%) Questioners Suspicious Voters Never Gonna Vote for you Never (22 to 25%) The answer for people who question the value of a local library because they "don't do books" How the library as a source for reading grew from 19% to 24% during the pandemic and the way that percentage is continue to hold in 2024 The way that the isolating of society is not just a library issue but a public health issue The popularity of book banning in the United States in recent years and the fact that it's easier to censor a book than it is to attack a person or a population How this censorship and book banning isn't merely a matter of freedom of speech issue, but a matter of human rights The pernicious nature of using the term "obscenity" and "obscene" to criminalize particular pupulations and to help skirt around First Amendment rights How libraries are an affordable way to put tax dollars to good use in the way they provide so much to their local communities The multiple pathways they have to help people move from "aware" to "active" And more . . . After the interview Mark reflects on how books are being banned and censored as an underhanded way to strike at specific demographics and populations, and the value in focusing on the "Suspicious Voters" as a brilliant strategy. Links of Interest: EveryLibrary fightforthefirst.org Canadian Federation of Library Associations Canadian Library Association Ontario Library Association Canadian Urban Libraries Council Superstars Writing Seminars Author, Author (Indie Bookseller - Laura Hayden) EP 167 - Author, Author, Give Me The News: Bookseller Insights with Laura Hayden Fantasy Island (TV Show) An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries Smashwords Link (eBook 57% Off until end of Feb 2024) Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds Superstars Writing Seminars How to Write a Howling Good Story Smashwords link Patron Coupon for 75% off The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   John Chrastka is the executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization focused on the future of library funding. Since 2012, EveryLibrary has helped 133 library communities with ballot measures for funding, operations and buildings, winning over 80% and securing over $2.8 billion in funding on Election Days. Through its digital platforms, EveryLibrary provides advocacy support to state library associations for legislative issues and direct actions in support of school library program budgets. The EveryLibrary Institute supports the library funding ecosystem through its research, training, publishing, and programmatic agendas. Mr. Chrastka is the co-author of Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding and Before the Ballot: Building Political Support for Library Funding with Patrick “PC” Sweeney (ALA / Neal Schuman). He has contributed chapters to Planning our future libraries: Blueprints for 2025 (2014), and Re-envisioning the MLS: Perspectives on the Future of Library and Information Science Education (2018). In 2015, he delivered the McKusker Memorial Lecture, “The Accidental Candidate: Updating Voter Nostalgia about Librarians and Libraries on the Campaign Trail” for Dominican University and has written for numerous trade publications and journals, including Library Journal and Library Quarterly. In 2018 he delivered the keynote “Advocacy and Activism” for CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, in Brighton, England, and in 2020 he was invited by EKZ Group in Hamburg, Germany to present a colloquy on advocacy for their members and the profession. He is a frequent keynoter and speaker at state and national library conferences in the United States and abroad, is a sought-after trainer for state libraries, and is a regular guest lecturer for MLS / MLIS programs where he speaks on the topic of "political literacy". Prior to his work on EveryLibrary, Mr. Chrastka was a partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. He was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA), was a principal in the education technology start-up ClassMap, and was the founder of the virtual publishers' sales rep group ReviewCopy, which focused on textbook adoption in the higher education market. In 2014 he was named a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal for his work with EveryLibrary. He was recognized by the Chicago Tribune in 2022 as a Chicagoan of the Year and by Publishers Weekly in 2023 as a Notable for his work opposing book bans and censorship.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Library workers often risk their livelihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight for intellectual freedom. We tell the story of how one Louisiana parish came together to defend their library amidst book challenges, tip lines, and even sign burning. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: Find the people in your community who care about public libraries and get together with them. More resources: EveryLibrary Institute is an organization that seeks to build voter support for libraries. Learn more about their support of St. Tammany Library Alliance here.  Book Riot and EveryLibrary teamed up to survey parents about their perceptions of public libraries and book bans. Read the full results of the survey here. Read Emily Drabinski's essay about St. Tammany Library and a report in the Louisiana Illuminator about the chaotic regularity of book challenges in the parish.  Most people oppose book bans, according to surveys from the American Library Association and CBS. Check out this list of challenged and banned children's books.

The concept of academic libraries has evolved from humble beginnings five thousand years ago to the expansive network that exists today in public schools, colleges, and universities across the United States. It's easy to see why libraries are worth supporting. They continue to facilitate academic excellence, embrace advancements in technology and foster community and collaboration. Still, looking ahead, academic libraries face several significant challenges, including – perhaps most importantly – the significant cost for their support.     Championing the cause of libraries is the mission of our latest guest on the “Ideas to Innovation Season 3” podcast from Clarivate. John Chrastka serves as executive director of EveryLibrary, a non-profit group that builds voter support for academic libraries and helps them secure funding as well. To advance this mission, Clarivate recently announced a partnership with EveryLibrary that leverages the strengths of the two organizations through dedicated resources and advocacy. John is long-time library trustee, supporter and advocate for academic libraries. Prior to his current role, he served as former partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago, Illinois-based consultancy focused on support associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. 

“This is going to require a new kind of advocacy work,” says PW's Andrew Albanese.

Joan's guests today are: - Peter Fallon, author of "Propaganda 2.1: Understanding Propaganda in the Digital Age" and professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago - John Chrastka, Executive Director at EveryLibrary on book bans - Carolyn Shapiro, professor of law and co-director of Chicago-Kent College of Law's Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States - Chris Bury, DePaul University senior journalist in residence

Martha Hickson shares the resources and strategies by which she overcame censorship attempts and defended her collection. I would like to thank composer Nazar Rybak at Hooksounds.com for the music you've heard today.   Capstone *use UNITED for $20 off $100 or more on print and ebooks Angie Kalthoff at Capstone: akalthoff@capstonepub.com Editable PD Certificate FAQ's and ISO (In search of…) Online Doctoral Programs SLU Playlists APA format for citing a podcast/podcast app April 2022 Some NJ School Librarians Under Seige August 2022 NJ SL Receives National Award Sept 2022 SLJ Librarian Helps Develop Website October 2022 Librarian teams up with tech developer iorad Introduces Demo Defense to Fight Censorship Wakelet: How to report censorship ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom Sept 2022 Libro.fm Podcast - Banned Books: A Conversation Martha's Challenge Toolkit The Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians North Hunterdon-Voorhees selection  policy & regulation North  Hunterdon-Voorhees reconsideration policy & regulation Proposal for a revised reconsideration form Op-Ed: “Let's keep ignorance and intolelrance off our school boards” EveryLibrary.org

Dr. Walton is reading: Spenser series by Robert B. Parker Download the podcast transcript. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on CADL CAST does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. "We are teetering on the precipice of the armageddon of library funding, and nobody is talking about it." - Patrick "PC" Sweeney of EveryLibrary. Listen to this podcast to learn how this nonprofit is supporting libraries across the country.

Grace and Alvina discuss the Uvalde mass shooting and talk about how to process loss, the history of gun culture, and how to work towards preventing future mass shootings. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.

Steve chats with researcher and writer Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson, and John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, about Dr. Magnusson’s Book Censorship Database and why EveryLibrary Institute wanted to support and promote it, the integrity of the book challenge process and how it’s often hijacked and corrupted, and why Steve and John will never get email … Continue reading 220: Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson

Patrick Sweeney, Political Director for EveryLibrary, discusses his library advocacy work. He has some great ideas for librarians to advocate for their libraries.

Mainstream Interviews with business leaders are generally puff pieces designed to amplify the subject's success or advertise the company's product. How boring! We went a different route with Tomorrow's Jobs Today. We drilled down to discover exactly what made dozens of accomplished and forward-thinking industry leaders and innovators brave enough to harness the very technology that was disrupting their own field- and possibly eliminating their very own job. One of them was Patrick “PC” Sweeney of EveryLibrary, a public affairs group. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://rafaelmoscatel.com/public-affairs-your-new-neighborhood-library/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tomorrowsjobs/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tomorrowsjobs/support

We talk with Patrick Sweeney to learn more about EveryLibrary and what they are doing to help build support for libraries in the United States. We share a multitude of Couch Biblio Adventures including the Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival, National Book Awards Ceremony, and the Texas Book Festival. And we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we both read Emma Donoghue's newest book, The Pull of the Stars.

We talked IMLS data, EveryLibrary, Flies, distractions and that we are too damn old.

Steve chats with John Chrastka, President of the Board of Directors of EveryLibrary Institute and Executive Director at EveryLibrary, about the Help A Library worker Out (HALO) Fund, which helps librarians, library staff, and library workers who need help with housing expenses, child care, groceries, or other expenses during this crisis. Click here to donate … Continue reading 179: HALO Fund

Tune in to the last UCPN Special of 2019 as host Al Mega chats with John Chrastka (Exec. Director) & Mike Parchinsky (Developmental Dir.) of EveryLibrary! Listen in to learn all about this wonderful campaign that we should ALL be supporting today, tomorrow and beyond!  Visit their website to learn more at http://everylibrary.org Follow EveryLibrary at:● EveryLibrary Facebook: http://facebook.com/everylibrary ● EveryLibrary Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_everylibrary_ ● EveryLibrary Twitter: http://twitter.com/everylibrary ● EveryLibrary, is an organization dedicated to building voter support for libraries and advocating in support of public funding for libraries.● EveryLibrary recently kicked-off its Libraries 2020 campaign, a first of its kind nationwide voter engagement campaign for libraries.● EveryLibrary supports libraries by:o Assisting in both the planning and campaign stages of an initiative.o Providing strategic consulting services, voter segmentation advice, and assistance in developing ballot language.o Conducting feasibility studies and assist in setting up a local committee.o Providing free tools, data, and digital support to the ballot committee.o Developing a fundraising strategy for local committees.o Training volunteers in voter education and get-out-the-vote techniques. ● Donations support direct contributions to local library campaigns and enables EveryLibrary to provide services to libraries at no cost. Money from donors is used to provide national voter education about the importance and impact of libraries. For every $1 spent on a political campaign for a library, $1600 is returned to the library industry.● Donors can make a one-time donation or pledge a monthly amount of their choice● EveryLibrary also sells merchandise online that can be purchased online in support of the Libraries 2020 campaign at: http://www.libraries2020.org/shop Thanks for listening! Al Mega: @TheRealAlMega  Network: @UndercoverCapes / https://www.facebook.com/undercovercapes1/Parent Site: https://www.comiccrusaders.com/Sister Sites: http://www.geekerymagazine.com/ / http://www.splinteredpress.com/

Nancy Pearl—she’s been called “one of the 10 coolest librarians alive.” She’s the bestselling author of “Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason,” and a regular commentator about books on NPR’s Morning Edition. She’s the creator of the much loved and imitated If All Seattle Read The Same Book project, encouraging everyone in the city to read the same book at the same time. And then, of course, there’s the Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure with amazing push-button shushing action. A brilliant and entertaining storyteller, Nancy reveals how she became the “five-inch tall, plastic, non biodegradable librarian action figure with amazing push button shushing action.” She talks about her childhood library in Detroit—how it changed her life and provided refuge from her dysfunctional family. She gives tips on how to select books for people, and explains her Rule of 50 about when to give up on reading a book. She also talks about how “our leaders should be readers.” Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Nancy earned her master’s in library science at the University of Michigan and became a children’s librarian at her hometown library. She moved to Oklahoma with her husband, professor Joe Pearl, and raised two daughters while earning a masters degree in history. In Tulsa she worked in an independent book store and the Tulsa City-County Library System. In 1993 she was recruited to join the Seattle Library where she later became executive director of the the library system’s Washington Center for the Book. In addition to Book Lust, Nancy is the author of several other books including: Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction 1978–1998 (and Now Read This II 1990-2001); Book Crush: For Kids and Teens; Book Lust To Go, Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers; and her novel, George and Lizzie. Among her many awards, including the Library Journal’s 2011 Librarian of the Year Award, Nancy Pearl is the recipient of the coveted Kitchen Sisters’ Keeper of the Day Award (and trophy) presented at the American Library Association’s Conference in January 2019, at a special party sponsored by EveryLibrary, the national political action committee dedicated to the future of libraries, and bibliotheca, which connects libraries and their communities in new and effective ways. Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure is part of The Kitchen Sisters’ series, The Keepers, about activist archivists, rogue librarians, historians, collectors, curators —keepers of the truth and the free flow of information. Heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, on The Kitchen Sisters Present podcast, and at kitchensisters.org. The Kitchen Sisters Present is part of PRX’s Radiotopia, a collective of some of the best podcasts and audio storytellers on earth.

In this special mini-episode of LwL recorded at #CilipConf19 I chat to Patrick Sweeney from EveryLibrary about their work, their latest initiatives, and what they're doing at the conference.

Steve chats with John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, about their One Million Americans for Libraries project and more. John Chrastka is founder and executive director of EveryLibrary, the first Super PAC for libraries. Since 2012, EveryLibrary has provided pro-bono support to 63 library communities with ballot measures and tax referendum, helping win well over … Continue reading 118: John Chrastka

Peter Bromberg is the Director of the Salt Lake City Public Library System. His office resides in a stunning downtown location, with soaring views and spaces that inspire entry into a world of knowledge and exploration. Peter was encouraged by library leaders before him to participate in the 1998 Snowbird Library Leadership Institute in Utah, where he developed a great admiration for the Salt Lake City Public Library as the founding institution. When he was selected to take over the helm, he held deep appreciation for the institutional history of the Salt Lake Library. He leads in a way that gives people influence and the ability to change the world in which they operate. In 2017, Peter eliminated all library fines, based on the core values of the library profession for equitable access. This elimination of barriers-to-service increased the number of borrowers, card registrations, and checkouts – and earned positive feedback from both the staff and public. As an EveryLibrary (http://everylibrary.org/) leader since 2012, he’s been helping libraries across the nation ensure stable funding through campaigns to win bonding and tax referendum. For Peter, strategic planning is really road-mapping that is responsive to rapid change; it takes people out of organizational boxes and puts them into something more like clouds with borders that overlap. He encourages staff to fulfill the needs of ‘customer journeys’ in which a request for a résumé book may be understood as the human desire for security and stability. He gets out of bed every day with an intention to enrich the lives of people and to bring out the potential of all human beings to learn, grow, and create a better world. Find yourself enriched by listening to Peter’s inspiring vision!

This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss Shot-Blue, Double Bind, If We Were Villains, and more books. This episode was sponsored by ThirdLove, Perfect, and His Alone. Find a list of the titles discussed on this episode in the shownotes. Subscribe to Book Riot Insiders here. And support EveryLibrary.org by purchasing our 100th episode shirt - available through April 17th!

This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss American War, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, Marlena, and more books. This episode was sponsored by Lola and Things I Should Have Known. Find a list of the titles discussed on this episode in the shownotes. And support EveryLibrary.org by purchasing our 100th episode shirt - available through April 17th!

This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, Beyond Infinity, and more books, as well as answer listener questions. This episode was sponsored by An Extraordinary Union and My Darling Detective. Find a list of the titles discussed on this episode in the shownotes. And support EveryLibrary.org by purchasing our 100th episode shirt - available through April 17th!

We are happy to announce the third of our monthly podcast series titled The Library is Open! It features an interview with John Chrastka, Executive Director and Patrick Sweeney, Political Director of EveryLibrary. Your hosts Nate Curulla and Jessica Zairo discuss the current political climate affecting libraries in 2017, advocating for libraries and “get out and vote” techniques with John and Patrick. EveryLibrary is the first and only national organization dedicated to building voter support for libraries. Learn more about about what they do and how they support libraries at Action. Enjoy!

Amanda and Jenn recommend light-hearted love stories, graphic novels for kids, books about food and more on this week's episode of Get Booked! This episode is sponsored by To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey and EveryLibrary.

Ellis Jones is the editor-in-chief of VICE Magazine. “I’m just not an edgy person. You know what I mean? I think I am a nice person. I think VICE Magazine reflects the qualities that I want to have or think that I have or that my team has. The magazine would be terrible if I tried to make edgy content ... people would just see right through it. It wouldn’t be good. Thanks to MailChimp and EveryLibrary for sponsoring this week's episode. @ellisjones [00:15] "RNC 2016" (Justin Peters • Atavist Magazine • Jul 2016) [6:45] Balls Deep (VICELAND • 2016) [15:15] Motherboard [17:45] "Inside the Unregulated Chinese Hospitals That Make Men Impotent" (R.W. McMorrow • VICE Magazine • May 2016) [21:00] VICE (HBO • 2016) [21:00] VICE News [21:15] Dos & Don’ts Archive at VICE [22:00] "Is Vice Getting Nice?" (Carrie Battan • New York • Apr 2015) [25:45] The Prison Issue (VICE Magazine • 2015) [26:15] "How the Killing of a Trans Filipina Woman Ignited an International Incident" (Meredith Talusan • VICE Magazine • Feb 2015)

David Remnick is the editor of The New Yorker. “I think it’s important — not just for me, but for the readers — that this thing exists at the highest possible level in 2016, in 2017, and on. That there’s a continuity to it. I know, because I’m not entirely stupid, that these institutions, no matter how good they are, all institutions are innately fragile. Innately fragile.” Thanks to MailChimp, Audible, EveryLibrary, and Igloo for sponsoring this week's episode. Remnick on Longform [2:00] This week's New Yorker cover [5:45] "Cover Story: Bert and Ernie’s ‘Moment of Joy’" (Françoise Mouly, Mina Kaneko • New Yorker • Jun 2013) [9:00] "David Remnick Looks Back on Tough Decisions as ‘The New Yorker’ Turns 90" (Fresh Air • Feb 2015) [11:15] "Going the Distance" (New Yorker • Jan 2014) [15:00] The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama (Vintage Books • 2010) [15:15] "Soul Survivor" (New Yorker • Apr 2016) [17:15] The New Yorker Radio Hour [25:00] "Sending Smoke Signals to Our Former Editor in Chief" (Justin Cook • The Smoke Signal • Apr 2015) [27:45] I Married a Communist: American Trilogy (Philip Roth • Houghton Mifflin Company • 1994) [29:45] Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire (Vintage Books • 1994) [30:00] "The Struggle for Memory" (John Lloyd • The New York Times • May 1993) [43:15] "Beyond the Soviet Abyss" (Washington Post • Mar 1991) [48:30] "Journey to Jihad" (Ben Taub • New Yorker • Jun 2015) [50:00] Wesley Morris on the Longform Podcast [51:45] King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero (Vintage Books • 1998) [53:15] The 40s: The Story of a Decade (New Yorker, Henry Finder • Random House • 2014) [53:15] The 50s: The Story of a Decade (New Yorker, Henry Finder • Random House • 2015) [53:15] The 60s: The Story of a Decade (New Yorker, Henry Finder • Random House • 2016) [55:00] "The Crackin’, Shakin’, Breakin’ Sounds" (Nat Hentoff • New Yorker • Oct 1964) [55:40] "Letter From a Region in My Mind" (James Baldwin • New Yorker • Nov 1962) [56:00] The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Lawrence Wright • Vintage Books • 2007)

Amanda and Jenn recommend fantasy, nonfiction about music, Japanese authors, and more in this week's Get Booked! This episode is sponsored by EveryLibrary and Book Riot's Book Mail boxes.

This week, Jeff and Rebecca talk about beauty products in Barnes & Noble, the best debut novels of 2016, James Patterson hanging some serious paper, and much more.  This episode is sponsored by: EveryLibrary.org Audible The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund What the Dead Want by Norah Olson

Amanda and Jenn recommend fun books for hard times, under the radar novels, and more in this week's Get Booked! This episode is sponsored by EveryLibrary and Harper Paperbacks, publishers of Erika Johansen’s bestselling Queen of the Tearling trilogy.

Episode #113

Patrick Sweeney, full-time library advocate for EveryLibrary.org is on the podcast today to talk about elections, ballot initiatives, making libraries fun, and how we can all support each other.