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Black women have historically been hidden figures in librarianship, yet their passion, courage, and tenacity paved the way for future generations of knowledge workers. Profiling more than a dozen librarians, book champions, activists, and pioneers of the profession from across the country, this powerful work of archival storytelling will inspire readers both inside and outside of the library field. These personal histories of advocacy and resilience

• span the entire 20th Century, stretching from rural South Carolina and Florida to urban centers like New York and Los Angeles;
• profile better known figures such as Augusta Baker and Eliza Atkins Gleason as well as many who have yet to receive their due;
• grapple with the toxic legacy of segregation in library education, universities, public libraries, schools, and other institutions, showing how these persevering Black women dared to strive and work towards more equitable futures;
• include an inspiring Afterword by Dr. Aisha Johnson-Jones, an educator and revelator of Southern intellectual history;
• will encourage LIS students and newer librarians of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in the profession’s long and rich heritage; and
• shed light on how librarianship can become ever more diverse and community centered.

Legal expert Lipinski offers a definitive sourcebook for information licensing in libraries, including copyright and contract matters, general contract law concepts, developments in online and information contracting; and the advantages and disadvantages of licensing. Readers will find clear guidance on deciphering the legalese in agreements, advice on negotiating or countering provisions with library-friendly alternatives, and detailed explanations of specific licenses as well as a discussion of issues regarding online and information contracting. Additionally, three special sections provide valuable information in an easy-to-reference format:

• Deconstructions of four common license agreements: Access Newspaper Archive, BioOne, Nature Academic, and Amazon.com Kindle
• Answers to 126 questions about specific licensing agreements, plus a glossary, checklist and review tool for evaluating a license agreement
• 20 key issues in licensing agreements, accompanied by sample clauses

You'll save time, money, and unnecessary stress by putting the law on your side with this all-in-one guide to buying and licensing agreements.

Gallup’s 2019 State of the American Workplace Report found that 70 percent of employees are disengaged at work. Why is worker engagement so important? Engaged workers lead to engaged libraries — vibrant institutions that nurture their workers’ dedication, creativity, and innovation so they can serve their communities most effectively. This guide walks library managers and administrators through concrete steps to change their organization’s culture so that it fosters worker engagement, using first-hand accounts from library staff to illustrate both successes and failures. Readers will discover

• why libraries often fall short at hiring good leadership and ways to develop better recruitment strategies moving forward;
• how lack of trust pushes workplace culture towards incivility, hostility, and lower morale, and what library leaders can do to rebuild it;
• methods for using recognition and praise as tools for sustaining a positive work environment;
• the rationale for eliminating annual performance reviews in favor of less formal one-on-one conversations and “just in time” continuous feedback;
• the secrets behind high performing teams, strategies to support dysfunctional teams, and tips on how to develop remote teamwork; and
• why viewing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as separate from workplace culture is counterproductive, since it is actually the positive result of a strong foundation, with advice on combating the factors that contribute to low retention rates of BIPOC librarians.

Pedagogy impacts all parts of library work and culture. It changes the way we interact with learners regardless of setting and however we name or define the teaching moment, from research help to outreach to leading meetings. Pedagogy is a praxis of relation, and studying it can improve all aspects of our work and organizations.
 
In two volumes, Training Library Instructors collects examples of how we train our colleagues to teach, whether they’re student workers, non-librarian staff, new or experienced librarians, or something else entirely. In Volume 2, A Guide to Training Librarians, librarians share their knowledge about teaching, learning, and pedagogy through a variety of replicable activities: formal and informal workshops, courses, communities of practice, peer observation, and more. Programs include mock instruction, nano-teaching, and other feedback and homework mechanisms; happen at the individual, institutional, or consortial level; and can involve collaborations across library or university departments.
 
So many librarians value lifelong learning and the opportunity to learn from each other. A Guide to Training Librarians provides a starting point for readers considering their own teach-the-teacher programs and various approaches to learning together, exploring library instruction for the first time, or expanding existing knowledge through continued education.
 

Intellectual freedom is a core value of librarianship, but fighting to keep controversial materials on the shelves can sometimes feel like a lonely battle. And not all censorship controversies involve the public objecting to a book in the collection—libraries are venues for displays and meetings, and sometimes library staff themselves are tempted to preemptively censor a work. Those facing censorship challenges can find support and inspiration in this book, which compiles dozens of stories from library front lines. Edifying and enlightening, this collection

• Tells the stories of librarians who withstood difficult circumstances to champion intellectual freedom
• Touches on prickly issues such as age-appropriateness, some librarians' temptation to preemptively censor, sensitive cultural expressions, and criminality in the library
• Presents case studies of defenses that were unsuccessful, so librarians facing similar challenges can learn from these defeats

There are fewer situations more stressful in a librarian's professional life than being personally confronted with a demand to remove a book from the shelves or not knowing how to respond to other kinds of censorship challenges. Reading this book will help fortify and inform those in the fray.