I can come to your library, book club meeting, or conference to talk about how to help your readers find their next good read. Click here for more information including RA for All's EDI Statement and info about WHY I LOVE HORROR.
ALA Election ballots went out this morning and Steve Thomas has his annual podcast interviewing the ALA President candidates on Circulation Ideas.
This is a must listen podcast for all library workers whether you are an ALA member or not. Why? Because you need to know what the biggest issues are for our profession. And Steve makes it very easy.
Click here to listen or visit the page which I have posted below.
Thank you to Steve for doing all of the work to provide this valuable resource to our community, each and every year.
Tamika Barnes is the Associate Dean for Perimeter Library Services at Georgia State University, where she provides strategic leadership for libraries across five campuses in the metro Atlanta area serving students in more than 30 associate-degree pathways. A nationally recognized leader in the library profession, Tamika has served on the American Library Association Executive Board, recently chaired ALA’s Budget and Review Committee, and will serve as President of the Georgia Library Association in 2026. Her leadership has been recognized through numerous honors, including UCLA Library Senior Fellows, the Bob Richardson Award, and multiple national diversity and advocacy awards. She is also an educator, currently serving as an adjunct faculty member with Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and previously teaching at North Carolina Central University, UNC Chapel Hill, and UNC Greensboro. Across all roles, Tamika is committed to advancing advocacy, equity, professional development, and strong, transparent library leadership.
Becky Calzada is a District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas and a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters, a grass-roots led group of librarians launched back in October 2021. She is the Immediate Past President for the American Association of School Librarians President, has served on the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, and is actively engaged in supporting intellectual freedom advocacy both in her state and nationally. She is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and is the co-author of Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together published in June 2024. She is featured in The Librarians documentary, a film which spotlights brave school librarians who are on the front lines in the fight against censorship.
I am on an airplane this morning en route to my book event event in MA, but I wanted to alert you all the Steve Thomas' excellent podcast Circulating Ideas, specifically his most recent episode. Click here or see below.
Lila Denning is a librarian in Florida specializing in Passive Readers’ Advisory for patrons of all ages. She is the Acquisitions Coordinator for the St Petersburg Library System and has worked in circulation, collection development, reference, and youth services. She serves the volunteer coordinator for the Horror Writers Association. You can find her on BlueSky @Vantine.bsky.social. On her blog, bookdisplays.blogspot.com, she talks about ideas for book displays and other forms of Passive Readers Advisory and how to best use it to serve your patrons.
While this episode gives you an introduction to Lila's work and provides the link to her blog, I want to direct you specifically to this post where Lila introduces who she is and how she can help you and your staff.
A short introduction to me and what I try to do here. I have worked for my library system for 18 years as of this year. My time here has taken me from a branch library to reference to circulation and then to acquisitions. I updated our website, was an administrator for our ILS, and created and ran reports. As far as programming is concerned, I have created and ran programs for infants through older people.
Basically, except for administration, I have done it in a public library.
Before libraries, I earned a masters degree in religious studies with a focus on Holocaust studies and antisemitism. For a time, I was a manager at Barnes and Noble, ran a comic book store, and worked for a brokerage firm.
I serve as Volunteer Coordinator for the Horror Writers Association and review (primarily) horror for both Booklist and Library Journal. I love promoting the books I love on my social media accounts. Spending energy putting a light on what you love is a better use of time than dragging books that didn't work for you online. I also add photos of displays I love to help give you ideas!
Now, I work to help library workers learn how to use passive readers advisory to market their collections more effectively. A well designed book display can help shine a spotlight on those titles that haven't received love from your patrons recently. Focusing on the books rather than decorations or elaborate signage, borrowing book store techniques can help your patrons find their next great read. This will likely be a book that they hadn't had on their mind when they entered your building.
I have presented for a variety of state and national organizations including webinars for PCI. These topics include:
*Book Display Basics for Every Library Worker
*Book Displays That Do More - Interactive Book Displays with Passive Programming
*Engaging Patrons With Better Book Displays
*Inclusive Readers Advisory for Any Library Worker
*An Introduction to Passive Readers Advisory
*Love Is In the Air : Marketing Your Romance Collection Using Passive Readers Advisor
*Marketing Your Collection, Services, and Programs with Better Book Displays
*Not Just In October: Marketing Your Horror and Dark Literature Collection with Passive Readers Advisory
* Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection
If you are interested in having me teach your staff my techniques for using passive readers advisory, please reach out to me - Lila.Denning (at) gmail (dot) com.
A love letter to the horror genre from many of the most influential and bestselling authors in the industry.
For twenty-five years, Becky Siegel Spratford has worked as a librarian in Reader Advisory, training library workers all over the world on how to engage their patrons and readers, and to use her place as a horror expert and critic to get the word out to others; to bring even more readers into the horror fold.
Why I Love Horror is a captivating anthology and heartfelt tribute to the horror genre featuring essays from several of the most celebrated contemporary horror writers including, Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Rachel Harrison.
“Horror isn’t just a genre, it’s a calling,” writes Sadie Hartmann in her introduction to this fine collection of essays that delves deep into the appeal of the macabre. Spratford, well-known in the library world as a horror expert, has gathered the most important voices in the genre today—Brian Keene, Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due, and more—and invited them to respond to the simple titular prompt. The results are illuminating, moving, and inspiring. Many of the authors were scared kids or faced trauma (Cynthia Pelayo’s harrowing tale comes to mind) and found comfort in the monstrous. Gabino Iglesias reflects on his grandmother’s belief in ghosts and spirits. Alma Katsu, who worked for “a few three-lettered government agencies,” talks about what historical horror can teach us about the present. Nuzo Onoh describes how horror helped her escape the real-life terrors of the Biafran War. Rachel Harrison masterfully relates the terror of low-fat yogurt. Each essay is put into context with an introduction by Spratford, who, like a good librarian, also provides read-alikes for each author. A treasure trove for readers of horror, this collection will also serve as a useful readers’ advisory tool and may convince the horror-curious to give the genre a try. — Susan Maguire
I am going to be everywhere you look. You will not be able to escape me. Bwahahaha.
Below, I am posting all of my appearances. I will continue to update this post as new events pop up, although in terms of in-person, I don't think there will be any more added this year. I already had to turn a few down for my own sanity. But, this book is evergreen, so I will definitely consider more library and bookstore events in 2026. In fact. I am planning some right now. Stay tuned!
Remember all of my appearances are always on the Recent and Upcoming Presentations and Appearances page- both training programs and book events. But below is an easy to use list with registration links where available.
Let me start with the podcasts I have already committed to and my episode's release date Please consider subscribing to these podcasts if you don't already:
Today, I am giving over my blog to my friend Steve Thomas and his podcast, Circulating Ideas. Every year Thomas interviews the ALA Candidates and every year, I wait to vote until AFTER I hear this episode.
Lindsay Cronk currently serves as a member of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. She’s a member of the Core Five-Year Fundraising Team and served as 2021–2022 president of Core. She led the Core Communications Working Group and has also served on ALA Council, coauthoring ALA’s Resolution to Condemn White Supremacy and Fascism as Antithetical to Library Work. Before that, she served on the board of the Library Information Technology Association and edited its popular LITA Blog. She is the first woman to serve as dean of libraries at Tulane University.
Cronk is 2024–2025 vice chair of the Association of Research Libraries’ (ARL) Advocacy and Public Policy Committee. She also serves on the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries board, Clarivate North American advisory group, and editorial board of The Serials Librarian journal. She is cocreator and founder of PeMento: Peer Mentoring for Mid-Career Library Workers. Her past keynotes have covered a variety of topics, from leadership to team building to systems migrations, while her research has focused on scholarly communication.
Cronk holds an MLIS from Valdosta (Ga.) State University, an education specialist degree from Georgia Southern University in Savannah, and a bachelor’s from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.
“I’m honored and thrilled to be nominated for ALA president—thank you for this opportunity. Libraries are a collective superpower for learning, research, and discovery. We empower individuals and strengthen communities. The American Library Association champions and advances this vital work, offering all library professionals a shared home, a united voice, a thriving community of practice, and a values-driven foundation of policy. We have deep strengths and spectacular talent, and I am the loud librarian ready to amplify and advocate it,” Cronk said. “With a proven record of building teams and coalitions—within ALA and beyond—I am prepared to guide the Association through this pivotal moment of challenges and opportunities. Libraries are indispensable—not only providing resources but also fostering curiosity and inspiring a love of knowledge. When libraries lead, communities succeed.”
Maria McCauley, who was an ALA Spectrum Scholar, is a current member of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures; the Public Library Association (PLA); and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). She is also a member of the Rainbow Round Table, Sustainability Round Table, Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and the International Relations Round Table. She is also a member of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, Chinese American Librarians Association, BCALA, Reforma: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, the American Indian Library Association; the Freedom to Read Foundation; the Massachusetts Library Association; and New England Library Association.
McCauley has held several leadership positions, including at-large councilor of ALA Council, ALA Executive Board member, and member of ALA’s Fiscal and Audit Committee. She was the 2022–2023 PLA president and a PLA board member.
McCauley holds a PhD in managerial leadership in the information professions from Simmons University in Boston; an MLIS from University of Pittsburgh; a bachelor’s in theater from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio; and a leadership certificate from Northeastern University in Boston. She also completed ARL’s Library Leadership for New Managers Program.
“It is an honor to stand for the 2026–2027 ALA presidential election. ALA is a vital organization that is a lifeline for so many in the areas of professional development, advocacy, and connection. This includes me, from being a Spectrum Scholar, working in academic libraries, and serving for the past 13 years as a public library director, former ALA Executive Board member, and Public Library Association president,” McCauley said. “I am excited to bring my executive leadership and governance experience, knowledge, and passion for libraries to the presidential role. With my inclusive leadership practices and facilitation skills, I will work across the Association to strengthen ALA, inspire, guide, and connect members, and advocate for intellectual freedom, equity and inclusion, sustainability, and the public good of libraries.”
Long time readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan and past guest of CirculatingIdeas. Listen every week because Steve Thomas always has something new for me to learn. He is a curious librarian who goes out of his way to have conversations with library people about what they are doing, writing about, thinking about, etc...
With this knowledge, that I am already a fan of the podcast, I need you to understand when I say this that I am NOT exaggerating-- the current episode (277) is one of his best and most important ever.
Listening to Albina, Nelson, and Uhl talk about the book on the podcast had me shouting for joy and cheering in multiple places. These three editors talk about inclusive cataloging in ways that Robin and I do in our anti-racist service training programs, with one big difference-- they are the catalogers we are not.
But they still say the same things we do. For example, you cannot wait for subject headings to be officially changed, rather, you can do the work at your own library no matter how big or small, as long as you do the back end work to create authority links. I have been advocating for this for years, but I was told, "Oh Becky, you don't understand how important subject headings (no matter how harmful they are) work; You can't just change them." Catalogers talked down to me all the time. But here's the thing. Albina, Nelson, and Uhl agree with me and they are not only acting, they have gathered others to share their actions, libraries big, small, public, academic, everyone.
There is so much in the book (I am getting a copy for myself) yes, but there is also A LOT here in the podcast for you to listen to.
There are days Robin and I are tired and defeated. People come to us with their stories all of the time. We are thankful that they know they can trust us. As a result, we also know how hard it is out there. We know that sometimes you are battling more than your patrons; you are also fighting against your administration, bosses, even other larger library entities. The weight of these stories, on top of one an other, is heavy. And there are days it feels like there is no signs of improvement. However, it is invigorating to hear about others who are on the same journey as us. Who are fighting for inclusivity, fighting against systemic oppression, and seeking a place where everyone belongs.
Please listen to the podcast, get the link and more information below and consider buying the book-- even if you are not a cataloger. There is much for you to learn here. In fact, I am adding this post, the book, and an excerpt that was also published in American Libraries-- all of it to my portion of the upcoming program Robin and I are doing with ALA eCourses (sign up here). I want to make sure I let as many people know about this as possible. I want the great work of Albina, Nelson, and Uhl to reach as many people as possible.
Thanks again to Steve Thomas for all of the work he does on Circulating Ideas always and with this episode in particular. Use this link to subscribe to his newsletter as well.
Filling a gap in the literature, this volume provides librarians and catalogers with practical approaches to reparative cataloging as well as a broader understanding of the topic and its place in the technical services landscape.
As part of the profession’s ongoing EDISJ efforts to redress librarianship’s problematic past, practitioners from across the field are questioning long-held library authorities and standards. They’re undertaking a critical and rigorous re-examination of so-called “best” practices and the decisionmakers behind them, pointing out heretofore unscrutinized injustices within our library systems of organization and making concrete steps towards progressive change. This collection from Core details the efforts of some of the many librarians who are working to improve our systems and collections, in the process inspiring those who have yet to enact change by demonstrating that this work is scalable, possible, and necessary. From this book, readers will
gain an understanding of the theoretical underpinning for the actions that create our history and be challenged to reconsider their perspectives;
learn about the important role of the library catalog in real-world EDISJ initiatives through examples ranging from accessibility metadata and gendered information to inclusive comics cataloging and revising LC call numbers for Black people and Indigenous people;
discover more than a dozen case studies drawn from a variety of contexts including archives, academic and public libraries, and research institutions; and
see ways to incorporate these ideas into their own work, with a variety of sample policies, “how to” documents, and other helpful tools provided in the text.
Elizabeth Nelson is the Cataloging and Collection Development Librarian and Library Department Chair at McHenry County College, where she has worked since 2008. Prior to working in academic libraries, she started her career in public libraries and then spent seven years in special libraries. She is also the current editor of Library Leadership & Management.
Rebecca Uhl has over 30 years’ experience as a catalog and authority control librarian at Arizona State University. Currently serving as the Principal on the Acquisitions and Metadata Services team, she has experience as a manager, supervisor and department head, in addition to copy and original cataloging in all formats.
[This is Becky again. Normally you have to subscribe to the substack to get the show notes, but these are too important to my readers to not include for this episode. Use the link to subscribe for free for future episodes.
Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Librarian in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All, writes reviews for Booklist and a Horror review column for Library Journal. Becky has been an elected Library Trustee and a former Board member for both the Reaching Across Illinois Library System and the Illinois Library Association. Known for her work with Horror readers. Becky is the author of three text books for library workers and the Locus Award nominated and Bram Stoker Award winning Why I Love Horror [Saga Press, 2025]. Becky was named one of the Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoans of the Year in 2025. She is on the Shirley Jackson Award Advisory Board and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, currently serving as the Association’s Secretary and Co-Chair of their Libraries Committee. You can follow Becky on Bluesky @raforall.bsky.social.
