Circulating Ideas

Steve chats with Troy Swanson, author of Knowledge as a Feeling: How Neuroscience and Psychology Impact Human Information Behavior, about how his research has evolved over the years, how we think our brains process information (and how our brains REALLY process information), how memories and emotions are linked, and what it means to “know” something. … Continue reading 243: Knowl...

Steve chats with PeMento founders Lindsay Cronk, Maurini Strub, Ashley Krenelka Chase, and Rachel Fleming about what the concept of mentoring means to them, how PeMento got started, why they plan to keep PeMento in a perpetual “pilot” state, and what Steve’s new podcast should be called. Read the transcript! Lindsay Cronk is currently Assistant … Continue reading 242: PeMen...

Steve chats with LibraryReads Executive Director Rebecca Vnuk and LibraryReads Advisory Board member Stephanie Chase, about the tenth anniversary of LibraryReads, how it’s changed over its first decade, how it works with publishers, its commitment to diversity, and planning for the future. Read the transcript! Rebecca Vnuk is the Executive Director of LibraryReads, an organization … Co...

Steve chats with the editors of Hopeful Visions, Practical Actions: Cultural Humility in Library Work, Sarah R. Kostelecky, Lori Townsend, and David A. Hurley, about what cultural humility is, the importance of self-reflection, mitigating power differentials, and why Venn diagrams are always the answer. Read the transcript! Sarah R. Kostelecky is the Director of Digital Initiatives … Continu...

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with CJ Ivory, Angela Pashia, and Mary Ann Cullen about Open Educational Resources, working with faculty and administration in implementing OERs, being mindful of whose voices are being considered in the creation of OERs, and why libraries should (or should not) lead the efforts to create OERs. Read the transcript! … Continue reading 239: Open Educational R...

Steve chats with C. J. Box, author of Storm Watch, the 23rd book in his bestselling Joe Pickett series, about his early experiences with libraries, how he gets started with a new book, how his characters have changed over the years, and what it’s like to see his creations adapted for the screen. Read the … Continue reading 238: Storm Watch by C. J. Box

Steve chats with the 2023 candidates for President of the American Library Association, Cindy Hohl and Eric D. Suess, about why they want the role, creating safe and equitable environments for library workers and patrons, neutrality, and how new members can find their way in the Association. Read the transcript! Cindy Hohl is past president … Continue reading 237: ALA Presidential Candidates...

Steve chats with Grace M. Jackson-Brown, author of Promoting African American Writers, about her path to librarianship, her involvement with the African American Read-In program, why libraries should include programs promoting African American writers, teaching critical thinking skills through reading, and how writing the book was beneficial for her. Read the transcript! Grace M. Jackson-Brown&#16...

Steve first chats with Falon Ballard, author of Not My Type and Lease on Love, about her experience with libraries, her writing process, her two novels and her podcast, and which Marvel romance she would love to write. Then, Steve gets the rundown on the romance genre with Robin Bradford, author of the Readers’ Advisory … Continue reading 235: Romance Novels, with Falon Ballard and Rob...

Steve chats with John Hubbard, librarian at Washington University in St. Louis and creator of Library Link of the Day, about change management, library vendor consolidation, discovery layers, keeping up with professional news (and why it’s the same topics over and over again), and what the final Library Link of the Day will be. Read … Continue reading 234: Library Link of the Day, with...

Steve chats with Robin Bradford and Becky Spratford, creators of the Actively Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers course for Learn with NoveList, about how they got started doing anti-racism training, the difference between “not racist” and “anti-racist”, working with NoveList to adapt their in-person presentations to a virtual self-paced format, and why they provide ser...

Steve chats with Angela Hursh, Manager of Engagement and Marketing for NoveList, author of the blog SuperLibraryMarketing.com, and host of the YouTube series The Library Marketing Show, about her path from television journalism to libraries, how libraries can do better marketing without spending a lot, her work at NoveList, and a special online project from … Continue reading 232: Library Ma...

Steve chats with Sarah Voels, director of Vogel Library at Wartburg College and author of Auditing Diversity in Library Collections, about her path through librarianship, why diversity audits are an essential tool for library collections, how to find diverse materials to add to collections, and how to get started in conducting a diversity audit. Read … Continue reading 231: Auditing Diversit...

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Dr. Alison J. Head, founder and director of Project Information Literacy, about PIL’s early days, PIL’s unique place in the information literacy research field, the importance of student and information agency, and what’s next for the PIL group! Read the transcript! Alison J. Head, Ph. D. is an information scientist and … Continue rea...

Steve chats with Madeline Martin, author of The Librarian Spy, about her childhood experiences with libraries, her love of history and historical fiction, how she does her research, and the wonder of visiting the Library of Congress! Read the transcript! Madeline Martin is a New York Times and International Bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance. … Continue...

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Jacoby Cochran, host of City Cast Chicago, about the joys and challenges of covering local community news, the future of journalism, upcoming Chicago elections, and managing misinformation. Read the transcript! Jacoby Cochran is a writer, educator, and storyteller. He is the award winning host of City Cast Chicago, which … Continue reading 228: City Cast Ch...

Steve chats with library historian Wayne Wiegand about how he came to the library profession, how to view historical figures and actions honestly (warts and all), the history of American libraries, the life and times of Melvil Dewey, and the vital places coffee and cats hold in American library history. Read the transcript! Wayne A. … Continue reading 227: American Library History, with Wayn...

Steve chats with Jeanie Austin, Jail and Reentry Services Librarian with San Francisco Public Library and author of Library Services and Incarceration: Recognizing Barriers, Strengthening Access, about their path to librarianship, the history and present state of library service to incarcerated persons, and why libraries should focus services on incarcerated persons and those experiencin...

Steve chats with Addison Armstrong, author of The War Librarian and The Light of Luna Park, about her experiences with libraries, what she likes about writing historical fiction and dual timelines, finding story ideas in her historical research, and how her love of school supplies and ants fueled her writing life as a young girl! … Continue reading 225: The War Librarian by Addison Arms...

Guest host Natalia Estrada chats with Liladhar Pendse, librarian for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Caribbean and Latin American Studies at the University of California-Berkeley, about the concept of Area Studies, his work archiving Afghanistan’s digital and cultural content after the US withdrawal, the challenges of archiving war-torn areas such as Ukraine, … Cont...

Steve chats with Allison Waukau, Native Community Liaison at Hennepin County Library, about her work connecting the library with the Native community, how libraries can better hire and retain Native staff, how publishing is (slowly) improving at telling authentic Native stories, and the importance of land acknowledgements. Read the transcript! Allison Waukau (Menominee/Navajo) resides in … C...

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Dr. Virginia Campbell, host of the Brain Science Podcast and author of Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty, about why she created and continues the podcast, the hidden layer of the brain, how cognition differs from knowing, and why science is not just a set of boring … Continue reading 222: Brain Science – Dr. Virginia Campbell

Steve chats with Marshall Breeding, longtime library technologist and writer of the annual Library Systems Report, about the history of library automation, putting together the data for the Library Systems Report, proprietary and open source ILS systems, and how vendors work well with each other (and sometimes don’t). Read the transcript! Marshall Breeding is an … Continue reading 221:...

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...

Steve chats with Paula Willey, co-author (with Andria Amaral) of The Passive Programming Playbook: 101 Ways to Get Library Customers Off the Sidelines, about what passive programming is, why libraries should be doing it, some creative examples, and why candy corn divides Paula and Andria’s friendship. Read the transcript! Paula Willey is a librarian at … Continue reading 219: Passive P...