Bobbi L. Newman 🏳️‍🌈

Iowa | American Stories: A Reading Road Trip Episode 111 - PBS Books Join us in Arkansas to hear learn about layered histories that continue to foster bold imaginations today.

PBS Books and the Library of Congress visit Iowa on the next stop in American Stories: A Reading Road Trip. March 11 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT on Facebook Live, YouTube channel, the PBS app, or pbs.org. www.pbsbooks.org/event/iowa-a...

Iowa school librarians await guidance as they prepare for new law that will ban certain materials The Iowa Library Association is cautioning school librarians to wait for guidance from the state education department before removing books from school libraries to comply with state law.

“The beautiful thing about a library is that if you find a book that doesn’t speak to you — maybe it doesn’t align with a belief you or your family has — you can close it, return it and move on,” Kruse said. “Now, we have a law that’s going to limit that access.”
www.thegazette.com/news/educati...

Letter: Iowa lawmakers should drop library concerns Considerable time and effort by the governor and state Legislature have been spent in the past few years on attempts to limit information available to juveniles at public libraries in

Considerable time and effort by the Iowa governor and state Legislature have been spent in the past few years on attempts to limit information available to juveniles at public libraries in Iowa.
www.thegazette.com/opinion/lett...

yes!

Iowa Republican bills are a warning for public libraries Our public libraries ooze democracy.

Iowa Republican bills are a warning for public libraries
Some cleared the funnel deadline, some did not. But the threat to libraries isn’t going away

www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

Have we not brought back glassholes for the Meta Glasses? Have I just missed it? Seems just as appropriate now as it was for Google Glasses.

Institutions cannot love you.

Can't get to conferences but still want to know what's going on? Alice helpfully lets you know all the hashtags, so if people are posting (and if I'm there, I will be) you can see what they have to say.

The Center, governed by the Iowa Board of Regents, created through HF 437, uses taxpayer money to push conservative ideology onto college campuses. Framed as promoting “varied perspectives,” it ignored hiring practices and circumvented established norms of academic governance and faculty expertise.

In case you're wondering - What to expect from the first "Center for Intellectual Freedom" courses
archive.ph/0mbqp

'Chipping away at the rights of Iowans': House passes bill to eliminate local civil rights protections for trans people - Little Village On Thursday, the Iowa House approved a bill that prohibits local governments from having any civil rights ordinances that provide greater protections for rights than state law does. Eliminating the po...

'Chipping away at the rights of Iowans': Iowa House passes bill to eliminate local civil rights protections for trans people littlevillagemag.com/bill-elimina...

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

www.thrivelib.com/2026-cfp

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gift link

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

Libraries have always been a third space.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

waffle fry is the best form of the potato!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

decorative

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

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

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

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

Why were there so many things????

Same!