Launching Barbershop Books in Columbus
Columbus Metropolitan Library

Last weekend, Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) celebrated the launch of its Barbershop Books programming! The event featured free haircuts and books for children in grades K-12. The event paralleled the library's Back-to-School event called Backpacks and Belts.

Brooke Thomas, youth services manager at the South High branch of CML said that it's providing each participating barbershop with 45 books (three copies of 15 titles) to launch the program. CML also serves as what Thomas called “the local expert on the ground,” identifying community partners for the project. In addition to participating barbershops, CML recruited volunteers to do things such as assemble bookshelves and set up spaces for kids to read as they wait for their haircuts.

ULC and Barbershop Books work together with libraries across the country to expand reading opportunities for children in need by creating child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops and providing early literacy training to barbers. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant number LG-252555-OLS-22.

Read more about the Columbus event from Matter.

Pictured: Adrianne Peterson, the branch director of the Rancho Peñasquitos branch of the San Diego Public Library. Credit: John Francis Peters for The New York Times

San Diego Takes a Stand for Intellectual Freedom
San Diego Public Library

In the wake of a protest of LGBTQIA+ materials in one branch, the San Diego Public Library held firm to the institution's strong values of access for all. And in response to the protest, community members donated replacement books and raised over $15,000.

The Rancho Peñasquitos branch of the San Diego Public Library became headline news this month when two patrons checked out every book from the library's Pride Month display and said they would not return them until the library permanently removed what they considered “inappropriate content.”

"The mission of public libraries is to provide access to any kind of information, even if it is offensive to some," said Misty Jones, the director of the San Diego Public Library.

Read the full article from The New York Times.

Honoring Tradition and History at the 19th Annual Dragon Boat Festival
Barrie Public Library

This month, the Barrie community will come together to celebrate the Barrie Public Library's 19th annual Dragon Boat Festival, a time-honored cultural event rooted in ancient Chinese history. The library started the Barrie Dragon Boat Festival in 2003 to strengthen community spirit and raise funds for the library as well as local charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

The Dragon Boat Festival originated in ancient China over 2,000 years ago and is celebrated in many ancient countries today. In Barrie, the Dragon Boat Festival serves as a "unifying force that brings people together to remember their heritage, strengthen family ties, and appreciate the wisdom of the past."

This year, the event will be held at Heritage Park on August 19, sponsored by Tim Hortons, and will bring teams together for a fun-filled day of camaraderie and fundraising while racing dragon boats on Kempenfelt Bay.

Read the full article on Barrie360.

Baltimore County Public Library Awards First MLS Scholarship
Baltimore County Public Library

The Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library has named Erin Ramos of Aberdeen, Md. the very first recipient of the Charles Robinson Endowed Master of Library Science (MLS) Memorial Scholarship. The Foundation started the scholarship in memory of Charles Robinson, who was the director of Baltimore County Public Library for more than 30 years.

Ramos, a single mother living in Aberdeen, has worked in the circulation department at the Towson Branch of Baltimore County Public Library for three years. She is pursuing her MLS at University of Maryland’s iSchool to become a librarian while working full-time.

"I am really grateful to the Foundation for this help, and to the library for the opportunities I’ve had," said Ramos. "As a single parent, I needed to find a job that could support me and my son and the library really helped me with that. I was hired two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down and I thought for sure I would be let go. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and I was able to maintain my income through the shutdown. The library has opened a career path for me that I hadn’t thought of before and I’m really excited to finish my master’s and become a librarian."

Learn more about Erin and the scholarship in BCPL's press release.