It's #NationalLibraryWeek! Take time to discover what brings you joy at your library: browse the shelves, join a book club, attend a program, or get started on your next creative project in a makerspace. Be sure to visit your library or ilovelibraries.org and celebrate your library all week long!

And just recently one of the leading Republicans running for Governor said a student with two moms shouldn‘t be allowed in religious schools

I have never been so furious listening to an NPR program that I normally enjoy (Up First @ayesharascoe.bsky.social). To go to the 2nd largest city in Iowa and interview a gay couple to frame the GUTTING of public schools as "choice" and "free market" by Cory Turner is lazy at best.

I want to have this fight about the Midwest. At one point my office served the greater Midwest region and included Kentucky and I will die on the hill that KY is not the Midwest.

My fellow Iowa Librarians and SLIS students get those proposals in! See you in Cedar Rapids! us21.list-manage.com/survey

How to start fresh in a new job after enduring a toxic workplace fortune.com/2021/05/27/n...

Global Employee Engagement Continues Decline Global Workplace Engagement Declines to Lowest Level Since 2020 Engagement Decline Most Acute Among Managers www.gallup.com/workplace/70...

From Marginalization to Visibility: 2SLGBTQ+ Archives and Public Memory is a queer and trans history and archives hybrid conference taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 15-17, 2026. Virtual and In-Person registration available. arquives.ca/fmv2026/ #skybrarians 📚

ALA’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Working Group has released the draft document "Guidance of the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Libraries." This is members' only content. If you're a member, I urge you to read it and comment. #skybrarians #publibs #medlibs www.ala.org/aboutala/com...

A billion dollars is the socio-economic equivalent of a loose nuke, and we should work to prevent the acquisition of the former with the same urgency and ruthlessness we use to prevent the acquisition of the latter.

Cloud wall moving across Iowa City last night.

I run a public library, and our numbers are all going up: more people through the door, more items checked out, more computer use, and a ton of new item requests. Same thing happened during the 2008 recession.

TAX DAY PRO TIP if you're filing by mail: Do not rely on a mailbox or a letter carrier today for filing your return on time. Go inside a post office and ask for a free manual postmark at the counter. Otherwise, your tax return may not get an April 15 postmark date and the IRS may apply penalties

How to REcover from a Toxic Job 1) find closure, 2) take control of what you can, 3) plan for triggers 4) savor the positive moments. Have patience and self-compassion, www.physicianleaders.org/articles/how...

Taking care of your own wellbeing is a critical leadership skill angela-pashia.kit.com/posts/wellbe...

Seeking sponsorship for our committee meetings 😉... Coffee brands looking at you.☕ If you want to know more about the NLISN committee, see here: nlisn.org/committee/

Great Plains Action Society announces healing, community-focused ‘Resilience Hub’. The project will transform existing Iowa City buildings into a community space, healing sanctuary, and garden. dailyiowan.com/2026/04/14/g...

University of Iowa maintains advanced license plate readers amid Coralville termination and privacy concerns UI students question the university’s continued use of ALPR cameras as local communities turn away from ALPR usage. dailyiowan.com/2026/04/14/u...

I'm going into the office. I've left the house 3 times. 1st I had to go back for my pills then I had to go back for my laptop. I hope I make it in this time.

The gap between men's and women's public employee salaries in Iowa doubled from 2020 to 2025. www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/l...

“When our kids tell us that they’ve been victimized, believe them. Let them tell us their stories. We must understand that bullying is not the same for neurodivergent kids as it is for all other kids.” From @katiepryal.bsky.social’s new book Your Kid Belongs Here: books.apple.com/us/book/your...

Two-thirds of planned data centers are targeted to rural areas--a shift from currently operating centers (13%). More than a third of Americans live within 5 miles of a data center.

I biked to and from campus today, and it is moist out there!

Growing-up autistic: Sharing autistic children’s experiences and insights. Mullally, S. L. et al 2026 "Their voices offer vital insights and a call to make schools and services safer, more respectful spaces." journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

mark you calendars!

Burnout Looks Different Across the Org Chart. Watch for These Signs. hbr.org/2026/04/burn...

Most students want AI to be restricted in some way in their courses to protect academic integrity while still allowing for assistance when appropriate. oneit.uiowa.edu/news/2026/03...

They terrorize the neurodivergent and 13-Year-Old Scientist's Research Shows Hand Dryers Can Hurt Kids' Ears www.npr.org/2019/07/09/7...

The bad news is now that I'm faculty, I have to track down every presentation and anything else I've done in the last 20 years. The good news is that most of that stuff went to my Gmail account, and I keep everything! Only 330 more emails to go through!

Our YA checkouts and graphic novel circs are UP! Shoutout to the tiktok kindle girlies for reminding teens that reading is great 🤣🙏

Also of note, Iowa paid Chris Rufo—perhaps the leading propagandist for the current assault on higher ed, an unqualified hack and admitted fabulist—$34,000 to speak. It's embarrassing that any higher ed institution would invite him, especially when they are cutting departmental budgets.

How I currently feel. It will pass, but dang.

Reminder: the call for proposals closes on Friday April 10th at 12:00 pm (Noon) Central time #thrivelib #skybrarians #publibs www.thrivelib.com/2026-cfp

Our library is also celebrating 150 this year! 🤯

The University of Iowa's new Center for Intellectual Freedom appears to be off to a rocky start in terms of enrolling students. They also went over budget on alcohol and food for their introductory event, which isn't surprising when faculty and legislators get together.

SF 496 was a wide-ranging education bill passed w/ only Republican support and signed into law in May 2023. It mandated public schools remove all books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” except for approved science or health class texts. littlevillagemag.com/injunctions-...

In the painful start to students needing to make their dissertations accessible for posting in our IR, I saw the first student to have zero flags in the Adobe checker! And the alt text was GOOD! I predict they will go far in life 😂

My public library celebrated its 150 years and I got to present on its history. We’ve also just formed our union!!

Iowa has a particular problem. We have Sinclair Broadcasting TV stations & a statewide network of commercial radio stations that pump rightwing garbage into our communities. The far right gobbled up small & medium-sized radio stations that people trusted and shape their opinions.

We made Econ Mall ad posters today. Here is a walking taco that made me laugh!

I'm retiring soon and members from 3 library book clubs are having a Happy Hour gathering for me tonight. They said I've taken care of them for years, and they want to return the favor!

Our circulation is up 17% from last year! Kids are reading more due to our cell phone ban. It's wonderful!

We just hosted two exuberant, delightful pre-literacy playgroups on a sunny, cold April Michigan morning. And now a fiber arts group who will chat, laugh and knit/crochet all afternoon is moving in. #publibs #skybrarians

We've doubled our daily average visitors from around 100 people per day to around 200 people per day visiting my library!!

Yesterday one of my teens I haven't seen in a few years came into my teen space, pulled up a chair, and proceeded to update me on her life like she'd just been there yesterday and it made my heart SO HAPPY.

Free event-> Reluctant Leadership/Management for Mid-Career Librarians, Kellee E. Warren, Associate Professor & Special Collections Librarian, University of Illinois Chicago, Her research - teaching w/ Chicago design collections & Black representation in nineteenth-century children’s lit in the U.S.

Share some GOOD library news. I need some joy. #publibs #medlibs #skybrarians

University of Houston BRAIN Center Finds Exposure to Nature Associated with Reductions in Negative Emotions Research Indicates Urgent Need to Integrate Nature into Urban Design to Increase Brain Capital www.uh.edu/news-events/...

In an era when many book clubs fizzle out within a few years, the Browning Literary Club, Ingleside Study Club and Serendipity Book Club are among those quietly defying the odds — by decades. www.iowapublicradio.org/arts-life/20...

Iowa legislation would let parents sue over access to some library material who13.com/news/politic...