Oregon Library Association

06/06/2026

Hi! What are you doing on Sunday? Here is a good program.

Citizen Activism 101— Making Change Happen
With Donna L Cohen, MLIS MEd Civics for Adults - Nonpartisan.
Sunday, June 7th from 2-3:30
Multnomah County Library—Woodstock Branch. 6008 SE 49th Ave., in Portland. Please click on the link below for more information.

Duration: 1.5 hrs (30 min setup / breakdown)

06/05/2026

"Marjane Satrapi, author of the acclaimed graphic novel Persepolis and a leading champion for women's rights in Iran, died on Thursday. She was 56."

The Iranian-French cartoonist and filmmaker was perhaps most well-known for the graphic memoir, and subsequent film, about her life during the Iranian revolution in 1979.

06/04/2026

From American Library Association:

As part of our sesquicentennial celebration, ALA is launching our most ambitious philanthropic initiative in the Association's 150 year history: "For Our Libraries, For 150 Years More."

The $60 million fundraising campaign reflects a long-term investment in America's libraries and library workers, as well as our foundational tenets of literacy, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information. As a mission driven organization, ALA is directing Campaign gifts to programs and services supporting America’s libraries, marking a historic investment in our libraries’ ability to serve their communities.

The 150th Anniversary Campaign extends through December 31, 2027. To learn more and contribute, visit ALA150.org.

As part of our sesquicentennial celebration, ALA is launching our most ambitious philanthropic initiative in the Association's 150 year history: "For Our Libraries, For 150 Years More."

The $60 million fundraising campaign reflects a long-term investment in America's libraries and library workers, as well as our foundational tenets of literacy, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information. As a mission driven organization, ALA is directing Campaign gifts to programs and services supporting America’s libraries, marking a historic investment in our libraries’ ability to serve their communities.

The 150th Anniversary Campaign extends through December 31, 2027. To learn more and contribute, visit ALA150.org.

06/04/2026

From State Library of Oregon:

Congratulations to OSU Valley Library equipment manager, Sara Trott, and OSU-Cascades Library Director, April Witteveen, for being awarded the 2026 Beacon of Hope Mental Health Champion Impact Award at their respective campuses. 💚🎉🫶

Read more about the tremendous efforts and impact of these two Oregon librarians here:
👉 https://today.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/osu-cascades-library-director-april-witteveen-receives-campus%E2%80%99s-inaugural-beacon-hope
👉 https://counseling.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/announcing-2026-beacon-hope-award-recipients

Congratulations to OSU Valley Library equipment manager, Sara Trott, and OSU-Cascades Library Director, April Witteveen, for being awarded the 2026 Beacon of Hope Mental Health Champion Impact Award at their respective campuses. 💚🎉🫶
Read more about the tremendous efforts and impact of these two Oregon librarians here:
👉 https://today.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/osu-cascades-library-director-april-witteveen-receives-campus%E2%80%99s-inaugural-beacon-hope
👉 https://counseling.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/announcing-2026-beacon-hope-award-recipients (photo credit)

06/03/2026

Good morning.

06/02/2026

Happy Pride Month!

June is Pride Month, and it's also Rainbow Book Month - a nationwide celebration of the authors and writings that reflect the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community.

You can find lists of award-winning LGBTQIA+ books, tools for libraries and library workers from ALA's Rainbow Round Table, and graphics to help celebrate and spread the word on ALA's website: https://bit.ly/4kKOkOg. Is your library hosting a program you're excited for? We'd love to hear about it!

We also know that these stories are under attack. In 2025, ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom found that 39% of books targeted for censorship in U.S. libraries and schools - 1,671 unique titles - represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. As these stories continue to be disproportionately targeted for censorship and library workers across the country are facing threats and harassment for serving these communities, Rainbow Book Month has never been more important.

If your library is experiencing challenges to materials and programs serving LGBTQIA+ patrons, ALA has resources to help. You can report censorship to ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom and receive free, confidential support, and the Unite Against Book Bans campaign can help you activate your community to push back against censorship.

Read with pride.

📸 Photo: ALA's Gay and Le***an Task Force (now the Rainbow Round Table) marching in the 1992 San Francisco Pride March, from the ALA Archives.

06/01/2026

A new issue of the OLA Hotline is now available!
See: https://olahotline.wordpress.com/

Topics include:
~Oregon Parent Teacher Association passes resolution supporting school librarians
~OLA Leadership Development Scholarships Available
~Save the date and consider volunteering for the 2027 OLA Annual Conference

Have a great day!

05/31/2026

From KLCC:

The city of Cottage Grove is preparing to make several budget cuts–including to its library–in an effort to close an ongoing structural gap.

Miranda Gehrke is part of a group of community members that opposes library cuts. She said city leaders found ways to preserve other services by dipping into unused housing funds. She said they should do the same for the library.

The most recent budget draft reduced library staffing to one full-time librarian. On May 19, city councilors pulled $50,000 from a hodgepodge of funds to preserve an additional part-time position in hopes that volunteers will take on other duties.

Gehrke said the library needs twice that amount, and volunteers can’t replace all the work and expertise of library staff. Her group plans to rally for library funding before the council’s 7 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at Cottage Grove City Hall.

Cottage Grove has been preparing for a tough budget cycle for a few months, after city leaders discovered years of budget errors and inaccurate numbers.

Cottage Grove City Manager Mike Sauerwein said the city needs to shrink its spending by about $500,000 to close a structural gap and stop spending down its reserves.

He said the city is making cuts across many services and programs, and may need to change the staffing model at the library to be able to continue to operate it.

He said city leaders are also exploring long-term solutions, like creating a special library taxing district.

The full proposed budget is available now on the City of Cottage Grove’s website. Sauerwein said the budget committee has signed off on the budget, but it has not yet been approved by the full council. There will be more opportunities for discussion and review during the June 8 and June 22 city council meetings.

Find the full article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org. Link in comments.

The city of Cottage Grove is preparing to make several budget cuts–including to its library–in an effort to close an ongoing structural gap.

Miranda Gehrke is part of a group of community members that opposes library cuts. She said city leaders found ways to preserve other services by dipping into unused housing funds. She said they should do the same for the library.

The most recent budget draft reduced library staffing to one full-time librarian. On May 19, city councilors pulled $50,000 from a hodgepodge of funds to preserve an additional part-time position in hopes that volunteers will take on other duties.

Gehrke said the library needs twice that amount, and volunteers can’t replace all the work and expertise of library staff. Her group plans to rally for library funding before the council’s 7 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at Cottage Grove City Hall.

Cottage Grove has been preparing for a tough budget cycle for a few months, after city leaders discovered years of budget errors and inaccurate numbers.

Cottage Grove City Manager Mike Sauerwein said the city needs to shrink its spending by about $500,000 to close a structural gap and stop spending down its reserves.

He said the city is making cuts across many services and programs, and may need to change the staffing model at the library to be able to continue to operate it.

He said city leaders are also exploring long-term solutions, like creating a special library taxing district.

The full proposed budget is available now on the City of Cottage Grove’s website. Sauerwein said the budget committee has signed off on the budget, but it has not yet been approved by the full council. There will be more opportunities for discussion and review during the June 8 and June 22 city council meetings.

Find the full article and more listener-supported news at KLCC.org. Link in comments.

05/30/2026

OVERDUE: Weeding Out Oppression in Libraries
S5, E1: Disability Justice, Inclusion and Anti-Oppressive Compensation w/ C.A. Deane.
See: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1948067/episodes/18510296

Episode 1: In the first episode of this two-part interview, we chat with C.A. "Dean" Deane, a law librarian moving between academic law libraries and law firms with the skill to think in big picture about what is fair and reasonable using a global perspective and an anthropological lens. With their ability to synthesize information from many different places, Deane brings knowledge and information together for us to see the landscape of disability justice in (law) libraries.

Applying their academic background to find solutions, learn from Deane about the Ten Principles of Disability Justice, the importance of intersectionality, anti-oppressive compensation (not just equitable and not just wages…and WHY that is an important distinction), personal problems that are really systemic problems, and why libraries that create environments in which employees can engage with their whole selves cultivate happy patrons and the community.

Check out the MANY resources that Deane spoke about in the episode notes!

Episode 2 will be released in May.

Guest: C.A. "Dean" Deane

Hosts: Roxanne M. Renteria & Brittany Young

Tech/Producer: LaRee Dominguez

Date of recording: January 11, 2026