“Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don’t Exist” read the headline. I knew that by now, three and a half years after ChatGPT had been released, AI had permeated most aspects of our lives including the workplace, but I was stunned to see it so blatantly outed for the world to…
Community Partnerships as Leadership in Action: Three Texas Library Stories Expanding Capacity Through Strategic Collaboration | Unger Memorial Library (Plainview, TX) Community partnerships aren’t just a programming strategy—they’re a core management and leadership practice that allows libraries to extend their capacity when space, staffing, or funding are limited. Unger Memorial Library’s collaboration with PBS Kids…
Upcoming Opportunities These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations. Awards, Scholarships, and Stipends Open The Texas Library Association (TLA) offers awards and scholarships honoring excellence in and contributions to the library profession. In addition, TLA offers stipends to help defray the costs of attending Annual Conference and…
As we shift our attention to information security and privacy policies, consider the following scenario where a well-intentioned community event exposed how easily gaps in data-handling practices can put patrons at risk. The Gotham Public Library—a fictional, small, rural library in Texas—partnered yet again with the Madame Selina Kyle Foundation; this time to host a…
As we turn an eye to technology use policies, let us return to the land of imagination and visit the Gotham Public Library, a small rural Texas library that recently upgraded its computer area with new public workstations, expanded Wi-Fi access, and a makerspace laptop cart funded through a community grant from the Madame Selina…
This post is the first in a multi-part series on artificial intelligence. You might remember the video that was everywhere this past July of the cute bunnies jumping on a backyard trampoline at night caught by a home security camera? The caption read, “Just checked the home security cam and… I think we’ve got guest…
Upcoming Opportunities These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations. Awards and Scholarships Open The Texas Library Association (TLA) offers awards and scholarships honoring excellence in and contributions to the library profession. In addition, TLA offers stipends to help defray the costs of attending Annual Conference and membership,…
We live in a time when information about nearly anything is instantly within reach, and while I feel fortunate for that, it can also feel overwhelming. There’s so much I want to read, watch, and learn, but never enough time to get to it all. And with the holidays and end of year looming, my…
Palacios Library | Palacios , TX At Palacios Library, leadership starts with listening. “Our success has been our availability for whatever is needed to keep our library afloat and be willing to help out our small town in any way we can,” says Head Librarian Vikijane Mosier. That spirit of responsiveness has guided the library’s…
There’s something magical about dawn over the desert when hot air balloons drift serenely above the Rio Grande Valley with their neon colors glowing against the pale morning sky. That’s the same sense of wonder attendees experienced at the 2025 Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In this…