Author: Mimi

Fun fact: next week, I’m going to be running a storytime at my library! It’s not something I thought I’d be interested in when I first started working in libraries, but something I grew to appreciate. I was asked to take on occasional storytimes at my branch, and from there, the journey to learning what a “quality” storytime started. In a matter of months (accompanied with a lot of shadowing and practice), I learned about how storytimes weave together literacy and community. I was able to observe how different each librarian’s take on a storytime could be – in fact, when I asked library staff on how to conduct a “good” storytime, the overwhelming consensus was that a good storytime (or program, for that matter) didn’t have to be anything but genuine.

One coworker even told me

“Whatever you think the ideal storytime is, it won’t be for another family. Bring yourself, because there will always be a family that likes the way you do it. We have families that like quiet and reserved storytimes, and we have families that prefer more energizing ones. 

I was surprised – I didn’t have to force myself to include as many props as possible or take on a different theatre persona. Instead, I was encouraged to try things that encouraged literacy, but in a way that was comfortable for me. As I was trying to extend as much compassion and effort for our patrons, I realized I also needed to practice that compassion on myself to create my own storytime program.

My own experience ties in well with Library 2.0’s The Power of Stories webinar, which spoke about incorporating elements of accessibility in storytimes. While it may be the general sentiment that teaching children how to read and speak has always been the same, working in libraries has taught me that there will always be ways to meet the community that haven’t been done before. 

Specifically for my system, we are exploring the potential that play has in literacy. While the traditional storytime has someone reading or singing to a room full of children, libraries have started to explore how to include elements of play. One of my systems hands out props to children so they can participate during songs. They have also started construction on creating playground-like structures in our Children’s areas so that children can interact with the physical library as a source of play while they are learning how to read. In this manner, play is interwoven with literacy in our programming and space. In another system I work with, where budget is more of an issue, we bring out donated toys at the end of storytimes so that children can interact with them in the presence of the community. Play in libraries has obviously been done before, but in both my workplaces, they were adapted in ways that accounted for each system’s constraints and their patrons’ needs. 

So what will my quirk be next week when I get to perform? At least this time around, I wanted to incorporate a lot of dancing for my storytime! I’ve always been a very animated and musically-inclined person, so I’d love to share that with the patrons. However, I would love to explore ways I could create a sensory storytime for my workplace, especially in trying to implement sensory aids across all of our storytimes. 

References

Library 2.0. (2020). The Power of Stories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvZlTRTVX10&t=1651s

Roos, C. (2023). Why we need sensory storytimes. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Blog. https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2023/04/why-we-need-sensory-storytimes/

Roskos, K.A. (2023). Play’s potential in early literacy development. Encyclopedia on Early Child Development [online]. https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/play/according-experts/plays-potential-early-literacy-development.

Santa Clara County Library District. (2025). Storybook SCCLD. https://sccld.org/storybooksccld/

Santa Clara County Library. (2025). Storybook SCCLD children’s play space grand opening at Saratoga Library. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fRZqVZDDLs

Privacy in libraries can be a difficult balance between data privacy for patrons and optimization of user experience. While data privacy is a core aspect of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Code of Ethics (2021), its practice is constantly evolving, especially because libraries must also negotiate patron privacy with third-party vendors and educate patrons on digital literacy. 

For this reflection, I wanted to highlight ways that privacy policies in libraries could affect patrons of today. The goal of this post was for me to explore how current events may affect our patrons and hopefully bring attention to the solutions other libraries are taking to address privacy issues. 

Preserving privacy for trans patrons 

As Baldwin (2024) points out in American Libraries, the current political landscape can be dangerous for trans or any gender non-conforming patrons, especially with hundreds of anti-trans bills awaiting decision. More than ever, libraries can be a safe space for trans patrons, which should also be reflected in their policies. 

One way libraries can preserve privacy for trans patrons is by recognizing that the name on their legal documents may be different from their preferred name. Most libraries check legal paperwork and/or photo IDs with the library card application form: if there are no policies in place to allow flexibility with preferred names in patron records, then libraries risk using the patron’s dead name and/or exposing the patron as trans. Libraries can also update their library card application forms to include a preferred name(s) field, which can be additionally accommodating for patrons who go by multiple names. 

ICE in the library 

Personally, this has been an ongoing conversation within both of my library workplaces, as both systems are preparing for the very real possibility of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visit our spaces requesting patron information or whereabouts. What makes this issue even more complex is the fact that many third-party services that work with libraries often contribute data to ICE’s surveillance efforts (Lamdan, 2019). 

The ALA has released guidelines on how to balance Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights for patrons when responding to law enforcement requests (2021). Notably, their guidelines emphasize the importance of preparing every library worker (which includes interns and volunteers) on the appropriate response. 

In addition to this, the California Office of the Attorney General has released their own guidance on how public libraries in California can respond to any issues related to immigration (2024). Similar to the ALA’s guidelines, they recommend that specific people should be designated as the contact when any immigration issues occur. Legal counsel should also be identified before any issues occur so that they are quickly notified in the event that ICE agents enter the library and/or request information. 

Conclusions

It’s important for libraries (and by extension, library workers) to consider how they can maintain patron privacy. While data privacy can be as simple as anonymizing patron check-out data, it can also extend to library worker responses in events such as legal enforcement requests or decisions on which third-party vendors to work with. From my own time looking into this issue, I realized how important it is for library staff to do extensive preparation and research in advance – once the privacy breach occurs, it may be too late and the consequences can be severe. However, there are a myriad of solutions and many libraries are committed to confronting these issues. 

References

American Library Association (2021). ALA code of ethics. https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

American Library Association (2021). How to respond to law enforcement requests for library records and user information: Suggested guidelines. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement/guidelines

Baldwin, M. (2024). Prioritizing trans privacy. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2024/06/03/prioritizing-trans-privacy/

California Office of the Attorney General. (2024). Promoting safe and secure libraries for all: Guidance and model policies to assist California’s public libraries in responding to immigration issues. https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/immigration/libraries.pdf

Lamdan, S. (2019). Librarianship at the crossroads of ICE surveillance. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2019/ice-surveillance/

In Boyd’s prescient 2016 article, she describes the cognitive dissonance of seeing activists using technology to connect people while others employed that same technology for exploitative means. 

“I stopped believing that technology alone could produce enlightenment.”

Libraries can do so much with technology and are often pioneers of change in bridging the digital divide. From large-scale projects such as serving as wireless nodes for the community network to everyday tasks such as assisting patrons with tech literacy, the potential for libraries to uplift their community are endless. Undoubtedly, the question of “Can libraries do this?” has enabled them to create hyperlinked communities. 

In the same vein as the Silicon Valley giants, however, I think libraries are reaching the point where they need to ask “Should we do this?” – not as a question of balancing resources or maximizing efficiency, but as a question of what world libraries are trying to enable. 

The elephant in the room is generative AI: we are all talking about it and almost every service has AI embedded as a tool. Generative AI could be used for almost any purpose, and many libraries have contributed to the hype by offering programs that show patrons how to use gen AI. The reason why this hot topic is still somehow the unaddressed elephant is that the discussion of its ethics is seemingly nonexistent in the library world. While individual libraries such as the University of Missouri are bringing up responsible AI usage and the environmental impacts of AI, the focus of many AI-related library offerings remains solely on its possibilities. However, I wonder if libraries should focus less on the limitless horizon of this resource and reorient ourselves to the digital divide we may inadvertently be perpetuating.  

With its environmental cost (that the Global South will be fronting), tangible harm to creative industries, and potential to further the divide between labor and capital, AI should be less of a hot trend that libraries are adopting as the QR Code 2.0 and more of a serious conversation worth having. The crux of the issue is not AI in and of itself, but about who gets to have a say on how it is used. While I am still new to the library world, my hope is that libraries join in on the conversation and enable our patrons to do so as well.

References:

Acemoglu, D. & Johnson, S. (2023). Choosing AI’s Impact on the Future of Work. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/ai-impact-on-jobs-and-work

Boyd, D. (2016). What World Are We Building? Medium. https://medium.com/datasociety-points/what-world-are-we-building-9978495dd9ad

Jacobs, J. & Tasin, F. (2024). How the Global South May Pay the Cost of AI Development. Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). https://www.omfif.org/2024/07/how-the-global-south-may-pay-the-cost-of-ai-development/

University of Missouri. (2025). Artificial Intelligence: Research, Writing, Teaching, & Ethics. https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/c.php?g=1448277&p=10766409

Walton, A.Z. (2024). Creative Workers Say Livelihoods Threatened by Generative AI. Computer Weekly. https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-threat-of-generative-AI-to-creative-work-and-workers

Williams, A. & Muller, C. (2021). Libraries Are Bridging the Digital Divide. Internet Society. https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2021/03/libraries-are-bridging-the-digital-divide/