Thinking back over this past year’s library reads, Michael Agresta’s Slate piece, “What will become of the library?” was one of my favorites. It perfectly captures the zeitgeist of libraries in the second decade of this millennium and it is a good reminder of the social and intellectual potential that libraries offer their communities.

Libraries will only survive if the communities they serve want and need them to. […] In the end, it’s up to us—scholars, makers, and artists, seekers of community, access, and safe haven, and above all, readers in the old, human sense of the word—to rise to the level of these monuments we’ve built.

As I think about 2016 and my role as a librarian in the future of higher ed, this article puts me in useful state of mind. 

In summarizing the recent success of the ACRL Library Marketing and Outreach Interest Group, one of the coordinators noted that “this past year, we all decided we loved Canva so much that we decided to marry it.” We chuckled, but I’m sure some of us where thinking “hm, I wonder if I could marry Canva?”

Canva is an elegant online tool used by many librarians for developing visually stunning digital graphics, but as Lindsay Davis tells us on Librarian Design Share, Canva can also be used to create print handouts as well. Check out this flyer Davis created for students at Merced College:

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I am happy to announce that on October 5, I’ll be starting a new job at Loyola Marymount University as the William H. Hannon Library’s Outreach & Communications Librarian.

My joy is bittersweet as I have loved working at Whittier College and will miss my colleagues. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the few years I’ve spent here, but I’m also looking forward to the new challenge!