Call Number with American Libraries Podcast

In this bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries reports from the Youth Media Awards (YMAs) at the 2017 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits. The YMAs have a devoted fan base, many of whom queue in the pre-dawn hours to get a prime seat for the ceremony. Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talked to some of them about their YMA fandom, their favorite kids books, and more.

For Episode Four of the Dewey Decibel podcast, host Phil Morehart and a staff of reporters recap the American Library Association's (ALA) 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, highlighting the celebrity interviews, staff and member conversations, and exhibit hall action for those librarians who attended, those who could not, and any listeners who may have wondered what kinds of programming and people you'll find at Annual. Sociology professor, author, and political analyst Michael Eric Dyson sits down with American Libraries Senior Editor George Eberhart for an energetic, poetic interview about discovering literature, hip-hop, the Obama presidency, gun control, and “reaching young people where they are.” The Pulse nightclub shooting, which happened two weeks before Annual, was much on the minds of organizers and attendees. ALA's then-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table Peter Coyl speaks to AL Senior Editor Amy Carlton about how the Saturday morning memorial came together, the importance of remembering victims as individuals, and how civil rights pioneer US Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) came to participate. ALA Editions Marketing Coordinator Rob Christopher reveals to Samantha Imburgia, ALA Publishing’s associate editor for e-learning solutions, what really goes on at the ALA Store, from bestselling books to setup and tear-down to author signings. Plus, AL Associate Editor Terra Dankowski provides roving dispatches from the convention center.

In the first episode of American Libraries Dewey Decibel podcast, host Phil Morehart talks to Brad Meltzer, bestselling author and host of "Brad Meltzer's Decoded" and "Brad Meltzer's Lost History" on the History Channel; Michele Cloonan, preservation scholar and dean emerita at Simmons College School of Library and Information Science, and Michael Witmore, dean of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

In Episode 57, Call Number looks back on author interviews conducted by American Libraries staffers throughout 2020. Author, poet, and essayist Julia Alvarez, writer and artist Chanel Miller, chef Jeff Henderson, ice dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani, and writers Echo Brown and Yaa Gyasi discuss their work and reveal the important role that libraries and books have played in their lives.

It's that time of the year again, when the days grow shorter, a chill creeps into the air, and the supernatural and otherworldly are ubiquitous—even in the library world. Join American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart for a very special Halloween edition of the podcast, featuring conversations with: Greg Hager, director of Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana, which is notorious for being one of the most haunted libraries in the United States. Phil and Greg talk about the library’s history and haunts, and how it uses the internet to help visitors spot its ghosts. Jake Adler, head librarian at the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City, a library and research facility devoted to the magic arts. Phil and Jake discuss the facility's collection of magic-related books and periodicals, its availability to researchers and the public, and more. Daniel Kraus, award-winning author of numerous horror and fantasy books, including The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, the latest volume of which was released October 25, and Trollhunters, a book coauthored with filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro that is coming to Netflix as an animated series in December. Phil chats with Daniel about his projects and inspirations, their favorite horror films, and more.