American Libraries launches Dewey Decibel podcast

CHICAGO—American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association, just launched the Dewey Decibel podcast. Hosted by AL Associate Editor Phil Morehart, this new monthly podcast series will feature conversations with librarians, authors, thinkers, scholars, and other experts, on a variety of topics from the library world and beyond.

“With this new podcast, we hope to reach even more people interested in the world of libraries and librarians,” says Laurie Borman, editor and publisher. “It’s a great way to hear directly from library leaders, whenever you want. However you like your library news—by download, in print, online or live chat, in your email inbox, or through social media, American Libraries has something for you.”

In the first episode, “Preservation: If You Don’t Have the Keepers, You Don’t Have the History,” Phil interviews three preservation experts in observance of ALA Preservation Week (April 24–30, 2016): Brad Meltzer, bestselling author, honorary chair of Preservation Week 2016, and host of Brad Meltzer’s Decoded and Brad Meltzer’s Lost History on the History Channel; Michèle Cloonan, dean and professor emerita of Simmons School of Library and Information Science and author of Preserving our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age (ALA/Neal-Schuman, 2015); and Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

The second episode—which will focus on library security and will feature interviews with Steve Albrecht, security expert and author of Library Security: Better Communications, Better Facilities (ALA Editions, 2015), and others—will be released May 23.

AL’s Dewey Decibel podcast is available for download or streaming at https://soundcloud.com/dewey-decibel-703453552.