On the road with LibraryCall and Bessie Stringfield

Submitted by madeline on Wed, 04/27/2022 - 04:00 PM PDT

LibraryCall is on the road again! This week, two of our team members are down south at the Texas Library Association conference in Fort Worth. Amanda Jacobs Foust, our Outreach and Accounts Manager reports, “It’s been a pleasure to be first time exhibitors at TLA. We’ve enjoyed talking and connecting with such a wide range of library staff - especially so many school libraries! Plus we get to enjoy lots of Texas tacos and BBQ in beautiful Fort Worth while we work!”

Amanda Jacobs Foust and Lori Ayre, smiling at TLA!

Conference attendance allows us to hear directly from library staff about their work and how we can help libraries add capacity and solve challenges. Maybe we'll see some of you at the California Library Association conference in June!

 

Featured Story

Motorcycles, daring women, and breaking barriers! What could make for better story elements?

Silhouette of a person riding a motorcycle down an open road

Bessie Stringfield: Motorcycle Queen! by Lauren Kratz Prushko introduces listeners to one of the most exciting figures in American history. Bessie Stringfield was the first African American woman to drive her motorcycle solo across the United States. It was the 1930s and Jim Crow was in full effect. She faced racial discrimination, sexism, and many other dangers in her travels, including roads that were dusty, rutted, and not well-connected. America’s interstate highways weren’t nationally funded or maintained until 1956! But none of this stopped Bessie. Her love of the open road and her Harley Davison bikes (she owned 27 throughout her life) kept her focused and driven. 

 If you’re looking for books to supplement this recording, check out Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield's First Ride and Bessie Stringfield: Tales of the Talented Tenth, both by Joel Christian Gill. 

 

Upcoming Event

We invite you to join us for Dial-A-Story Chat, an open-ended, super casual monthly forum to discuss your Dial-A-Story service. Maybe you need advice about navigating the Storytime Commons or finding stories in languages other than English. Perhaps you’d like tips on recording your stories without that weird grainy sound in the background. Or maybe you have some great stories or ideas to share with your colleagues. Bring all your questions, tips, and ideas! A friendly LibraryCall Content Developer will facilitate.

 

Dial-A-Story Chat: Feedback, Solutions, Sharing

Friday, May 20, 2022 at 12:00 PM PST

Click here to register

Synopsis

LibraryCall attends the Texas Library Association Conference in Fort Worth and features a story about Bessie Stringfield, a motorcycle-riding, barrier-breaking African American woman.