Blog Posts
In Praise of Adventurous Radio DJs
By Marci Cohen, Head, Music Library, Boston University Libraries (retired) During my recent visit to Memphis for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections conference, a recurring name came up at Graceland, Sun Studio, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, and in the…
ATG! The Podcast Roundup
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash In case you haven’t been tuning in to weekly episodes (airing each Monday) of ATG! The Podcast, here are some highlights of our recent guests and what you’ve been missing. Guest host Michael Upshall has been cranking out expert…
Robyn Hitchcock: The Confuser
Marci Cohen, Head, Music Library, Boston University Libraries (retired) It’s hard to maintain a mid-level music career, yet eccentric English musician Robyn Hitchcock has just released his 25th studio album, The Confuser (Tiny Ghost). The album drop coincides with his…
The Power of Singing Along
By Marci Cohen, Head, Music Library, Boston University Libraries (retired) Communal singalongs have been notable features at recent events, both colossal and tiny. At a World Cup match, US coach Mauricio Pochettino and several of his players joined the stadium crowd…
ATG Interviews Jernej Masnec, CEO, Underline Science
Jernej Masnec Annual Reviews has announced the acquisition of Underline Science, expanding its ability to support scholarly societies and conference organizers worldwide. Against the Grain sat down with Underline CEO Jernej Masnec to discuss what brought the two…
Librarian Luminaries: MacKenzie Smith
MacKenzie Smith Academic librarians and library staff are a bridge between the vast world of knowledge and the needs of students, faculty, and researchers. “Librarian Luminaries” is a column which will feature a different librarian each month who has had a recent…
Wandering the Web — Finding Family: Using AI Technology in Genealogical Research
By Nancy Richey (Special Collections Librarian/Professor, Western Kentucky University Libraries) Column Editor: Lesley Rice Montgomery, MLIS (Catalog Librarian II, Tulane University Libraries’ Technical Services Department) Against the Grain V38#3…
Access Granted — What’s the Word?
Column Editor: Michelle K. Hahn (Disability Advocate and Librarian) Against the Grain V38#3 Accessibility isn’t a checklist — compliance is only the floor, and disability inclusion means going beyond the minimum. This column explores how we get there, one win…
Stacks of Steel — The Impact of Lived Experiences on Librarianship
Column Editor: Daniel L. Huang-Talbot (Library Resources Specialist, Lived Places Publishing; and Acquisitions Librarian, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA) Against the Grain V38#3 “Prrt Prrt” and a velvety black tail across my (allergic) nose was his initial…
Exploring Shoegaze Then and Now
By Marci Cohen, Head, Music Library, Boston University Libraries (retired) Popular music has splintered into so many microgenres that my colleague Leo Martin, Head of Resource Management and Metadata at University of Houston Libraries, who started his library career…
What Do Archives Mean In A World Changed By AI?
By Georgia Davis, Institutional Sales & Marketing Executive, Exact Editions, Ltd. In a December 2025 statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern that AI tools were producing believable archival and legal references when information…
Librarian Luminaries: Tamika Barnes
Academic librarians and library staff are a bridge between the vast world of knowledge and the needs of students, faculty, and researchers. “Librarian Luminaries” is a column which will feature a different librarian each month who has had a recent notable…
Snoop Dogg and the Careers of Aging Rappers
By Marci Cohen, Head, Music Library, Boston University Libraries (retired) Snoop Dogg has a new album, 10 Til’ Midnight (Death Row/gamma). The album itself, which has not even dented the Billboard 200 or Top R&B/Hip-Hop album charts, is less interesting than the…
And They Were There: Assessing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tools on library services and scholarly publishing (Individual Session Report at 2026 Charleston Conference Asia)
By Dr. Chetan Sudhakar Sonawane, Librarian, KMC College Dr. Sonowane attended the inaugural 2026 Charleston Conference Asia and is sharing this report with us about the session he presented as part of a Lightning Round at the event. We welcome session…
Access Granted — The Barriers We Fail to See
Column Editor: Michelle K. Hahn (Disability Advocate and Librarian) Against the Grain V38#2 Accessibility isn’t a checklist — compliance is only the floor, and disability inclusion means going beyond the minimum. This column explores how we get there, one win…