LJ’s 2024 Year in Architecture trends see libraries simultaneously designing for pragmatic concerns, such as safety and site constraints, and an equally important quotient of delight—achieving harmony in the process!

Shamella Cromartie, associate dean of organizational performance and administration at Clemson University Libraries, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work to expand outreach, membership, and support for Black librarians in South Carolina. We recently spoke with Cromartie to learn more about these projects.

Philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York on December 9 announced a new $5 million pool of grant funding available for public libraries nationwide. The new initiative—Libraries as Pillars of Education and Democracy—“will help public libraries deliver critical services that promote socioeconomic mobility, civic participation, and social belonging,” according to an announcement. The $5 million will be awarded to 10 to 15 library systems in regions serving 500,000 people or more, with each system receiving up to $500,000 in funding over 24 months.

From Nature: In October 2023, an e-mail pinged onto Federica Nicolardi’s phone with an image that would transform her research forever. It showed a fragment of a papyrus scroll that had been burnt in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ad 79. The scorched scroll was one of hundreds discovered in the remains of a luxury Roman […]

From Ladue News: Since 1846, the St. Louis Mercantile Library has served the city of St. Louis as a cultural hub. Filled with vibrant collections of books, archives and artwork, the library has something for every interest. Today, the library is undergoing renovations to ensure the library’s success for years to come. The library has […]

From The Japan Times: While bookstores are increasingly closing in Japan due to the prevalence of online shopping, some have started to work with libraries for survival. The government plans to support such collaborations by starting a survey in fiscal 2025 from April in response to concerns over the current situation in which libraries own […]

The article linked below was recently published by JASIST (Journal of the Association For Information Science and Technology) Title College Students’ Credibility Assessments Of GenAI-Generated Information For Academic Tasks: An Interview Study Authors Wonchan Choi University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Hyerin Bak University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Jiaxin An University of Texas at Austin Yan Zhang University of Texas […]

Dave explores NotebookLM’s podcasting feature. NotebookLM is an AI system from Google that lets you create a workspace around documents that summarizes, creates study guides, and much more. One of the features is creating an “Audio Overview” that transforms your notes and documents into a two person podcast. Dave was impressed, see what you think.

Dave explores NotebookLM’s podcasting feature. NotebookLM is an AI system from Google that lets you create a workspace around documents that summarizes, creates study guides, and much more. One of the features is creating an “Audio Overview” that transforms your notes and documents into a two person podcast. Dave was impressed, see what you think.

The election is over, and the reactions are emotional and raw. America is still as divided politically and socially as the day before. What’s in store for us as individuals, families and communities? What might the next few years look like for libraries and librarians and those who use and rely on library resources and service?

Libraries are evolving rapidly and leadership in this space requires more than passion—it demands strategic vision, adaptability, and a keen understanding of data. This article will discuss how library leaders can harness data to make informed decisions, align resources, and foster engagement within their communities.

On December 3, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem released the state budget for FY26, which includes devastating news for the State Library in Pierre, the state capital. The institution will have its budget cut by 12.5 FTE in staff, $1,030,267 in general funds, and $1,399,443 in federal fund expenditure authority. The library currently has 21 staff members, but if the measure passes, seven remaining staff members will work in accessibility services for disabled users, leaving two employees to cover everything else.

The theme of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2025 LibLearnX, “Reimagine, Refocus, Reset: Charting a Path for the Future,” has particular resonance, as this will be the final LibLearnX. The event, which replaced ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in 2022, had seen low attendance—just over 2,000 at last year’s conference in Baltimore—and ALA has opted to stop hosting the conference.

Publishing in a journal that isn’t reputable can reduce the credibility of research, hinder one’s career, and lessen the impact of research findings. When choosing a journal, researchers should talk with their colleagues, supervisors, and librarians to find out which publications they read regularly and which they perceive as the most highly respected in their field.