Programs+

LJ has received an Eddie award for its February 2024 cover story “Hungry for Connection: Addressing Loneliness Through the Library,” by Editor-in-Chief Hallie Rich. In May, 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory calling attention to loneliness, isolation, and a lack of connection as a public health crisis increasing the risk of mental health challenges and even premature death. LJ’s feature examined how library programs “can build the very relationships our nation’s public health experts say we most need to cultivate.”

Isaiah West, who taught seventh-grade English before becoming a librarian, has a passion for working with young people. “Teens get a bad rap,” he says. “They can be moody, apathetic, chaotic, and more, but they are also authentic, inspiring, and funny.… They give me hope that society might have hope for a brighter and longer future.”

Connecting directly with customers to find out what they want and need; training staff to focus on equity and to recognize and eliminate hidden biases; developing programs and services for underserved and marginalized populations; and seeking out public sector and private partners made LA County Library a model for the future of libraries and the Gale/LJ Library of the Year.