Keynoters and other speakers at American Library Association (ALA) conferences over the years have come to the conference from a wide range of disciplines, but their speeches all incorporate at least a few minutes attesting to the value of libraries in their lives—some landing more powerfully than others. At this year’s ALA Annual, held June 27–July 2 in San Diego, CA, a few speakers went beyond tales of being avid library users as children to tell stories that painted vivid pictures of what libraries, literacy, and unfettered access can mean to a kid who is looking to understand their world a little better.
Frankly, I should have seen it coming, but personal growth and change can be so subtle that you sometimes don’t realize you’re doing it until you’ve done it. In my case, things started small: snapping a photo of a wildflower while on a walk, admiring my friend’s summer crop of vegetables.
As library leaders contemplate retirement, are their libraries—and the next generation of leaders—ready for the change?
Executive leadership development is imperative for the future of any organization, and this was especially pertinent to Columbus Metropolitan Library as my retirement announcement grew closer. I decided to strategically tap the expertise of our library board of trustees because of their external organizational perspectives on talent management.
Anyone who is attending this year’s American Library Association (ALA) Annual Convention in San Diego hoping to hear more about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on libraries has not been disappointed. “Breaking Boundaries: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT to Transform Library Services,” one of the earliest panels on Saturday morning, was presented to a full house—five conjoined rooms with every seat taken.
Hisham Matar’s My Friends and Matthew Longo’s The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain win Orwell Prizes. Poets & Writers publishes its 24th annual roundup of the summer’s best debut fiction. South Carolina censorship law goes into effect. Plus, Page to Screen.
On Thursday, June 27, at the American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced the launch of its nationwide Information Literacy Initiative. The multipartner project provides a website, InformationLiteracy.gov, that offers a wide range of ready-to-use tools and resources for library and museum professionals—trusted educators—to engage their communities to find, understand, evaluate, and share accurate information.
Arundhati Roy wins the PEN Pinter Prize amid prosecution threat over Kashmir comments. The longlist for the McIlvanney Prize for best Scottish crime novel and the shortlist for the TLS Ackerley Prize for memoir and autobiography are announced. Authors Against Book Bans officially launches. Plus, new title bestsellers.
The Colorado Book Award winners and RSL Christopher Bland Prize shortlist are announced. Lambda Literary announces new fellows for the 2024 Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Chris Whitaker’s buzzy book All the Colors of the Dark. Adaptations are forthcoming for Emily Henry’s Happy Place and Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart, plus a long-awaited Green Lantern series. The Notebook, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, turns 20 this week. Plus, ALA’s Annual Conference kicks off in San Diego tomorrow.
On November 2, 1929, at Curtiss Airfield in Valley Stream, NY, 26 female licensed pilots, mostly from the East Coast, gathered to form the Ninety-Nines, an organization dedicated to support and advance women in aviation. Famed aviator Amelia Earhart, the first president of the Ninety-Nines, came up with the name in honor of the 99 charter members. Almost 95 years since its founding, the Ninety-Nines has about 7,000 members in 44 countries.
A Minnesota bill with a section prohibiting book bans in public libraries, and libraries or media centers in public postsecondary institutions and schools, was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz on May 17. Senate File 3567, an omnibus education reform bill—which also includes rulings on cell phone use in schools, student performance data, and student journalism, among other items—went into effect immediately.
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anne Applebaum is awarded the German Book Trade Peace Prize. Patrick deWitt wins the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his novel The Librarianist. Alicia Elliott’s And Then She Fell and Brandi Bird’s The All + Flesh: Poems win Indigenous Voices Awards. Hillary Clinton will release a new book, Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty, on September 17. Plus, authors recommend books for Pride Month.
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Ashley Poston, Danielle Steel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Beatriz Williams. Five LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Bear by Julia Phillips. The Glass Bell Award longlist is announced. NYT profiles physician Freida McFadden’s rise as the fastest-selling thriller writer in the U.S. Plus, Washington Post celebrates audio narrators for Audiobook Appreciation Month.
Chris Whitaker’s All the Colors of the Dark is the new Read with Jenna book club pick. Jackie Wullschläger’s Monet: The Restless Vision wins the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography. Jamaluddin Aram’s Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday, Jérémie Harris’s Quantum Physics Made Me Do It, and Keziah Weir’s The Mythmakers win the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prizes. Shortlists are revealed for the Taste Canada Awards for the best in Canadian food writing. The lineup for the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival is announced.
R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface and Katherine Rundell’s Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures have won Britain’s Indie Book Awards. Isabella Hammad’s Enter Ghost wins the Royal Society of Literature Encore Award for best second novel. Winners of Britain’s Society of Authors Awards and the shortlist for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize are also announced. Plus, new title bestsellers.
June 24 marks two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making abortion a state’s issue. As of this writing, abortion is banned or severely restricted in 21 states. However, abortion is just one part of the larger landscape of Reproductive Justice and reproductive health. Whether you are providing reproductive health information, especially abortion information, in your collections, at the reference desk, or through programming, consult with a legal expert about your options. This may include what type of information you can provide and where in your collection it’s located.
LibraryReads’ top pick for July is The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. In the fall, Macmillan will launch Saturday Books, an imprint with a new adult focus. B&N is buying Denver’s storied Tattered Cover bookstore. Amazon announces its Best Books of 2024 So Far, including Percival Everett’s James, the #1 book so far. The Taste Canada Awards shortlist is announced. Author Yulin Kuang suggests book and wine pairings for the summer. Anthony Bourdain’s graphic novel series Get Jiro! will be adapted for TV. Plus, LJ's Galley Guide for the 2024 ALA conference is now available.
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are new titles by Riley Sager, Liv Constantine, Patricia Briggs, Catherine Newman, Jack Carr, and Claire Lombardo. Eight LibraryReads and three Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Catherine Newman’s Sandwich. Several adaptations earned Tony Awards, including The Outsiders, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton, which won Best Musical.
V.V. Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night wins the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World wins the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction. Kevin Jared Hosein wins the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for Hungry Ghosts. Winners of the Reading the West Book Awards, the shortlist for the Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers, and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel shortlist are announced. Plus Page to Screen.
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is continuing to recover from a ransomware attack on Saturday, May 25. At press time, all branches were open, in-person and virtual programs and events were still being hosted, books and other physical materials were available for checkout, and online services provided by third-party vendors including ProQuest, Hoopla, Kanopy, and others were available to patrons. However, access to SPL’s ebooks and e-audiobooks, public computers, in-building Wi-Fi, printing and copying services, pickup lockers, museum pass services, interlibrary loan services, and some other online resources remained unavailable.
The winners of the Lambda Literary Awards are announced. The African Speculative Fiction Society releases the shortlist for the Nommo Awards. Poets & Writers announces its picks for the best debut authors of the summer: ’Pemi Aguda, Jiaming Tang, Michael Deagler, Yasmin Zaher, and Gina María Balibrera. The Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks state effort to ban books from school libraries. The entire author events team at the Free Library of Philadelphia has been fired. A new study from The Economist says that the New York Times bestseller list is politically biased against conservative books.
Oprah selects Familiaris by David Wroblewski for her 106th book club pick. Ted Chiang wins the PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Christina Morina wins the German Nonfiction Prize. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for buzzy book Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood. V.E. Schwab signs a two-book deal with Tor. Sylvester Stallone’s forthcoming memoir The Steps will be published by Morrow in 2025. A Crazy Rich Asians TV series, based on the books by Kevin Kwan, is in the works, and Netflix is developing a three-part series adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery.
Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump’s nephew, will publish a memoir, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, on July 30. The Frank R. Paul Award Nominees are announced. Publishers Weekly rounds up book club picks for June. Earlyword’s June GalleyChat spreadsheet is out now. Ursula K. Le Guin’s home will become a writers residency. Thomas Harris’s Hannibal turns 25. Plus, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are in talks to star in a sequel to Practical Magic, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman.
This year’s American Library Association Annual Conference will be held June 27 – July 2 in San Diego, CA, where Pacific Ocean breezes and dry air will likely keep daytime temperatures in the low ’70s and nights 10 degrees cooler. Add in the San Diego Convention Center’s bayfront setting and nearby attractions that include Balboa Park, home to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Museum of Art, and Mission Beach a 15-minute car trip away, and this year’s Annual is one to look forward to.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Elin Hilderbrand, Katherine Center, Freida McFadden, and Rufi Thorpe. The James Beard Media Award winners are announced. Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors wins the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Nine LibraryReads and nine Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is All Friends Are Necessary by Tomas Moniz. Plus, Costco announced its plan to no longer sell books year-round.
In recent years, the scholarly nonprofit Ithaka has prioritized advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), both within the organization and in its outward-facing work. As that process evolved, Kate Wittenberg, managing director of Ithaka’s digital preservation service, Portico, saw that its archival conservation mission aligned in many ways with social justice ideals. In summer 2021, she began to identify underrepresented community collections that might be at risk without a preservation strategy, and in 2023 Portico launched a pilot project connecting the curators of those archives to its expertise and resources.
Homer Aridjis’s Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence, tr. by George McWhirter, wins the Griffin Poetry Prize. Kevin Sinfield wins the top Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Award for The Extra Mile. Alicia Elliott wins the Amazon Canada First Novel Award for And Then She Fell. Louise Penny wins the International Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet Award for public service. A new “Hunger Games” book and movie are announced. Cengage, Elsevier, Macmillan Learning, and McGraw Hill have sued Google for allowing ads to run on sites that pirate textbooks.
In a divided three-judge panel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a majority decision largely upholding a preliminary injunction ordering Llano County Library System to reshelve several titles that were previously removed.
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead wins the Gotham Book Prize for the best book set in or about New York City. Nick Bradley and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo are among the 10 writers selected for the ILX 10 list by Britain’s National Centre for Writing. The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize shortlist has been revealed. Imbalances still remain when it comes to Black authors in the bestsellers lists, The Bookseller reports. Plus, interviews with Morgan Talty, Griffin Dunne, Jacqueline Winspear, and Judi Dench and new title bestsellers.
Reese Witherspoon kicks off an exclusive audiobook partnership with Apple Books with her June book club pick, The Unwedding by Ally Condie. Other book club picks include: Malas by Marcela Fuentes (GMA), Swift River by Essie Chambers (Read with Jenna), You Are Here by David Nicholls (B&N), and Becoming Ted by Matt Cain (Target). The New Brunswick Book Awards and the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Eruption by Michael Crichton & James Patterson. Bill Gates will publish a memoir, Source Code, next year. Plus, summer booklists arrive.
The Horror Writers Association announces the winners of the Bram Stoker Awards, with Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory taking the top prize for Superior Achievement in a Novel. The ITW Thriller Award winners are announced, including S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed. Time shares “15 LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride.” Four of Harlan Ellison’s books will be revised and reissued this year. According to the latest Audio Publishers Association Survey, U.S. audiobook revenue grew by 9%, to $2 billion, in 2023.
Eruption by Michael Crichton & James Patterson leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Annabel Monaghan, Brynne Weaver, Lisa Wingate, and Jacqueline Winspear, who bids adieu to her legendary detective Maisie Dobbs. People’s book of the week is Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy. Jenna Bush Hager picks Swift River by Essie Chambers for her June book club; B&N’s pick is You Are Here by David Nicholls. Audiofile announces the June Earphones Award winners, Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory wins the Chautauqua Prize, and the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence winners include Amanda Peters and Nita Prose. Romance Writers of America declares bankruptcy. Plus, remembrances continue for author Caleb Carr, who died last week at the age of 68.
In their shared hometown of Columbus, OH, at an event where readers celebrated their writing, Hanif Abdurraqib and Jacqueline Woodson sat with Library Journal for a conversation about libraries, book bans, and censorship.
As a book lover who works in the book industry, I have a job that aligns with my love for reading—and I get to work with librarians! Witnessing the sharp rise in attempts to ban books nationwide in recent years, I have become a vocal supporter of the First Amendment in ways that I didn’t expect when I began in publishing in 1988.
Frederick Douglass famously said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” This powerful and inspiring idea continues to resonate more than a century later, at a time when the essential services that libraries provide are more vital than ever.
Growing up in India as a young Sikh boy to aspiring middle-class parents, I understood their singular focus was to educate their children. Books were the windows that allowed me to gaze into a world far beyond my limited surroundings or imagination. The ancient tales of equality, courage, and righteousness from our scriptures, region, and history of valor ignited my imagination as I got older. At the same time, contemporary literature exposed me to the rich tapestry of cultures that coexisted in our vibrant nation.
Two and a half years ago, I was fired by the High Plains Library District (HPLD) in Weld County, CO, after I objected to cancelling programs for LGBTQIA+ teens and youth of color because they were “polarizing.”
Freedom to read issues are generating legislation—both library-adverse and library-protective—across the country.
This year’s standout selections from the American Library Association’s Government Documents Roundtable.
When the LJ team decided to focus our June issue on censorship, I couldn’t get the idea of exploring the personal nature of book bans out of my head. Yes, the broad societal impacts of affronts to intellectual freedom are significant—but what do they look like and mean for individual readers?
The U.S. Book Show, presented by Publishers Weekly—this year in collaboration with the Association of American Literary Agents—held its fourth annual event on May 22. The conference, which launched as a virtual symposium in 2021 to replace the defunct BookExpo America, offered a day of industry-centered conversation for publishing professionals, agents, editors, marketers, and authors.
My mentor used to say that we really only need to ask two questions when recruiting people: “Do you like to solve problems?” and “Do you like to help people?” If so, you would like working in the library! I tend to think that she’s right—and if the Library Journal 2024 Movers & Shakers are any indication, the opportunity to support community, exercise creativity, and advance learning are forces driving their work.
Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal wins the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which is given to an emerging Black American fiction writer. Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, tr. by Sean Cotter, wins the Dublin Literary Award. Ali Bryan’s Coq, Patrick deWitt’s The Librarianist, and Deborah Willis’s Girlfriend on Mars are shortlisted for the Leacock Medal for Canadian humor writing. The shortlists for Britain’s Society of Authors Awards are announced. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Amy Tan, Kaliane Bradley, and Monica Youn.
JSTOR’s Path to Open pilot project and MIT Press’s Direct to Open program are both demonstrating that open access (OA) monographs are receiving significantly more use and are cited more often than non-open counterparts, according to a recent JSTOR webcast and an impact report released last week by MIT Press.
Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos wins the International Booker Prize. The winners of the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Awards and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire are announced. Library Reads and LJ offer read-alikes for Ruth Ware’s buzzy book of the week, One Perfect Couple. People previews Sally Rooney’s forthcoming novel, Intermezzo, due out from Farrar on September 24. Emma Törzs’s Ink Blood Sister Scribe will get a TV series adaptation. And NYT distills the essential Don Delillo.
In celebration of National Bike Month (May in the United States, June in Canada), libraries are offering innovative ways to support bicycling all year round.
In a surprise move, Penguin Random House dismisses two of its top editors, roiling the industry. The Aurealis Awards winners and the Highland Book Prize shortlist are announced. Atria Books will relaunch Washington Square Press as a frontlist hardcover imprint dedicated to literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Summer booklists arrive, along with interviews with Kevin Kwan, Daniel Handler, Sebastian Junger, and Michael McDonald. Plus, Washington Post critic Michael Dirda offers 10 rules for reading.
When Angel City Press (ACP) cofounders Paddy Calistro and Scott McAuley began thinking about retiring a few years ago, they knew they wanted to make sure ACP remained a local operation. Several years, a few lawyers, and much due diligence later, the donation of ACP to the Los Angeles Public Library has been approved by Los Angeles City Council, and ACP will now be known as Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library.
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Kevin Kwan, and Steven Rowley. Yepoka Yeebo’s Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World wins the BIO Plutarch Award. Six LibraryReads and seven Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan. PBS Canvas takes a look at the trending popularity of Japanese animation and comic books in the U.S. Plus, NYT delves into Reese Witherspoon's literary empire ahead of her 100th book club pick.
Caleb Azumah Nelson wins the Dylan Thomas Prize for Small Worlds. Finalists have been selected for the Firecracker Awards, honoring the best independently published fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Abrams buys Taunton Books. Plus, interviews with Hari Kunzru, Coco Mellors, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Carvell Wallace.
Winners of the CrimeFest Awards are announced. Alexis Wright’s Praiseworthy, Iman Mersal’s Traces of Enayat, and Ian Penman’s Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors win the James Tait Black Prizes for biography and fiction. The Finnish translation of This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone wins the Helsinki Science Fiction Society’s Tähtivaeltaja Award. Plus new title bestsellers.
Nobel laureate and beloved short story writer Alice Munro has died at the age of 92. Ian Penman wins the RSL Ondaatje Prize for Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors. The CWA Daggers shortlists are announced. Summer booklists start to arrive. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for this week’s top holds title, The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. Plus, interviews with George Stephanopoulos, Melissa Mogollon, Michael McDonald, and Miranda July.
Those outside our field may marvel at—or be disconcerted by—transformations they experience as new, seismic shifts from what they understand about libraries. We know the transformation is far from sudden, and far from over. Understanding this, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is using best practices and key research to better understand and equip libraries with the tools needed to address the future needs of the diverse communities they serve.
V. Ganeshananthan wins the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for her book Brotherless Night. The British Book Awards are announced; R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface wins Fiction Book of the Year. The Indigenous Voices Award finalists are announced. South Arts announces Inaugural Literary Arts Fellows. Authors Casey McQuiston and Danny Lore will join the list of presenters for the 2024 Lammy Awards, which will be held on June 11. Ken Follett moves to Hachette for his next release, which will publish in 2025. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel will publish Freedom: Memories 1954–2021 on November 26.
It has been a busy legislative session in the Louisiana House, with several bills poised to impact libraries and library workers halted at various points, while others have been approved and moved on to the Senate. As they proliferate, grassroots library advocacy organizations are stepping up to combat them.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Harlan Coben, Miranda July, Jenn McKinlay, and Katee Robert. Four LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Shanghailanders by Juli Min. The Wales Book of the Year shortlist is announced. Madhur Jaffrey’s landmark Invitation to Indian Cooking celebrates 50 years.
Libraries, vendors, and library organizations have been busy with several recent artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives—check out LJ's roundup of the latest news from the field.
Patricia Evangelista’s Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country wins NYPL’s Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. Winners of the American Book Fest’s American Legacy Book Awards and the Vermont Book Awards are announced. Finalists for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and shortlists for the British Booksellers Association’s Indie Book Awards are released. Plus Page to Screen and interviews with Judi Dench, Serj Tankian, Christina Cooke, and Marissa Higgins.
Ben Fountain wins the Joyce Carol Oates Prize for mid-career fiction writers. The winners of the Minnesota Book Awards are announced. Shortlists for the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards are released. The longlist for the Kraszna-Krausz Photography and Moving Image Book Awards is revealed. Plus new title bestsellers and interviews with Abir Mukherjee, Michael McDonald, and Lucas Mann.
John Vaillant wins the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. The Minnesota Book Awards are announced. Marina Endicott wins book of the year at the 2024 Saskatchewan Book Awards. May book club picks arrive. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune, which also tops May’s Loanstars list. Earlyword’s May GalleyChat spreadsheet is out now. This month’s Costco Connection highlights Long Island by Colm Toíbín, which is also the Oprah book club pick.
The 2024 Pulitzer Prizes are announced, with Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips winning the top prize for fiction. A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall, King: A Life by Jonathan Eig, Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo, No Right to an Honest Living by Jacqueline Jones, and Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza also win prizes. Eduardo Halfon is awarded the Berman Literature Prize for his novel Canción. Oprah picks Colm Toíbín’s Long Island for her book club, and Reese Witherspoon selects Yulin Kuang’s How To End a Love Story. Plus, Simon & Schuster acquires Dutch publisher VBK.
Chelsea Heinbach is the teaching and learning librarian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She was named a 2023 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work (with Nimisha Bhat, Hailley Fargo, and Charissa Powell) in developing the blog and related podcast (created by Amber Sewell): LibParlor, a site dedicated to helping researchers find community resources and have a place to ask questions, discuss issues, and share expertise. She and the team received an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to create LibParlor Online Learning (LPOL), a free, online curriculum devoted to research topics and how-tos. LJ recently followed up with her to learn more about her work.
Fifty-seven percent of academic libraries report that the use of audiovisual (AV) sources such as news reels, recordings, performances, and films have increased over the past three years—with 21 percent describing significantly increased usage—while only 15 percent say that use of these resources have decreased, according to Library Journal’s recent AV Primary Sources Survey of Academic Libraries, sponsored by AM, that netted 220 responses from academic librarians in the United States and Canada. Thirteen percent of respondents said that college and university students now prefer AV primary source materials, compared with 18 percent who prefer print and other archival primary source materials.
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, Kaliane Bradley, Mary Kay Andrews, Colm Toibin, and Jayne Castle. Nine LibraryReads and nine Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is How To Read a Book by Monica Wood. Alexis Wright wins the Stella Prize for Praiseworthy. Plus, the Pulitzer Prizes will be announced at 3 p.m. EST today.
On April 25, the Peabody Awards revealed the list of 68 nominations for 2023, chosen from a field of 1,100 entries. This year’s contenders include popular TV series such as The Bear, Bluey, and Reservation Dogs, documentaries about Judy Blume and Little Richard, children’s programming, newscasts—and two offerings from public libraries: Milwaukee Public Library’s social media streams in the interactive and immersive media category, and Borrowed and Banned, a 10-episode podcast from Brooklyn Public Library in the podcast/radio category.
Winners are announced for the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Book Awards for books from indie presses. The Asian American Literature Festival will return in September, organized by a collective of literary groups, this time without the Smithsonian. NPR’s Fresh Air looks back today on past interviews with Paul Auster. Plus, Page to Screen and reviews of Kaliane Bradley’s buzzy The Ministry of Time.
Winners of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards are announced, including best novel Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke. The winners of the League of Canadian Poets prizes are Hannah Green’s Xanax Cowboy, Sandra Ridley’s Vixen, and Bradley Peters’s Sonnets from a Cell. The finalists for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing, the shortlist for the Leacock Medal for Canadian humor writing, and the shortlist for the Reading the West Book Awards are revealed. A record number of writers were jailed globally in 2023, according to a report by PEN America.
When Rebecca Wolfe noticed groups of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) come to her library, she saw an opportunity to make their library time more meaningful and engaging. She founded the monthly All Abilities Club, which offers crafts, games, literacy activities, music, and guest speakers to adults with IDD and caregivers.
Under Lauren Abner’s guidance, E-Rate participation levels and funding commitments to Kentucky libraries have risen to record highs, with the number of participating libraries in the state increasing from an average of 67 between 1998 and 2014 to an average of 99 each year from 2015 to 2022.
In 2023, Archibald’s work on two different projects generated enormous impact for the library and demonstrated that effective graphic design can make a difference in library programming.
Amber Gagliardi’s passion for gardening started as a child when she helped her grandfather plant seeds. She dreamed of starting a seed library at Middle Country Public Library for years before launching one in 2018 with 15 varieties of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds.
After being named library director in 2020, Tyler Hahn dove into calling attention to the rural digital divide and advocating for the crucial role of rural librarians on the radio, in news outlets, and to state and federal elected officials.
Marlon Moore isn’t one to sit back and wait for patrons to ask for assistance. Instead, he focuses on creating opportunities—and his contributions have earned the Miami-Dade Public Library System eight National Association of Counties Awards from 2013 to 2023 for unique and impactful programs.
As an archivist and division manager at Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Derek Mosley sees his work as an opportunity to preserve the stories of everyday people, ensuring that diverse records fill our cultural context and contributing to a more extensive portrait of African American life.
Sara Ring's work with the 23 Linked Data Things project grew out of conversations with colleagues at a conference a few years ago, where they discussed the lack of resources for librarians to keep up to date on technology. But it wasn’t until she and other coworkers formed a Wikidata Book Club that the discussion extended into how to help people—including themselves—learn about linked data.
Tara Somersall’s creativity serving children of all ages has made Yonkers Public Library a community leader in meeting kids’ needs and preparing them for a lifetime of reading.
When Alex Vancina joined the Helen Plum Library administration in 2017, plans to build a new $30 million facility had been put on hold—Vancina used the temporary setback as an opportunity to initiate a total revamp of the library’s IT and technical services departments.
Josselyn Atahualpa oversees adult education courses in literacy, English as a Second Language, and GED preparation. When she noticed a wave of asylum seekers coming to the library in early 2022, Atahaulpa alerted library leadership and pushed QPL to prioritize training on best practices for serving the community.
From her podcast, Allie the Librarian Booktalks, to her leadership with the Texas Library Association, Alexandra Cornejo demonstrates her unwavering commitment to intellectual freedom and promoting diverse voices in literature.
Meredith Crawford, Community Engagement Librarian with the Cedar Rapids Public Library, launched the Be Heard program at a local youth detention center with the goal of reducing recidivism by engaging students with literature and art.
As an American Library Association Emerging Leader, Nicollette Davis is always looking for ways to improve the library field. Through the We Here organization, she helps BIPOC library and information science professionals support each other in a welcoming space.
LaShawn Myles had not worked specifically with the disability community when she joined the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled in 2018. Her work as an educator led her to libraries, where she quickly became a champion for visually impaired patrons, advocating for resources and finding ways to make materials more accessible.
Mychal Threets, whose earnest TikTok videos have logged millions of views, started out sharing stories that epitomized what he calls “library joy” to inspire people to visit their library. He ended up capturing hearts across social media.
Monnee Tong’s career has been shaped by her passion for social justice, which carries through to her work as supervising librarian at San Diego Public Library.
Visser's work on E-Rate policy and technology equity has been a game-changer for communities across the country, including in tribal libraries, where she helped improve access to broadband.
When Missouri’s Senate Bill 775 (SB 775) became law in 2022, calling for criminal penalties on educators who provide students with materials containing “explicit sexual material,” Melissa Corey recognized the severe implications for collection development and spearheaded a swift response to preserve compliant books in school libraries.
With a recent surge in book censorship efforts, Sarah DeMaria, cochair and president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s (PSLA) Advocacy Committee, hears from school librarians statewide who have faced public attacks, reassignments, and chosen resignation due to flawed policies.
Jensen, a librarian by trade, worked in a public library for several years before joining the Book Riot team in 2013, where she developed her passion about the right to read and access to books.
What do graphic novels, Grimace shakes, and Barbenheimer have in common? For 2022 Kentucky School Librarian of the Year Tim Jones, they can be tools for helping students develop media literacy.
Lucy Podmore became chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians at a key time, just as HB 900—the controversial state bill that would require vendors to rate books for explicit content before selling them to school libraries—was on its way to becoming law.
After working in school, academic, and museum libraries, Jennie Pu landed her first public library job as Hoboken Public Library (HPL) director two and a half years ago, and has already made her mark as a champion of intellectual freedom.
Huda Shaltry carries a copy of the U.S. Constitution in her purse. Referring to the First Amendment comes in handy when the Boise librarian meets with members of the Idaho Legislature in her role as Legislative Chair of the Idaho Library Association.
While she wears numerous hats at North Carolina State University Libraries, Tarida Anantachai says that “my work is centered on people and supporting not just who they are as fellow colleagues, but especially who they are more personally, and their individual lived experiences.”
When she was in college, Dr. Shamella Cromartie had a job at a public library where leadership and others were Black, which encouraged her to pursue a career in the field. “It’s important to see people that look like you in these positions so that you know that you can do it, too,” she says.
As a native Memphian, Kim Jordan-Fluker has unwavering affection for her hometown. As Regional Manager for LINC/2-1-1, Memphis Public Libraries’ social service department, Jordan-Fluker’s team is the driving force in connecting the city’s most vulnerable residents with resources they often don’t know exist, let alone how to access.
Thanks to Nardia Cumberbatch’s leadership, Valencia College in Orlando, FL, was the first library in Florida (and second academic library overall) to complete the Sustainable Library Certification Program.
Recognizing that young girls in groups are often outvoiced by male peers, Amanda Chacon—School Library Journal’s 2024 School Librarian of the Year—founded STEM GEMS, a club offering no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech challenges for girls.
As Head, Advanced Research Services and Digital Scholarship Librarian with the University of Victoria Libraries, Matt Huculak examines librarians’ role in scholarly communication, archiving, and collecting, while collaborating with other disciplines to bring that documentation to life.
In her scholarship, as in her instruction, Allison Jennings-Roche aims to seize opportunities to make people think critically about libraries as public institutions and about the information systems that impact their lives.
As the adult services librarian at the Curtis Memorial Library (CML) in Brunswick, ME, Hazel Onsrud is a passionate advocate for sustainable living, developing programming focused on sustainability to help her community discover how best to improve their environmental impacts.
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