Library vendors have announced several new products, partnerships, and programs during the past two months. Here’s a sampling of recent news. 

Navigating a library can be overwhelming, especially in large or multi-level buildings where finding a specific item, space, or amenity can feel like a treasure hunt. StackMap, a leader in library wayfinding and digital navigation solutions, is here to change that.

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in work, creative pursuits, and the generation of online misinformation, public libraries have a major new role to play in digital literacy.

As Lorcan Dempsey, formerly with OCLC, observed in portal: Libraries and the Academy (2008), “discovery happens elsewhere”—that is, people are using internet search engines, recommendations from social media, or emails from friends and colleagues to discover content. Search can be a powerful tool, provided you know what you are looking for. Yet there are significant problems associated with the search process.

Search, revise, and repeat. This is the habit in which users often find themselves when searching through mountains of content. To be faced with a repository of information and not find one’s desired knowledge is not a new dilemma, and now with AI, one never knows if what is retrieved is accurate or authentic.

Two and a half years after launch, Books Unbanned has continued to grow as a vital resource for people in schools and communities where book challenges otherwise put content out of reach.

Over 60 percent of libraries are currently evaluating or planning for artificial intelligence (AI) implementation, according to a global survey of more than 1,500 librarians by Clarivate, the parent company of ProQuest, Ex Libris, Web of Science, and more. According to Clarivate’s first “Pulse of the Library” report, which combines feedback from the global survey and qualitative interviews of librarians working at academic, public, and national libraries, “the potential rise of AI adoption in the coming year is high."

On September 4, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a March 2023 ruling that the Internet Archive’s (IA) program of scanning print books and distributing digital copies on a one print-book, one-ebook, one-user basis for free is not protected by fair use doctrine. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House in June 2020.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Public Library (CPL) on August 15 announced the launch of “Chicago Book-Wrapped,” a new popup initiative offering instant access to a curated collection of ebooks and e-audiobooks with no hold times or library card requirements during special events in Chicago. The initial collection was curated to celebrate the Democratic National Convention.