From the American Library Association: The Policy and Standards Division of the Library of Congress, which maintains Library of Congress Subject Headings, announced the decision to replace the cataloging subject headings “Aliens” and “Illegal aliens” with new subject headings “Noncitizens” and “Illegal immigration” at its regularly scheduled meeting on November 12.

The 2021 Charleston Conference, held as a hybrid of in-person and virtual events, reflected many of the concerns of academic librarianship in the COVID-19 era. Sessions were lively and engaging, with a focus on practical information and an eye on ways to ensure that services and programs would remain sustainable in uncertain times.

Growing up, Rebecca Cline adored the film Mary Poppins, but as a budding Disney fan, she had no idea that one day she would have an up-close view of the carousel horses that the titular nanny and her charges ride, or the snow globe that Mary holds as she sings “Feed the Birds.” The director of the Walt Disney Archives, Cline now has access to these props and many others.

Over the past 16 months, COVID-19 has forced public libraries to consider how to contribute to their patrons’ health and well-being. Anythink Libraries in Adams County, CO, has developed Renew, a new initiative designed to offer its participants both helpful programs and an online method of tracking their progress developing a lifestyle that is healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.

COVID shifts drove falling print circ and rising ebooks. But will it last? LJ's 2021 Materials Survey looks at some of the last year's trends.

This is the 13th year of the LJ Index of Public Library Service and Star Library ratings. The 2020 scores and ratings are based on FY18 data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS). Because of that delay, they don’t reflect the impact of the coronavirus; that won’t be reflected in the data until 2022. The big news in this year’s edition is that successful retrievals of electronic information (e-retrievals)—measuring usage of online content, such as databases, other than by title checkout—joins the six other measures that determine the LJ Index.

Whether librarians are providing services in-person or virtually, reference has changed with the pandemic.

Library Journal’s annual Placements & Salaries survey reports on the experiences of LIS students who graduated and sought their first librarian jobs in the previous year: in this case, 2019. Salaries and full-time employment are up, but so are unemployment and the gender gap; 2019 graduates faced a mixed job market even before the pandemic.

From the ARCHIVER Project: Arkivum, LIBNOVA, and T-Systems are the leaders of the three projects selected via the ARCHIVER Pre-commercial Procurement Tender to build prototypes for hybrid cloud end-to-end archival and preservation services for European Research communities. Started in January 2019, the ARCHIVER project is one of the Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) initiatives funded by the […]

The article (preprint) linked below was recently made available by portal: Libraries and the Academy published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Title A Role for the Library in Public Research: The Global COVID-19 Dashboard Authors Mara Blake North Carolina State University Libraries Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University Reina Chano Murray Sheridan Libraries […]

From Merriam-Webster: Today Merriam-Webster announced its Word of the Year: Vaccine. While this may seem like an obvious selection for 2021, the data from the dictionary’s website tells a complex story. “Vaccine lookups increased 600%, and the story is about much more than medicine,” says Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s Editor at Large. “It was at the […]

From The Internet Archive: The Internet Archive invites you to a virtual book talk with authors Deanna Marcum and Roger C. Schonfeld about their new book, “Along Came Google: A History of Library Digitization.” Deanna and Roger will be joined in conversation by Brewster Kahle, the founder and digital librarian of the Internet Archive, as […]

When the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines began to roll out in mid-December 2020, their distribution was immediately complicated by a shortage of doses and widespread uncertainty about who would be given priority. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued suggested guidelines for phased allocation. When it was not yet clear who would be next, many library workers, leaders, and associations began advocating for public facing library workers to be vaccinated as soon as feasible.

In the messy middle of the pandemic, library leaders share how things have changed since March 2020, their takeways, and continuing challenges.

Whether librarians are providing services in-person or virtually, reference has changed with the pandemic.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of books on the subject has been increasing exponentially. This introductory list, which will be updated regularly, is meant to help collection development librarians get started on determining which books work best for their collections.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult leads holds this week. One LibraryReads pick and seven Indie Next picks publish this week. People's book of the week is Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Best Of 2021 lists roll in, including NPR’s “Books We Love,” formerly known as Book Concierge. Interviews arrive with National Book Award Winner Jason Mott, Diana Gabaldon, Mel Brooks, and actress Sharon Gless. The House of Gucci adaptation gets coverage and Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth will get screen treatment. Plus, tributes continue for Stephen Sondheim, who died at the age of 91.  

The Cleveland Public Library is teaming up with the Pro Football Hall of Fame for student programming, IMLS signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Library of Congress has acquired the M.C. Migel Memorial Rare Book Collection from the American Foundation for the Blind, and more news briefs.

Cleveland performer, activist, and archivist Bella Sin is helping the Ohio State University (OSU) burlesque and exotic dance archives document the burlesque revival that began in the 1990s and is still going strong.

Open research covers a wide remit of publishing practices, policies, and technical solutions that are continuously evolving to meet the needs of the research community.