Crafting has always been around, but over the course of the pandemic, these creative outlets have taken on more importance. Here are tips on getting started.

Even after Pride month, it’s important to ensure that your library’s collection includes titles that feature LGBTQ characters. Additionally, as manga’s popularity skyrockets and demand increases, so too will the need for inclusive books in the genre. Here are six manga that star characters of diverse sexualities.

The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) President's Program at the 2021 American Library Association (ALA) Annual conference continued the theme of social justice prevalent in many of the conference offerings. The session’s title, Community Driven Justice in Our Work: Library and Archival Workers of Color Advocating for Self-Preservation, Solidarity, Change, and Justice in Communities, Workplace, and in the Profession at Large, proposed a wide cross-section of work; panelists kept the focus on their own advocacy efforts within their libraries.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress on March 10. It includes targeted funding for various sectors of the economy and government impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from agriculture to small businesses to education—and libraries. Here are the ins and outs of how new federal funds will reach public libraries and how they can be spent.

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.

The factsheets from the International Olympic Committee linked below were updated in the past month. IOC Members IOC Sessions Olympic Congresses Records of Medals at the Games of the Olympiad Roles and Responsibilities During the Olympic Games The Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games The Games of the Olympiad The Olympic Games of the Antiquity […]

From a Google Scholar Blog Post by Anurag Acharya: This release covers articles published in 2016–2020 and includes citations from all articles that were indexed in Google Scholar as of July 2020. Scholar Metrics include journals from websites that follow our inclusion guidelines and selected conferences in Engineering & Computer Science. Publications with fewer than […]

From the Atlantic Council: The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center today launched a state-of-the-art Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Tracker, offering an unprecedented global look at the adoption of digital currency. The original version of the tracker– launched in April 2020– has been used by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of International Settlements, and news outlets […]

From a Joint Announcement (via the Association of Research Libraries): The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) launched a joint project in June 2021 to explore how libraries advance the higher education sector’s strategic priorities. This is an important time to reflect on the role of research libraries […]

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.

Wanda M. Morris talks to LJ about her debut novel, wrapping women’s stories in legal thrillers, and how an Atlanta library was instrumental in the creation of All Her Little Secrets.

Eight years on, readers’ advisory research shows that the service has grown in popularity and importance, but librarians need more time to read widely and practice skills.

Susanna Clarke, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Stephen Graham Jones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and C.L. Polk are finalists for the World Fantasy Awards. Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are publishing a book. Glory Edim, founder of the book club Well-Read Black Girl, and Maureen Corrigan, NPR book critic, suggest books for the summer. NPR’s Morning Edition address the toll of the pandemic on authors and book discovery. Adaptations of Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, and William Gibson’s The Peripheral make news. The adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story “Drive My Car” wins best screenplay at Cannes. Dune gets a new trailer.

Library Journal and School Library Journal combine editorial & marketing expertise to conduct and present the most up-to-date library market research available.

These comprehensive and reliable reports use real data to help answer hard questions and aid decision making. Our in-house research experts conduct a variety of surveys each year focused on different aspects of public, academic, special and school libraries. Each report is made available as a downloadable pdf.