Having spent over a decade adjusting to a “new normal” of serials inflation, harsh budget cuts, and a redirection of spending from collections to services, arguably few if any libraries were prepared for the turmoil wrought by a pandemic. We have shifted to a new abnormal. How will libraries survive and thrive after the pandemic subsides? What might our new abnormal look like?

Before the COVID pandemic, Princeton University instructors Joshua Kotin and Irene Small were looking forward to coteaching an undergraduate class, “Language To Be Looked At,” exploring concrete and visual poetry. In concrete poetry, the visual elements of a poem—typography and symbols and their arrangement on the page, as well as the printed matter itself—are critical components of its meaning.

We offer a selection of noteworthy and inspirational gardens to get that green thumb back into shape, or to simply enjoy some armchair travel.

The American Library Association launched two relief funds at the beginning of April. The $1.25 million ALA COVID Library Relief Fund will offer grants of $30,000–$50,000 to public, school, academic, and tribal libraries across the United States and U.S. Territories that have been affected by pandemic-influenced budget contractions. The ReMember Fund will ensure that ALA members financially impacted by COVID-19 can maintain their membership.

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 MIT Libraries: In October, the Libraries welcomed Alexia Hudson-Ward as the new associate director for Research and Learning. Previously the Azariah Smith Root Director of Libraries at Oberlin College, Hudson-Ward provides strategic leadership for the community-facing service portfolio of the Libraries. She recently talked to Bibliotech about the MIT Libraries’ vision, working through a […]

From a Library of Congress “Folklife Today” Blog Post by Stephanie Hall: The January 1941 launch of the Radio Research Project marked the initial foray of the Library of Congress into broadcast media. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and supported by Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish, the project created numerous and diverse radio programs primarily […]

From the University of British Columbia UBC alumnus and Canadian telecommunications icon, Philip B. Lind, CM, has donated $2.5 million to UBC. This gift is comprised of the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection, an unparalleled rare book and archival collection, dating from the Klondike Gold Rush (1894–1904), and financial support to ensure it is […]

From The Daily Illini: Despite not being the most eye-catching building on campus, the historic Main Library, constructed in the 1920’s, housed one of the University’s most prized assets: its collections of rare books and manuscripts — one of the largest in the world. Yet, the vault that houses the University’s Rare Book and Manuscript […]

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.

The 2021 James Tait Black Prize Shortlists and the 2021 Anthony Award Nominees have been announced. Warner Bros. searches for a Black Superman, enlisting author Ta-Nehisi Coates. An ‘Uncensored Library’ in Minecraft protects against cyber censorship and an open letter from members of Britain’s publishing industry raises issues regarding transphobia. Sooley by John Grisham, Finding Ashley by Danielle Steel, Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri, What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell and You Are Your Best Thing by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown top best sellers lists. NYT profiles Stacey Abrams, author of While Justice Sleeps. Tor.com reveals a cover for Kerstin Hall’s Second Spear. An upcoming adaptation of the Red Sonja comic character will star Hannah John-Kamen.

Earlier this spring, in conjunction with a survey of how academic library deans and directors’ perspectives and strategies around equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and anti-racism have changed over the last year, Ithaka S+R announced that it would launch an anti-racism talent management audit in partnership with library leaders from Binghamton University, NY, and the University of Delaware.

Best sellers in environmental sciences, April 2020 to date, as identified by GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO.

Reese Witherspoon's May book club pick The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave is already in limited series development for Apple TV+ . Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian is B&N May book club selection. Julian Barnes has won the Jerusalem Prize. The 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year longlist arrives, along with finalists for The 2020 Governor General's Literary Awards, and the shortlist for the Encore Award, including Susanna Clarke's Piranesi. Penguin Random House will reissue Stacy Abrams's first three novels. Sunny Hostin is buzzing for her new novel Summer Bluffs and new inclusive production company.  Stella, the World's First Talking Dog gathers more fans. Plus, Suzanne Simard's memoir, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest gets attention and a film adaptation by Amy Adams.