On May 17, Clarivate announced a definitive agreement to acquire ProQuest from Cambridge Information Group for $5.3 billion. Pending regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2021.

In fall 2020, the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI) launched a master’s track in Information Equity, Diverse Communities, and Critical Librarianship. The 12-credit track, one of four that comprise the university’s LIS program, is fully online and will continue to be offered remotely as URI transitions to a fully online setting in the next year.

LJ’s film columnist picks the month’s top indie, foreign, and classic films, now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) recently appointed DeLa Dos as senior director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), effective June 7. They will lead the association’s DEI priorities, working with and providing strategic guidance to ARL’s DEI Committee and Board of Directors. LJ caught up with them and ARL Executive Director Mary Lee Kennedy to find out more about their thoughts on DEI work and the association’s ongoing efforts.

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 a NYPL Statement: Following an exhaustive national search, The New York Public Library has named Joy Bivins director of the internationally-renowned Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. Her tenure begins on June 21, 2021. Bivins, Associate Director of Collections and Research Services at the Schomburg Center since June 2020, brings to […]

From The Signal/Library of Congress: The Library of Congress has appointed Nicole Saylor as the new Chief of the Digital Innovation Lab, a position established to lead the Library’s innovation with digital collections and to support its digital transformation. The position, located in the Digital Strategy Directorate in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, […]

From the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries / Vanderbilt University: Vanderbilt Special Collections Library recently acquired the Dinah Shore Collection, documenting the life of Vanderbilt graduate Dinah Shore, BA’38, a prolific singer, actress, and talk show host widely popular throughout the 1940s-1980s. Noteworthy items include Dinah Shore fan club newsletters, publicity stills, photographs and scripts […]

From the Website: The work of medical, social, and behavioral sciences plays a key role in deepening our understanding of inequalities and current issues in the LGBTQIA+ community, while also helping to create policies, practices, and procedures to improve lives. This collection of research, videos, and books takes a look at Queer Theory, Gender Identity, […]

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.

Whether he’s helping community members impacted by wildfires or creating a storywalk and drive-thru storytime during quarantine, County Librarian Todd Deck takes his cues from Tehama County Library patrons’ needs. “Connecting with the community is a foundational tool in being a catalyst for positive change,” says Deck.

When Google’s sister company Wing began using drones in 2019, Kelly Passek’s family was an early adopter. Passek realized the technology could help her meet library goals: She wanted to increase book checkouts and prevent summer slide.

Millie Plotkin’s recovery from an eating disorder began during library school, when she received treatment. Several years later, she heard someone use the phrase “eating disorders information clearinghouse” at a conference. “That planted the seed of an idea that I could combine these two important parts of my life,” says Plotkin. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last spring, Nini Beegan, organizational learning and innovation coordinator for Maryland State Library (MSL), quickly realized how Zoom could help libraries during quarantine. “I noticed how much our libraries were struggling with communication—amongst staff, with customers, and amongst libraries,” Beegan said. “Maryland has a history of libraries working very closely together, and we are used to communicating easily.”