Consider these library (and library-adjacent) crowdsourcing projects as a fun way to connect to the community and make a difference during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Librarians and other library staff, especially part-time workers and those who have been laid off or forced to take pay cuts or personal leave because of COVID-19 shutdowns, are often struggling to pay their bills, the promised $1,200 stimulus check notwithstanding. To address that need, the EveryLibrary Institute has launched the Help a Library Worker Out (HALO) Fund.

UPDATE: The HALO Fund is ready to start taking applications on a cash-available basis. You can apply at everylibraryinstitute.org/haloapply.

With most library buildings temporarily closed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, some libraries are combining the need for meeting space with the shift to digital service delivery.

Deciding whether—and when—to close doors to the public is merely the first of countless decisions that librarians have had to make during the COVID-19 outbreak. Library Journal’s survey of public library responses to COVID-19 captures the myriad behind-the-scenes choices, such as whether or not staff will continue to report to work in person after libraries are closed, that public libraries are facing as they handle the crisis.
 

During the week of March 19–23 MIT Libraries convened experts from across disciplines and domains to identify and address grand challenges in the scholarly communication and information science landscape.

Suppose a librarian receives an email from a man named Greg Walsh, wanting to become a cardholder or simply inquiring about the open hours. Would the librarian reply? And, if so, would the reply be polite, including for instance some form of salutation, such as “Hello” or “Good morning”? Does your answer change if the guy is called Tyrone Washington? Is a librarian treating Jake Mueller differently from DeShawn Jackson?

A detailed look at pain management implementing the use of medical cannabis rather than opioids; A complex look at the issue of opioid abuse backed up with research and first hand stories; A valuable addition to the conversation about addiction filled with case studies illustrating the complexities of the disease

Editor Sarah Janssen discusses editing The World Almanac in an age where being attuned to "fake news" is especially vital.

The preprint linked to below was recently posted on arXiv. Title Mapping Three Decades of Intellectual Change in Academia Authors Daniel Rammage Stanford Computer Science Department Google Christopher Manning Stanford Computer Science Department Daniel A. McFarland Stanford School of Education Source via arXiv Abstract Research on the development of science has focused on the creation […]

From a Crossref Blog Post by Jennifer Kemp: A lot of people have been using our public, open APIs to collect data that might be related to COVID-19. This is great and we encourage it. We also want to make it easier. To that end we have made a free data file of the public elements […]

From UNC University Libraries Announcement by Provost Bob Blouin and University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks: We are writing to let you know that, despite more than a year of sustained negotiations, the publisher Elsevier has failed to provide an affordable path for UNC-Chapel Hill to renew our bundled package of approximately 2,000 e-journal titles. As a […]

From a Letter by Laura Brown Posted on JSTOR News: I’m writing to share some personal news with you, and all of JSTOR’s participating libraries and publishers. I’ve made the decision to retire from my role as Managing Director of JSTOR and will be stepping into a new part-time role as Senior Advisor for ITHAKA […]

Librarians and other library staff, especially part-time workers and those who have been laid off or forced to take pay cuts or personal leave because of COVID-19 shutdowns, are often struggling to pay their bills, the promised $1,200 stimulus check notwithstanding. To address that need, the EveryLibrary Institute has launched the Help a Library Worker Out (HALO) Fund.

UPDATE: The HALO Fund is ready to start taking applications on a cash-available basis. You can apply at everylibraryinstitute.org/haloapply.

Many libraries, library organizations, and others are offering webinars during the COVID-19 for a variety of reasons including thinking/planning for the future, developing learning new skills, and simply conversing with colleagues. infoDOCKET is organizing a spreadsheet with links to these recordings, along with a submission form for libraries and vendors to add more.

Print book sales showed some significant shifts in the week of March 22–29, with the future unclear. 

Update from March 16: COVID-19 Reports from the Congressional Research Service; Searchable Video From C-SPAN; and More Added to infoDOCKET Roundup

Breadmaking has become popular during quarantine; as bread becomes harder to find on grocery store shelves, more people are making their own. These resources will help both new and experienced bakers get started.

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore leads eight new books onto the bestseller lists. More spring awards arrive, including The Walt Whitman Award and The Sheikh Zayed Book Awards. Patty Wong, the city librarian at the Santa Monica Public Library, has won the ALA presidency for 2021-2022. Don Winslow is everywhere. NPR’s Fresh Air interviews Stephen King, If It Bleeds. Nancy Pearl interviews Emily Nemens, The Cactus League. Hulu is adapting Zakiya Dalila Harris’s The Other Black Girl.

The Hugo award finalists are announced. The Pulitzer Prize announcement is delayed. Many other awards make news as well. Oprah picks Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker. B&N makes news twice: the April book club title is Conjure Women by Afia Atakora and employees at one of their book distribution centers contract coronavirus.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) hosted a webinar on Monday, March 30, “Mitigating COVID-19 When Managing Paper-Based, Circulating, and Other Types of Collections.”