COVID-19 is accelerating the move to digital amid budget pressures; library vendors share what they hear from customers and how they're meeting rapidly evolving needs.

From The New York Times: John Sargent, Macmillan’s longtime chief executive, will leave the publishing company in January because of disagreements over its direction, according to an announcement from its parent company, Holtzbrinck, on Thursday.

These 32 recommended cooking titles offer tasty options for vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians, and anyone who wants to reduce their meat consumption or just loves good food.

While exact demographics are hard to come by, the informal consensus seems to be that members of most public libraries’ board of trustees or directors are largely white, well-off, and older. Meanwhile, the communities they represent are often far more diverse.

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.

From a E-Mail by Ted Westervelt/LOC: The Library of Congress is excited to release the newest version of the Recommended Formats Statement. Over the last several months, the team of experts charged with maintaining, improving and ensuring the accuracy of the Statement have been engaged in the annual process of examining the Statement and its […]

Federal Agencies Meeting Milestones on Rural Broadband Expansion (via MeriTalk) GALILEO Celebrates 25th Anniversary How Public Libraries Can Help with Data Literacy (via Technology & Social Change Group, University of Washington) MedlinePlus to Become the NLM Home for Information in Multiple Languages ORCID Community Gets First Look at New Developments in the Product Interest Group […]

A new issue (Vol 39, No 3; 2020) of Information Technologies and Libraries (ITAL) is now available online. Links All Articles In This Issue Editorials Letter from the Editor by Ken Varnum In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity by Evviva Weinraub Lajoie Message from the last LITA President. What More Can We Do to […]

Today, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published the “Legal Sidebar” report (7 pages; PDF), “The Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Initial Considerations for Congress.” CRS also published (27 pages; PDF), Confirmation of U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations During Presidential Election Years: Frequently Asked Questions.” Finally, an updated version of the CRS report (28 […]

On July 2, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) introduced the bipartisan Library Stabilization Fund Act in both chambers (S.4181 and H.R.7486, respectively). The legislation, introduced with 13 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle in the Senate and 27 in the House, would establish a dedicated $2 billion fund to be administered by IMLS that would address the financial losses incurred in the pandemic shutdown and bolster library services going forward, with priority given to the hardest-hit communities.

How do you reopen a library with no guidelines or best practices to work from? That’s the question public leaders and staff are considering as library buildings gradually open across the country.

Most public libraries stopped distributing materials during the pandemic to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But that doesn’t mean they stopped distributing anything. Some leveraged their expertise at getting resources into the hands of patrons to help those suddenly struggling with the bare essentials of life: food, diapers, the means to clean up, or a place to sleep.

As they anticipate hits from lowered enrollment and decreased endowments, as well as declines in state funding for public universities and community colleges, and potential rollbacks of money that has already been authorized, academic institutions have begun hiring freezes and reductions, including furloughs, layoffs, and reduced hours for non-tenured faculty and staff. Many campus libraries are seeing reductions in workforce that threaten to affect their ability to serve students, faculty, and researchers.

Audiobooks have enjoyed major gains in popularity in recent years, as the public has grown increasingly aware of the convenience and pleasure of consuming audio-based content. According to the Audio Publishers Association, U.S. audiobook sales rose 16 percent from 2018 to 2019, continuing an eight-year trend of double-digit growth.

Jack by Marilynne Robinson gets a sharp look, while Anne Helen Petersen, Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation gets focused attention. Ibram X. Kendi's next book will be Four Hundred Souls A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, cowritten with Keisha N. Blain. Sam McBratney, author of Guess How Much I Love You, has died. There are more reading suggestions for books on and by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, booklists for Spanish-speaking writers of SFF, and essential titles by Iranian writers.

The hobby of collecting is well-suited for our current era of isolation and social distancing. We have rounded up information here about some popular collectable items as well as a few unusual ones, along with tips and websites to help you find out more.

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult leads library holds this week. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh is People’s “Book of the Week.” Entertainment Weekly issues its Fall Book Special. Ruth Bader Ginsburg leaves a legacy of titles she has penned and others have written about her. The NYT profiles Madeline McIntosh, the U.S. chief executive of Penguin Random House. The National Book Award longlist, of 50 titles, is now complete. Watchmen leads a short list of book-based Emmy winners.