Mahnaz Dar

Public libraries are seeing success with virtual murder mysteries, which vary in format from Zoom events to text-based games to videos.

Providing accurate and reliable information is a cornerstone of public librarianship, but over the last year librarians have been especially challenged by the pandemic, the election, and the increased visibility of conspiracy theories. Nonetheless, public librarians remain active on the front lines of the fight against misinformation and disinformation and continue to seek out new and more effective ways of helping their patrons apply information literacy principles in their daily lives.

The 30+ reference titles honored as the best of 2020 speak to today’s issues and range across arts, literature, health, science, history, and more.

Librarians and readers looking for reliable and useful free web resources will find these top picks from 2020 worth exploring. 

The best databases of 2020 address the medieval world, social change, literature, and more. 

With most patrons still unable to browse the stacks, public librarians are finding creative ways to provide the experience of serendipitous discovery through book bundles and grab bags.

Martha Fogg of Adam Matthew Digital describes this database that charts the social history of Britain.

Toni Morrison, Ravi Shankar, and Richard Avedon star in the best arts books published in 2020.

Whether librarians are providing services in-person or virtually, reference has changed with the pandemic.