The pleasures of reading and eating combine in cookbooks focused on baked goods, vegetables, and getting better, and faster, in the kitchen.

The American Library Association (ALA) has released its preliminary data on the attempted censorship and restriction of access to books and other materials in public, academic, and K–12 libraries during the first eight months of 2023. Between January 1 and August 31, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 695 challenges to library materials to 1,915 unique titles.

OverDrive will soon debut several new features including OverDrive Hub, a portal designed to enable staff in a variety of roles to work with their library’s digital branch, the company announced during the “Forward Together: The Future of Your Digital Branch with the OverDrive Hub and Libby” panel at OverDrive’s biennial Digipalooza conference in August.

It’s not all sugar plums and stockings in this holiday season’s mysteries.

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 the Associated Press: A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts… Direct to Full Text See Also: More “Not Real News” […]

From The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools quickly reversed a ban Friday on Banned Books Week events planned in schools. In an email to principals Friday afternoon, a CMS spokeswoman warned that the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week Oct. 1-7 “is not aligned with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools academic curriculum or our pillars of excellence. “It is […]

From the Charleston City Paper: Librarians are learning the S.C. State Library in August quietly notified the national trade association for libraries that the state was not renewing its membership because it felt the group was “tone deaf” on local book bans and other issues. [Clip] To some, the State Library’s letter appears to be […]

From the Gillette News Record: Two months after she was fired and nearly two years after a criminal complaint was filed against her, former library director Terri Lesley is taking legal action. This week, Lesley filed a charge of discrimination against the Campbell County Commission and the Campbell County Public Library Board, alleging that her […]

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.

Lysa TerKeurst is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the author of more than twenty-five books, including her latest book is Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are. 

Safiya Sinclair’s How To Say Babylon: A Memoir is the latest Read with Jenna book club pick. Shortlists are announced for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Cundill History Prize. Plus, interviews with Mary Beard, Jill Duggar, and Melissa Lozada-Oliva.

New York Public Library's new "Books for All" campaign launches during Banned Books Week 2023 and seeks to engage teens and young adults.

Zain Khalid wins the Bard Fiction Prize for his debut novel, Brother Alive. Target picks The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray as the 2023 Book of the Year. Shortlists are announced for the Polari First Book Prize and the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. Finalists are announced for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. A California state law will fine schools for implementing book bans. Plus new title best sellers.