Lisa Peet

This month, as we have every year since 2002, LJ celebrates a new cohort of Movers & Shakers. The 49 individuals profiled hail from every corner of libraryland and beyond. And while I agree that the award can’t compare with the sheer number of bright lights in the library firmament, I also think the emphasis on individuals isn’t a bad thing. Yes, these services need everyone on board, every day, to carry them forward and turn them into reality. But someone jump-started those realities, and that’s what Movers & Shakers celebrates.

Library leaders, staff, and boards need to be prepared for increasingly sophisticated attacks on readers’ rights.

The employees working the front desk are the ones who face the parent angry about a book’s content, the delegate of a group challenging the library’s right to select and shelve titles as it sees fit, or the media looking for an impromptu comment.

LibLearnX made space for needed conversation.

At the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in June 2022, much discussion in Council sessions involved the organization’s transformation—specifically, streamlining ALA’s structure and governance through the consolidation of its Constitution and Bylaws. At LibLearnX, the Special Session: ALA Bylaws Convention, convened on Friday, January 27 to consider and finalize the draft general revision of the ALA bylaws, took on the work that remained unfinished.

In January, the American Library Association (ALA) offered its recently reimagined winter event, LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, in person for the first time. The inaugural LibLearnX, held in January 2022, was presented virtually to accommodate COVID restrictions and concerns. This year debuted a hybrid model: The live version, held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from January 27–30, was attended by 1,712 library workers and supporters and 757 exhibitors, authors, illustrators, press, and ALA staff. The LLX Digital Experience hosted 190 online attendees.

Sometimes taking the long path fits the work.

Brooklyn Public Library's Nick Higgins, Amy Mikel, Karen Keys, Jackson Gomes, and Leigh Hurwitz have been named LJ's 2023 Librarians of the Year for their work on Books Unbanned, providing free ebook access to teens and young adults nationwide to help defy rising book challenges across the country.

With authors ranging from Jonathan Escoffery to Maggie Shipstead, the best short story collections of 2022 loom large.