The results from LJ’s Fall 2021 Public Library Fundraising Survey demonstrate how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways libraries conducted their fund­raising. Like so much else in the library field, the pandemic forced library staff, administrators, and Friends groups to reconsider the best ways both to raise funds and utilize them.

In 2021, the Annenberg School’s Library Archives accessioned the collection of Amy Siskind’s Weekly List website; however, the path to get there was complicated, and the final gift looked quite different from how it was conceived in the initial conversation. 

Library Journal’s recent survey on College Student Library Usage, sponsored by ProQuest, looks at how students in American colleges and universities use their institutions’ libraries, and whether those libraries are meeting students' needs. Most are pleased with the quality of resources provided, and more than three quarters feel the library contributes to their academic success. However, the number of visits, whether in-person or virtual, are hit-and-miss—as many students use the library more than 10 times a semester as never use it at all.

Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and several libraries have been hit by opportunistic criminals.

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 a JISC Blog Post by Caroline Mackay: In a little more than 18 months, the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) open access (OA) policy for monographs, book chapters and edited collections will take effect. Jisc is considering the implications for this policy and how to support the sector through this in an affordable […]

The video linked here and embedded below at the COAR Annual Meeting on May 17, 2022. Video Description The Notify Project was launched in January 2021 with the aim of ​​developing a standardised model to connect repositories with other services, building on previous work of COAR Next Generation Repositories Initiative, the Pubfair White Paper, and […]

From a White House Blog Post by: Christopher Steven Marcum, Assistant Director for Open Science and Data Policy & Ryan Donohue, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow and Senior Policy Advisor: The value of sharing Federally funded data as a public asset – with direct benefit to the health and well-being of the American public […]

From the US Census: Populations of cities and towns in the South and West regions of the United States still experienced the most growth from July 2020 to July 2021, with the top 15 fastest-growing cities or towns located in these regions, according to new population estimates for cities and towns, released by the U.S. […]

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.

The Seattle Public Library; District of Columbia Public Library; and Fayette Public Library, Museum & Archives, La Grange, TX, in partnership with the University of Washington, have launched VRtality.org, a website that provides libraries and other institutions with a roadmap for co-designing virtual reality (VR) apps to support the mental health of teens. The roadmap and website were informed by three separate VR pilot programs developed by the three libraries. Librarians worked directly with teen patrons to create the VR programs, treating them as equal partners in the projects.

Joanna Chiu wins the 2022 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for China Unbound: A New World Disorder. At the top of the best selling lists are In the Blood by Jack Carr, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, and Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar by Alan Shipnuck. Interviews feature authors Dov Forman, Robert Samuels, Toluse Olorunnipa, and Simon Parkin. Adaptation news for Oliver Sacks’s book Awakenings.

Nightwork by Nora Roberts is the top holds title of the week (5/23/22). LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

To celebrate Pride Month, here are 12 fiction titles featuring queer characters to expand your library's LGBTQIA+ collection.