The findings of LJ’s Public Library Materials Survey show that librarians are focused on the formats readers want and the process of crafting responsive and representative collections.

John Bracken, Micah May, and Shaneé Yvette Willis discussed DPLA's new partnerships, recent projects, and the new Palace Project ebook platform during the “Digital Public Library of America: A Look Ahead” session at the American Library Association’s 2022 Annual Conference.

Libraries cannot second-guess patron motives or impose barriers based on subject matter. I suggest that the best response is to turn the letter of the law back on attempted saboteurs.

Although soccer’s popularity among the American public does not come close to matching its popularity in the rest of the world, the United States still has a good-sized group of soccer fans. The FIFA World Cup 2022 is scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 and in anticipation, many libraries should consider building a small collection or updating the collection they currently have. 

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 National Library of Medicine Technical Bulletin: Are you a health educator or librarian looking for the best quality consumer health information? MedlinePlus is the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM’s) premier consumer health information resource. Librarians, teachers, healthcare professionals, community health representatives, peer counselors, and other health educators teach people how to find high-quality, […]

The article linked below was recenly published by The Southeastern Librarian. Title Georgia’s Libraries and the Needs of Patrons Experiencing Homelessness: An Exploratory Study Author Anne Blood Source The Southeastern Librarian Vol. 70: Iss. 2, Article 4. DOI: 10.32727/19.2022.6 Abstract This paper presents a sample survey of Georgia libraries’ services for those experiencing homelessness, conducted […]

From the Publication Page Chil­dren in Amer­i­ca are inie E. Casey Foun­da­tion with 50-state data on child well-being. The annu­al report focus­es this year on youth men­tal health, con­cur­ring with a recent assess­ment by the U.S. sur­geon gen­er­al that cur­rent con­di­tions amount to a youth men­tal health pan­dem­ic. The report sheds light on the health, eco­nom­ic and […]

From The Scotsman: Within days, libraries across the country had set up initiatives to supply books to citizens sheltering in underground Metro stations, had created centres for refugees displaced within Ukraine in library buildings and diversified to set up to act as hubs to supply military equipment and essentials to the hastily-formed army. “Crazy Ukrainian […]

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 Family Remains by Lisa Jewell leads holds this week. Two LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews. iCarly star Jennette McCurdy's new memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died gets buzz. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas gets a film adaptation. 

The 2022 PEN Translates winners are announced. John Williams is the new book editor for The Washington Post. More news arrives about recent book banning affecting library funding, the Penguin Random House’s diversity report, and the PRH/S. & S. publishing merger. Author interviews abound including Sarah Thankam Mathews, Elaine Castillo. Katelyn Monroe Howes, and Edgar Gomez. There is adaptation news for Zakiya Dalila Harris’s The Other Black Girl, Erik Larson's Devil in the White City, and Neil Gaiman’s "The Sandman" series.

Graphic novel sales keep increasing as stories explore a growing range of personal identities, life experiences, and subject matter. Pioneering narratives by diverse artists draw audiences eager to see these stories told in the graphic novel format

Las Vegas: For many people the words conjure images of the glittering lights of casinos, the floor shows, and, of course, the famous Las Vegas Strip. Many of those images came from the Las Vegas News Bureau, which had photographers take pictures to market the city to the world. Over 7 million images, 11,000 reels of film and video, and other artifacts are now housed in the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Archive Collection.