It has been a busy legislative session in the Louisiana House, with several bills poised to impact libraries and library workers halted at various points, while others have been approved and moved on to the Senate. As they proliferate, grassroots library advocacy organizations are stepping up to combat them.

This responsive digital resource provides up-to-date, highly searchable information for students seeking to cite sources and engage in the research process, from formatting to documenting to using inclusive language. Highly recommended for any undergraduate or graduate institution.

Those outside our field may marvel at—or be disconcerted by—transformations they experience as new, seismic shifts from what they understand about libraries. We know the transformation is far from sudden, and far from over. Understanding this, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is using best practices and key research to better understand and equip libraries with the tools needed to address the future needs of the diverse communities they serve.

Fifty-seven percent of academic libraries report that the use of audiovisual (AV) sources such as news reels, recordings, performances, and films have increased over the past three years—with 21 percent describing significantly increased usage—while only 15 percent say that use of these resources have decreased, according to Library Journal’s recent AV Primary Sources Survey of Academic Libraries, sponsored by AM, that netted 220 responses from academic librarians in the United States and Canada. Thirteen percent of respondents said that college and university students now prefer AV primary source materials, compared with 18 percent who prefer print and other archival primary source materials.

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.

The article (full text) linked below was recently published by IFLA Journal. Title Preserving the History of the American Library Association Author Cara Bertram University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Source IFLA Journal First published online May 14, 2024 DOI 10.1177/03400352241246445 Abstract The American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the […]

From WFMJ: Representative Al Cutrona introduced the unnamed bill last week that looks to restrict  some books in public libraries across the state. If passed, books that are deemed “harmful” would need to be put in a different section of the library and anyone under 18 would need a parent to check them out. Harmful […]

From a Flickr Foundation Blog Post by George Oates: We’ve been awarded a grant in the Public Knowledge program of the Mellon Foundation to continue our development of the Data Lifeboat. Yay! It’s a 12-month grant, and mostly involves using the prototype work we’ve been doing to demonstrate and discuss the concept with our community. We can’t wait to hold the two […]

From Ohio Capital Journal: With state revenues not meeting projections as hoped, library systems are making choices about programs and staffing, and even cutting hours to make ends meet. “This isn’t something that’s going to be impacting us a year from now,” said Michelle Francis, executive director of the Ohio Library Council. “It’s going to have immediate […]

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 Aisle-by-Aisle Exhibitor Guide & Coupon Booklet is now available for download. Get an early look at the Exhibitors and what’s happening on the show floor: book signings, show specials, prize drawings, booth giveaways.

The Horror Writers Association announces the winners of the Bram Stoker Awards, with Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory taking the top prize for Superior Achievement in a Novel. The ITW Thriller Award winners are announced, including S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed. Time shares “15 LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride.” Four of Harlan Ellison’s books will be revised and reissued this year. According to the latest Audio Publishers Association Survey, U.S. audiobook revenue grew by 9%, to $2 billion, in 2023.

The poems in Exits explore the beauty and frailty of life, the cycles of nature, and the potential for renewal. In a time of great uncertainty, Exits responds to prevailing anxieties and to the universal search for meaning. At its core, Exits is a meditation on mortality.

When the LJ team decided to focus our June issue on censorship, I couldn’t get the idea of exploring the personal nature of book bans out of my head. Yes, the broad societal impacts of affronts to intellectual freedom are significant—but what do they look like and mean for individual readers?