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The Scoop

Meet the 2026 I Love My Librarian Award Winners

ALA honors 10 librarians for outstanding service
April 6, 2026
Barnes Wins 2027–2028 ALA Presidency
April 6, 2026
Library Advocacy on Capitol Hill

Library workers meet their legislators during the 2026 National Library Legislative Day
By Lisa Varga | March 17, 2026
2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals Announced

Megha Majumdar, Yiyun Li honored for excellence in fiction and nonfiction
January 27, 2026
2026 Youth Media Award Winners

ALA recognizes outstanding books, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults
January 26, 2026
ALA Unveils 2026 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

Six finalists chosen for excellence in fiction and nonfiction
November 18, 2025
Access to Your Library of Things, Simplified

Spacesaver’s Totes in 4-Post Shelving solution keeps items of all sizes secured and organized
November 12, 2025
Barnes, Calzada Seek 2027–2028 ALA Presidency
November 6, 2025
ALA Announces Staffing Reductions
October 21, 2025
How the 2025 Government Shutdown Will Impact Libraries

What the standoff means for agencies, funding, and staff
By Lisa Varga | October 1, 2025
Beyond Inflation Data

Comprehensive guidelines for understanding CPIs
October 1, 2025
Checking In on Federal Library Funding

Strong advocacy can affect upcoming policy choices
By Kevin Maher | July 15, 2025

Latest Library Links

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Steve Tetrault writes: “Despite what too many adults continue to believe, students are not very good with technology. For the most part, their use and understanding of technology is surface-level. Their technological inabilities are compounded by the fact that many of the productivity tools adults use on a regular basis are not regularly used by students. Email? Why would they, when they have texting? Printing, and/or understanding file types? They carry a display screen on their person—no need to deal with files or printing. So the kids aren’t alright when it comes to ‘basic’ tech use.”

Knowledge Quest, Oct. 7
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Jaime Eastman writes: “Whether in the library or in our lives, stress often doesn’t come from one big thing. Instead, it comes from lots of little things happening at once, or the cumulative effect of those little things over time. To reduce stress, we need to identify and address those causes. Programming should be exciting, not exhausting. Time spent at the desk should encourage connection, not avoidance. Well-rested staff bring more creativity and enthusiasm. Sustainable systems keep staff and patrons engaged and appreciative. When we can reduce stress, we improve consistency, and everyone wins.”

ALSC Blog, Oct. 8
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Sam Suber writes: “Choice’s latest white paper, “The Optimized Library: Prescriptive Foundations for Resource Stewardship in an Era of Fiscal Austerity,” shows academic libraries how to navigate fiscal threats by bridging library science and operations research. Through case studies and by translating operational research concepts into practical collection strategies, the paper grapples with a tension many libraries are facing: They have the data to identify future fiscal threats but lack the mathematical framework to steer around them.”

Choice, Sept. 29
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Ricardo Serrano Denis writes: “New York Public Library (NYPL) has put together a list of the best new comics of 2026 based on librarian input and feedback. It’s a special list as it offers a glimpse into the reading habits, intellectual leanings, and potential fandoms shared among New York’s book ambassadors. As such, it is an infectious selection of comics. Manga and young adult comics have always had a strong presence in NYPL’s best new comics lists, especially in recent years. This year, the selection is more varied, running the gamut of genres.”

The Beat, Oct. 1
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Eamon O’Connor writes: “Calling on public spaces to be the savior for our crisis of social connection can seem like a tall order. Can we really expect library- and park-goers to become fast friends just because they’re sharing the same space? Maybe with time—but the key is understanding that friendship is not the only goal. Indeed, many studies are showing the value in the weak ties, the casual encounters and loose acquaintances in our orbit that keep us connected to community.”

Reimagining the Civic Commons, Oct. 6
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Evie Cordell, Kate Lambaria, and Piper Martin write: “Springshare’s LibGuides platform is a widely used tool for sharing digital content, allowing librarians to curate resources about specific topics. However, at many libraries, the large number of guides and their inconsistent quality pose educational and practical challenges. Librarians at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library developed a systematic, multi-phase process to assess, update, and standardize LibGuides, balancing the importance of maintaining high-quality instructional content with the need for scalable, sustainable, and accessible LibGuides.”

Portal: Libraries and the Academy, vol. 26, no. 4, Oct.
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Chirag Shah writes: “Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made production close to free. A report, a thread, a paper, a newsletter: one prompt and 30 seconds. So what changed? Everything on the supply side, and nothing at all on the demand side. Whatever generative AI has done to the supply of text, it’s done nothing to the thing that actually limits knowledge, which is a human being paying attention long enough to understand something. We automated the easy half of the loop and left the hard half exactly where it was.”

Information Matters, Sept. 30

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