News Corp, PRH bidding for Simon & Schuster | American Libraries Magazine

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is making a play for Simon & Schuster. The powerhouse publisher was put up for sale by its owner, ViacomCBS, in March, and the company has since fielded more than half a dozen inquiries, according to three people familiar with the process who declined to be named because the matter remains confidential. In addition to News Corp, which already owns HarperCollins, the other leading bidder is Penguin Random House, according to the people. Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States, is owned by German media giant Bertelsmann.

New York Times, Nov. 17

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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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