Blog | American Libraries Magazine

2020 Midwinter Preview
Prepare for a knockout meeting in the City of Brotherly Love
By Greg Landgraf | January 2, 2020
The Philly Food Scene
Where to dine during Midwinter
By Reid Bramblett | January 2, 2020
2019 Year in Review
A look back at the stories that affected libraries
January 2, 2020
Uncovering the Past
With digitization, libraries bring treasures to light
By Lauren Emily Whalen | January 2, 2020
Know Your Rights—and Theirs
How libraries prepare for possible ICE activity
By Claire Zulkey | January 2, 2020
Newsmaker: Rainbow Rowell
Building worlds with Spotify and specificity
By Alison Marcotte | January 2, 2020
By the Numbers: Literary Philadelphia
Stats to get you ready and reading for the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits
By Alison Marcotte | January 2, 2020
Ready to Binge-Watch?
Circulations soar as libraries add binge boxes to collections
By Timothy Inklebarger | January 2, 2020
On the Zine Scene
Libraries partner with festivals for community expression
By Diana Panuncial | January 2, 2020
Free Speech—or Free-for-All?
“First Amendment audits” push privacy limits
By Taylor Hartz | January 2, 2020
Tables of Content
Longest Table meals bring communities together for civil dialogue
By Lara Ewen | January 2, 2020
Bookend: Medical Marvels
January 2, 2020

Latest Library Links

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Michael Hochman writes: “There are more than 35,000 booksellers and libraries across America, so we crunched the numbers and calculated the top 10 best cities in the nation for bookworms. We eliminated any city with a population less than 50,000, leaving us with the 764 largest American cities with at least one book-related establishment. We then calculated the ratio of book-related establishments per 100,000 residents in each to determine the cities deemed the top 10 best cities for booklovers in the nation. The top cities are a mix of population centers, college towns, hub suburbs, and a few surprises.”
Apartment Guide, Jan. 24
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Jacqui Higgins-Dailey writes: “There was a request for reconsideration waiting for me to research on my first day of work in the collection development department of the Phoenix Public Library. The title was Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham. The request came from a parent concerned about being misled by the book’s title. The book was shelved in 567.9 (dinosaurs) but the book was a biblical interpretation of the timeline of when dinosaurs walked the earth. The parent was concerned that it was shelved with the other books about dinosaurs from a scientific perspective and requested that the library remove the book or shelve it in a religious section.”
Intellectual Freedom Blog, Jan. 28
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ACRL has published three new books full of exercises, effective practices, innovative ideas, and detailed case studies that can help you develop your unique leadership potential, lead change within your academic library, and cultivate the skills of new library leaders. Becoming a Library Leader by Shin Freedman and James M. Freedman can help you understand and develop leadership. Developing the Next Generation of Library Leaders by Lori Birrell shows how the library profession can foster skill development. Leading Change in Academic Libraries edited by Colleen Boff and Catherine Cardwell helps you establish flexible decision-making processes.
ACRL Insider, Jan. 28
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Wearing a virtual reality headset, Deng Kaiyang saw a four-character idiom with one character missing at the new Jiangxi Provincial Library in Nanchang, China. The 8-year-old used the controllers to shoot a digital arrow at a lantern with the right character to play a word game. Other visitors entered small booths and followed the words displayed on the screen, reading stories or poems aloud, then downloading the works via their cellphones to share with family and friends. In a corridor, children stepped excitedly on a projection piano keyboard to play a delightful tune. Readers borrowed books through a facial recognition system.
Xinhua News Agency, Jan. 27
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The LITA Committee Recognizing Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction has released the 2020 Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Lists. The lists are composed of notable children’s and young adult science fiction published between November 2018 and October 2019 and organized into three age-appropriate categories. The annotated lists are posted on the LITA website.
LITA. Jan. 27
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The ALA Film and Media Round Table’s Notable Videos for Adults Committee has compiled its 2020 list of Notable Videos for Adults, a list of 15 outstanding films released on video within the past two years and suitable for all libraries serving adults. Its purpose is to call attention to recent video releases that make a significant contribution to the world of video. The committee selected 15 outstanding titles from among 45 nominees for this year’s list.
Film and Media Round Table, Jan. 26
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Claudette S. McLinn is the 2020 recipient of the ALSC Distinguished Service Award, which honors an individual who has made significant contributions to library service to children and to ALSC. McLinn is the founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature in Inglewood, California, and a long-time literacy consultant, advocate, and speaker on library services to children and culturally diverse children’s literature.
ALSC, Jan. 25