The Scoop

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
Taking Up Space

Actor Geena Davis on embracing self-acceptance and ensuring representation
By Terra Dankowski | July 7, 2025
How to Succeed in Business

Tips for accessing business histories in archives and academic collections
By Sallyann Price | July 2, 2025
A Garden in the Desert

Community Book Gardens cultivate personal stories to nourish underserved readers
By Sallyann Price | July 2, 2025
Council III: Strategic Plan Approved

Resolution underscores need for Merritt Fund support
By Paula Mauro | July 1, 2025
Own the Digital Space

Hoopla VP on robust digital collections
By Carrie Smith | July 1, 2025

Latest Library Links

3d

“For many readers and viewers, HBOMax’s recent adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry has become an entry-point for casual observers of the game played on ice with a puck—and hockey romances. You may not know what exactly is happening on the rink, or even in the locker room, but you can guess, and that’s half the fun!” See other lists from Johnson County (Kans.) Library, Multnomah County (Oreg.) Library, Mesa County (Colo.) Libraries, or Omaha (Nebr.) Public Library.

St. Louis Public Library, Dec. 27; Johnson County (Kans.) Library, Dec. 13; Multnomah (Oreg.) County Library, Dec. 11; Mesa County (Colo.) Libraries, Dec. 18; Omaha (Nebr.) Public Library, Dec. 4
3d

Stefan Milne writes: “Seattle Public Library is the only US library system that makes its anonymized, granular checkout data public. The hitch is that the library’s data set contains nearly 50 million rows. To track trends in the catalog over the last 20 years, University of Washington researchers analyzed the checkout data of the 93 authors included in the post-1945 volume of The Norton Anthology of American Literature, which is instrumental in standardizing the books and writers we’ve deemed culturally important.”

University of Washington News, Jan. 8
4d

Janette Wright writes: “I was appointed to a leadership role in local government during a period of corporate change and budget constraint. Staff had a low level of trust in leadership, a history of conflict and incivility, and low expectations of the opportunity for service improvements or development. In this article, I’ll reflect on the leadership challenges inherent in such transitions, drawing on my personal experience across the library sector and applying a theoretical framework to offer practical insights for leaders navigating similar terrain.”

Katina, Jan. 8
4d

Hong Zhou and Hiba Bishtawi write: “For decades, discovery has revolved around keywords: carefully chosen terms, Boolean operators, and increasingly sophisticated relevance ranking. Today, generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems are introducing a different interaction model altogether. Instead of asking how to search, researchers are starting to ask what they want to know and expecting the system to figure out the rest. When does natural language outperform traditional approaches, and what do current AI-powered discovery tools actually do well? We conducted a comparative analysis of four widely used AI-enabled research discovery tools.”

The Scholarly Kitchen, Jan. 6
4d

Hillel Aron writes: “The estate of legendary author Kurt Vonnegut, three authors, and two unnamed high school students sued the Utah Board of Education on January 6 over the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries. Among the books that have been effectively banned from certain school libraries are Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Utah’s so-called “book removal law,” H.B. 29, was updated in 2024 and automatically removes books from all school libraries that have been banned by three or more school districts.”

Courthouse News Service, Jan. 6
5d

Kelly Jensen writes: “On January 12, the first day back on campus for many universities following winter break, at least eight college and university libraries received bomb threats. Campuses received the threats via email. None resulted in the discovery of a physical threat in or near the targeted area.” At least 15 universities faced similar threats in August, believed to be made by the swatting group Purgatory and mostly directed at library buildings. In January, universities in Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, and Massachusetts received the threats. The Association of College and Research Libraries and Core offer a LibGuide on safety and security.

Book Riot, Jan. 13; Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 26; Center for Internet Security and Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Aug. 27; ACRL, June 25, 2024
5d

ALA has officially launched its 150th anniversary year, marking a century and a half of empowering library professionals, advancing access to knowledge and protecting the freedom to read. The association will celebrate year-round in 2026 with key flagship events, kicking off with the 2026 Youth Media Awards, honoring outstanding books, videos and materials for children and teens, on January 26 at the Hilton Chicago. ALA President Sam Helmick marked the anniversary with an essay at ala150.org, and ALA has produced a new anniversary video.

ALA Communications and Media Relations Office, Jan. 8; ALA150.org, Jan. 5; YouTube, Jan. 8