NYT's 100 Notable Books of 2021 | American Libraries Magazine

The editors of the New York Times Book Review released their annual list of 100 Notable Books on November 22. The 2021 choices include the best in fiction, poetry, history, memoirs, politics, science, and graphic novels.

New York Times, Nov. 22

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David Quick and Benjamin Stokes write: “Public art that ‘talks’ to passersby. Scavenger hunts that scamper through community landmarks. Through the power of play—and mobile media—programs like these can help public libraries connect with patrons and share local stories. Over the past five years, DC Public Library has partnered with Playful City Lab, a game design initiative from American University in Washington, D.C. Together, we developed a project called Engaging Beyond Our Walls, which has yielded a budget-friendly platform and toolkit that facilitates storytelling through text messages and audio.”

American Libraries column, June
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Rosie Newmark writes: “At Hewitt (Tex.) Public Library, teens enthusiastically shared slideshows on the history of roads and the comparative merits of doors and wheels. None of this was schoolwork. PowerPoint is finding new life among young people as a tool to share humorous, creative, and niche slideshows with friends on TikTok and other social media platforms. Now libraries across the country are hosting their own PowerPoint Parties, using the events to engage a younger crowd.”

American Libraries Trend, June
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Reid Bramblett writes: “Philadelphians knew we had good food, but we figured the rest of the country had long since written us off as the land of soft pretzels, cheesesteaks, and some mystery meat disturbingly known as scrapple. As an Annual Conference attendee, you’re doubly lucky to be stationed at the convention center. Across the street to the south is the Reading Terminal Market with its three-dozen food stands. And across the street to the east is Philly’s Chinatown, home to loads of inexpensive eateries serving great dim sum and other Asian delectables. Here are the best of Philadelphia’s best.”

American Libraries feature, June
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Emanuel Maiberg writes: “AI bots that scrape the internet for training data are hammering the servers of libraries, archives, museums, and galleries, and are in some cases knocking their collections offline, according to a new survey from the GLAM-E Lab. The survey is the first attempt at measuring the problem, which in the worst cases can make valuable, public resources unavailable to humans because the servers they’re hosted on are being swamped by bots scraping the internet for AI training data.” The University of North Carolina Libraries in Chapel Hill recently shared its experience with AI bots attempting to scrape its catalog.

404 Media, June 17; GLAM-E Lab, June 17; University of North Carolina Libraries, June 9
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Mark Samuels writes: “Becoming a successful manager is far from straightforward. Leading people requires a series of crucial characteristics, and research suggests one of the most important is positivity. A Harvard Business Review survey found that team members felt more highly respected when leaders expressed positivity during the early stages of a project. So how can leaders develop the right tone and be seen by their staff as positive leaders? Five business leaders give their top tips.”

ZDNET, June 13; Harvard Business Review, Apr. 25
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Adrienne De Luna writes: “Among Us is a multiplayer online game where players work together on a spaceship to complete tasks while trying to identify imposters, who attempt to secretly sabotage the mission and eliminate players. Crewmates must use communication and deduction to vote out suspected imposters, while imposters try to deceive the group and avoid detection.” De Luna shares how Whiting (Ind.) Public Library launched a popular after-hours, real-life Among Us program.

Programming Librarian, June 12
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Noah Biesiada writes: “Huntington Beach (Calif.) voters weighed in on the future of their city’s library June 10, [repealing an approved-but-never-created] book review committee and blocking city leaders from selling the library or privatizing its operations. City Council members have been loudly calling for residents to vote no on both initiatives for months. But library volunteers and residents came out in force at city council meetings, calling for city leaders to keep their hands off the shelves and leave book selection to librarians.

Voice of OC, June 10; American Libraries Online, Apr. 4

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