Booklist Archives | American Libraries Magazine

ALA Unveils 2023 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

November 15, 2022

The 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include: Fiction Greenland, by David Santos Donaldson (Amistad). While working on a historical novel about British author E. M. Forster’s Egyptian lover, Mohammed el Adl, writer Kip confronts his own trauma and alienation. Donaldson delivers a psychologically acute portrayal of a queer Black … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2023 Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

Reading Ukraine

By Donna Seaman | March 15, 2022

Nonfiction All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin, by Mikhail Zygar (PublicAffairs, 2016) Russian journalist Zygar portrays four Putins—“Putin I the Lionheart,” “Putin II the Magnificent,” “Prince Dmitry,” and “Putin the Terrible”—while presenting a thorough accounting of his many crimes against humanity. What Zygar discovered is that Putin’s inner circle has been … Continue reading Reading Ukraine →

ALA Unveils 2022 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

November 8, 2021

The 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include the following: Fiction The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade (W. W. Norton & Company). Amadeo Padilla filled the role of Jesus during the re-creation of the Crucifixion as part of Holy Week. He also has heavy burdens to bear in his real … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2022 Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

Call Number Podcast episode 63: Getting Outdoors

Call Number Podcast: Getting Outdoors

June 22, 2021

First, ALA Editions Senior Acquisitions Editor Rachel Chance speaks with Web Administrator and Local History Specialist Erin Rothenbuehler and Programming Director and Local History Specialist Sean Duffy from Ohio County (W.Va.) Public Library about a series of programs they offer on bugs, most notably the Brood X cicadas. Next American Libraries Associate Editor Sallyann Price … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Getting Outdoors →

2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced

February 4, 2021

The selections were announced February 4 at the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Book and Media Awards virtual event, sponsored by NoveList. McBride’s novel takes place in a vibrant, multicultural 1969 Brooklyn neighborhood, and introduces readers to Cuffy “Sportcoat” Lambkin, the titular deacon and least likely of heroes. When Sportcoat shoots Deems Clemens, the … Continue reading 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced →

2020 National Book Award Winners

November 19, 2020

Listed below are the winners and finalists in each category, with excerpts from the winners’ Booklist reviews (where available). Fiction Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (winner) “Although the cover claims that Yu’s (Sorry Please Thank You, 2012) latest is a novel, his fiction, as always, defies easy labels. This hybrid conflates history, sociology, and ethnography … Continue reading 2020 National Book Award Winners →

Longlist for 2021 Carnegie Medals Announced

October 26, 2020

“This was unquestionably a challenging year for all the obvious reasons,” said 2021 Selection Committee Chair Bill Kelly in an October 26 statement. “And yet, in the end, reading proved to be just the balm one needs to sustain us, to give hope and strength and resilience in the face of an oppressively uncertain future. … Continue reading Longlist for 2021 Carnegie Medals Announced →

Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Book of the Little Axe (Photo: Anna Carson DeWitt)

Libraries Transform Book Pick: Lauren Francis-Sharma

By Vanessa Bush | August 10, 2020

This interview was first published in Booklist’s August 2020 issue. A historical novel set in Trinidad in 1796 and the Crow Nation of the Great Plains in 1830, Francis-Sharma’s second novel (after ‘Til the Well Runs Dry) follows the struggles and adventures of Rosa Rendón, who pushes back against the restraints associated with her sex and … Continue reading Libraries Transform Book Pick: Lauren Francis-Sharma →

Reading for Change

By the Booklist staff | June 5, 2020

Booklist recently compiled a list of antiracist books and other resources for librarians and readers. The full list is reprinted below. It can, of course, also mean reading. We’ve seen the antiracist reading lists; there’s New York magazine’s roundup, Betsy Bird’s comprehensive piece for Fuse8, the Stacks’ collection of nonfiction, the list goes on. There’s … Continue reading Reading for Change →

Judged by the Cover

By S. A. Cosby | May 15, 2020

The following guest column is a reprint from the rereleased May 1 issue of Booklist. This is an opportunity to have substantive conversations about our perceptions, as well as the changing face of the publishing world and the paucity of diverse crime writers. In their desire to be socially conscious, many may have missed that … Continue reading Judged by the Cover →

Setting the Record Straight: Panic and Pandemics

By Briana Shemroske | February 14, 2020

On February 13, Booklist compiled a list of resources for librarians looking for information on the coronavirus and other epidemics and pandemics. The full list is reprinted below. Adult Books ★ Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come by Richard Preston Preston, who first … Continue reading Setting the Record Straight: Panic and Pandemics →

Latest Library Links

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Leanne Ellis writes: “I still recall with a shudder the second school library I worked at in NYC: a small, cramped space that needed to be weeded, and worst of all, a collection organized by category like a bookstore. The problem wasn’t the intention of my predecessor; she arranged the books according to a system that made sense to her. But the result was the problem because it made sense only to her. And therein is the fault with genrifying our libraries on the shelves; a title one person might classify as a mystery might be considered romance to another.”

Knowledge Quest, November 29
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Ewa Wojciechowska writes: “For those looking to program with purpose, the entire process begins and ends with your community. Similarly to how we perform diversity audits on our collections, it’s important to also take a critical eye to the programs and services we offer. As professionals we understand that every community is different and has different needs, and that our offerings ought to be tailored to those needs. It can be easy to go on “auto-pilot” when it comes to programming, but we should remember to look at all programs from time to time to evaluate their effectiveness.”

ALSC Blog, December 3
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The American Library Association invites library workers to apply for the Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant, an annual award supporting innovative and meaningful community engagement efforts in libraries. Applications will be accepted between December 1, 2022, and February 1, 2023. View the full award guidelines and apply online at www.ala.org/LTCEG. The Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant recognizes, promotes and supports innovative and meaningful community engagement efforts in libraries. It will provide two grants of $2,000 for a school, public, academic, tribal or special library to expand its community engagement efforts.

ALA, December 1
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The work of medical librarians is essential and varied. They provide information and resources that can improve patient care, promote public health, and support medical education and research. And their responsibilities are constantly evolving with technology and the implementation of new programming. In Episode 77 of Call Number, we highlight two initiatives presented at the 2022 Medical Library Association Annual Conference: Virtual reality programs that teach health science concepts in a new and engaging way at Augusta University in Georgia, and a specialized book club for pediatric hospital staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

AL: The Scoop, November 30
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Khamosh Pathak writes: “Canva started out as a humble, online-accessible graphics tool. But slowly, it has morphed into so much more. It’s closer now to a digital publishing suite, constantly evolving based on the needs of its users. Every couple of weeks, there are both new features and new use cases added. You can even use Canva to create websites for free. Canva is filled with many small, interesting features that all have a huge impact on usability, but aren’t found in the most obvious of places. Here are eight such hidden features you need to know about.”

Lifehacker, November 15
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Chris Stokel-Walker writes: “Almost from the time the first tweet was posted in 2006, Twitter has played an important role in world events. The platform has been used to record everything from the Arab Spring to the ongoing war in Ukraine. It’s also captured our public conversations for years. But experts are worried that if Elon Musk tanks the company, these rich seams of media and conversation could be lost forever. Given his admission to employees in a November 10 call that Twitter could face bankruptcy, it’s a real and present risk.”

MIT Technology Review, November 11
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Bill Furbee writes: “Every year, voters from small towns and big cities alike decide on ballot measures that affect libraries. This year was no different—and as in past years, American Libraries and the Public Library Association have partnered to look at some of the wins and losses across the country. One alarming trend: Organized groups of politically driven voters who oppose libraries carrying materials written by, about, and for LBGTQ people are banding together to reject levies that fund libraries—and fighting to get referenda on the ballot that defunds libraries altogether.”

American Libraries feature, January/February 2023

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