Booklist Archives | Page 2 of 2 | American Libraries Magazine

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 →

ALA Unveils 2020 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

November 4, 2019

The 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include: Nonfiction Figuring, by Maria Popova (Pantheon). Popova brings her zest for facts and passion for biography to this inquiry into the lives of geniuses who “bridged the scientific and poetic,” spinning a fine web connecting such barrier-breakers as Rachel Carson, Frederick Douglass, … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2020 Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

Covers for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction: Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, by Beth Macy (Little, Brown); Heavy: An American Memoir, by Kiese Laymon (Scribner); The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border, by Francisco Cantú (Riverhead); The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai (Viking); There There, by Tommy Orange (Knopf); and Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan (Knopf).

ALA Unveils 2019 Carnegie Medals Shortlist

October 24, 2018

2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include: Nonfiction Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, by Beth Macy (Little, Brown and Company). Macy’s years of reporting on the still-unfolding US opioid crisis earned her remarkable access to people whose lives have been upended. Dopesick is a timely … Continue reading ALA Unveils 2019 Carnegie Medals Shortlist →

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Looking Back at Books

By Phil Morehart | December 29, 2017

First, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski talks with author Stephanie Powell Watts in a conversation taped right after her book No One Is Coming to Save Us was announced by Sarah Jessica Parker as the first selection in ALA’s Book Club Central. Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Looking Back at Books →

The Sympathizer and Hold Still, Carnegie Medal winners

2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals

January 11, 2016

The selections were announced January 10 during the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony and Reception that are part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Boston. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bravura debut novel, The Sympathizer, illuminates the double-mindedness of a half-French, half-Vietnamese spy as he confronts impossible and dire situations in divided, war-torn Vietnam … Continue reading 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals →

Left to right: Donna Seaman, Terry Tempest Williams, Mark Kurlansky, Ken Burns

The Writer as Witness

By Phil Morehart | January 9, 2016

Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker and writer Ken Burns’s response when asked how he chooses the subjects of his work encapsulates “The Writer as Witness,” the theme of the ERT / Booklist Author Forum at the 2016 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston. A writer must look both outward and inward to completely, accurately, and honestly tell a … Continue reading The Writer as Witness →

Finalists for the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

2016 Carnegie Medals Shortlist Announced

October 19, 2015

2016 shortlisted titles include: Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Shortlist H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald, published by Grove Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic. Transfixed by books and birds of prey as a girl, Macdonald became a historian, writer, and professional falconer involved in avian research and conversation. After the sudden … Continue reading 2016 Carnegie Medals Shortlist Announced →

Anthony Doerr (left) with his book. Bryan Stevenson

Doerr, Stevenson win 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals

By Laurie D. Borman | June 28, 2015

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time lead scorer, Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and a New York Times–bestselling author, offered the keynote address. His first novel, Mycroft Holmes, about Sherlock Holmes’s older brother, will be published this fall by Titan Books. Abdul-Jabbar said his father was an avid reader who gave him books to find answers … Continue reading Doerr, Stevenson win 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals →

A Celebration of Reading

By Karen Muller | May 18, 2015

The Mother of All Booklists: The 500 Most Recommended Nonfiction Reads for Ages 3 to 103, by William Patrick Martin, is basically a crowdsourced book list. The author gathered 155 authoritative and influential lists of award-winning books and recommended reading lists from a spectrum of organizations, including parenting groups, state commissions on libraries, libraries, library … Continue reading A Celebration of Reading →

Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection

By Sarah Hunter | February 5, 2015

Need to refresh your Black History Month offerings? Here are some graphic novels, both fiction and nonfiction, that address Black History in dynamic, engaging ways. For Adults: Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White By Lila Quintero Weaver. Illus. by the author. 2012. Univ. of Alabama, paper, $24.95 (9780817357146). Perry County, Alabama, was a hotbed … Continue reading Black History Month Graphic Novels for Your Collection →

Marisha Pessl’s Night Film Leaves a Lasting Impression

By Bill Ott | September 3, 2013

It’s the time of year when all of us connected to the publishing world begin speculating about the season’s big books. The major book shows—BookExpo America in May and ALA Annual Conference in June—have come and gone, leaving dozens of potential big books in their wakes. Now comes the predicting, the opinion swapping, and, one … Continue reading Marisha Pessl’s Night Film Leaves a Lasting Impression →

Latest Library Links

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Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
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ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
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In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
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Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15
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Megan Bennett writes: “Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet access. American Libraries spoke with Sloan before her closing session at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, about her new book, her journey in stand-up comedy, and her memories of libraries.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 17

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