This spring, audiobooks delight those who read with their ears through works that enchant, disrupt, and inspire. Let skilled voice artists pull you into worlds that span history and continents, with spotlights in this edition on Indigenous writers and poetry.
Large library gatherings usually share city space with at least one other special interest group—who could forget the young dancers shivering in their spangled leotards during January’s LibLearnX Conference in sub-zero Baltimore? This year, those attending the Public Library Association (PLA) biennial conference, held April 3–5 in Columbus, OH, will be overlapping with a crowd of umbraphiles—eclipse chasers—getting a jump on the first visible total solar eclipse in the United States since 2017, occurring April 8. Columbus lies just south of the path of totality.
The American Library Association and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative have teamed up to create a National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries to be released later this year. Both organizations have been working to raise awareness in the profession for the need to act with urgency to create communities of practice that can help library workers understand the issue and that can provide the practical approaches to manage the predicted impacts and systemic nature of climate change.
In the past two years of semi-occupation and warfare, public libraries in Ukraine have established themselves as actors in state defense. Among the first institutions to reopen after the war began, libraries continue to operate despite a shortage of funds and staff, and in the areas close to the front line, continuing shelling.
Library Journal & AM developed the AV primary sources survey to learn the extent to which library audiovisual materials are being used in colleges and universities as primary sources for scholarly research.
Ry Moran, associate university librarian for reconciliation at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, was named a 2023 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for his work bringing the university’s reconciliation department to fruition and developing a podcast called Taapwaywin, which means “truth” or “speaking truthfully” in Michif, a language of the Métis people. LJ recently touched base with Moran to learn more about his work with truth and reconciliation, and how the podcast is going.
“In occupied Ukraine, libraries are increasingly used as a means of spreading Russian propaganda. The Russian government has spent millions to publish sources justifying the war, to control Ukrainians in occupied areas and also to mobilize the population at home.”
In 1987, Women’s History Month was formally recognized by presidential proclamation as a monthlong celebration to honor women’s contributions, accomplishments, and voices throughout United States history. The following books spotlight extraordinary women from the distant and not-so-distant past—women both imagined and real, famous and little-known, and from varied cultures, countries, and continents.
The key trends in crime fiction this year are the desire for immersive escape, a focus on genre blends, and new takes on traditional tropes. To track down the clues of 2024, LJ talked with publishers about what they are noting, scanned through catalogues, and dove into the books. Here are trends and titles to note, spanning spring through fall 2024.
Alyssa Cole writes in multiple genres, including the Edgar Award–winning thriller When No One Is Watching and the Reading List Award–winning historical romance An Extraordinary Union. Her newest, One of Us Knows (Morrow), features a protagonist with dissociative identity disorder whose system of personalities work together to solve a locked-room case on a mysterious island. Cole talks with LJ about writing, research, and books she enjoys.
Catherine Leroux’s The Future is selected as the 2024 Canada Reads book. Kathryn Scanlan wins the Gordon Burn Prize for Kick the Latch. Shortlists are announced for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the British Book Awards 2024 Book of the Year, and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. The longlist is announced for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. Akira Toriyama, creator of manga including the “Dragon Ball” series, dies at 68.
The Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist is announced. Tom Doherty, founder of Tor Books, wins the Robert A. Heinlein Award. Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is the new GMA book club pick. Liza Mundy’s The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA will get a series adaptation. A Gentleman in Moscow, based on the novel by Amor Towles, gets a trailer. Plus, Haruki Murakami’s first book in six years, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, will arrive in November.
Reese’s Book Club picks Xochitl Gonzalez’s Anita de Monte Laughs Last as its next read. The winners of the Bancroft Prize for history books are announced: Elliott West’s Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion and Carolyn Woods Eisenberg’s Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia. Julian Jackson wins the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize for France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain. Baen Books has announced the finalists for the 2024 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award.
Truly, Madly, Deeply, by Alexandria Bellefleur, is a starred romance selection. "Nonstop sparkling banter and absolutely delicious chemistry make this one of Bellefleur’s (The Fiancée Farce) best and steamiest rom-coms yet. Truly, deeply fun from page one to the touching happily-ever-after." Brooke Lea Foster's All the Summers in Between is a starred fiction title. "A worthwhile novel, especially for fans of the music of the 1960s and 1970s." And in mystery, Megan Miranda's Daughter of Mine is a starred selection. "Miranda has arguably written her best book to date, and she has another guaranteed best seller on her hands."
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