QPL Hosts Edit-a-thon to Enhance Wikipedia and Wikidata on Queens By Henrietta Thornton On Saturday, March 16, a standing-room-only crowd—especially notable for one of the first warm days of spring and the day of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade—packed into Queens Public Library's (QPL) Queensbridge Tech Lab, a makerspace in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. Drawing them to the space was the Queens Name Explorer Edit-a-Thon, hosted by QPL’s Memory Project, Wikimedia NYC, OpenStreetMap US, and Urban Archive. | Best Reference Books 2023 By Jill Cox-Cordova and Maggie Knapp Reference works contain entire worlds, arranged, indexed, and designed to support research and exploration. These aids—hefty both in physical form and in depth and resonance—provide new interpretations, offer access into decades of academic work, and foster fresh ways of thinking. | Best Free Reference Resources 2023 By Sarah Hashimoto and Gary Price Free reference sources, vetted, smart, and endlessly useful, are a rich resource for scholars and students. Here are our five top picks for 2023. | SPONSORED CONTENT New Tech Tools Extend Libraries’ Reach People are always a library’s greatest assets. The trained and experienced staff who interact with patrons, answer questions, recommend resources, lead story hours, and oversee workshops are what make libraries a vibrant and essential part of their communities. But librarians can’t be everywhere all at once. This is where technology can help. Read More>>>
| Best Databases 2023 By Sarah Hashimoto Databases foster deep research, expansive reading, and a myriad of inquiry avenues. These 10 tools, covering food, Shakespeare, study skills, and much more, are our selections for the best databases of 2023. | Why Suppression of Libraries Corrupts a Nation | Backtalk By Ulia Gosart and Rachel Fu 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. | ALA Releases Book Challenge Data for 2023 By Lisa Peet On March 14, the American Library Association (ALA) released its most recent book challenge data for 2023. According to ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF), which tracks challenges and acts of censorship in public schools and libraries across the United States, the number of targeted titles rose 65 percent from 2022—once again, the highest levels ever documented by ALA. | National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Honorees | Book Pulse By Kate Merlene The National Book Foundation announces its 2024 5 Under 35 Honorees: Antonia Angress, Maya Binyam, Zain Khalid, Tyriek White, and Jenny Tinghui Zhang. Jonathan Eig wins the New-York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize for King: A Life. | Ned Blackhawk’s The Rediscovery of America Wins Mark Lynton History Prize | Book Pulse By Kate Merlene The J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Award winners are announced, with Ned Blackhawk’s The Rediscovery of America winning the Mark Lynton History Prize and Dashka Slater’s Accountable winning the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, the first young adult book to achieve the honor. Finalists for the ITW Thriller Awards, the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, and the Publishing Triangle Awards are announced. ALA president Emily Drabinski will receive the Torchbearer Award. | Job Zone utilizes unique job matching technology to help you find the perfect job (and employers find the perfect candidate), whether you’re actively seeking or just keeping an eye out for your possibilities. Log on today and check out our newest features, including automated job and candidate matches, and email alerts. JOB OF THE WEEK The University of California San Diego Library is seeking an Arts & Humanities Collection Strategist and Music Librarian. | |