JSTOR’s Path to Open pilot project and MIT Press’s Direct to Open program are both demonstrating that open access (OA) monographs are receiving significantly more use and are cited more often than non-open counterparts, according to a recent JSTOR webcast and an impact report released last week by MIT Press.
Accessibility is a primary mission of school libraries, and artificial intelligence (AI) can help with that mission by opening many doors for students. It can re-level, outline, summarize, narrate, and remove distractions from text, unlocking rigorous curricula for struggling readers. Students with dyslexia or ADHD, for example, can get information in the way that is most helpful for them without having to work through the lens of their disability. Meanwhile, there are many questions around uses, ethics, and copyright regarding AI. While those concerns stand, AI can be incredibly useful for both students and teachers.
My mentor used to say that we really only need to ask two questions when recruiting people: “Do you like to solve problems?” and “Do you like to help people?” If so, you would like working in the library! I tend to think that she’s right—and if the Library Journal 2024 Movers & Shakers are any indication, the opportunity to support community, exercise creativity, and advance learning are forces driving their work.
Library Journal's annual award for the Best Small Library in America was founded in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of these libraries. It honors the U.S. public library that most profoundly demonstrates outstanding service to populations of 25,000 or less. The winner will be announced at the 2024 Association for Rural & Small Libraries conference and will have the opportunity to speak. The winning library will also receive a $5,000 cash award, and two finalist libraries will receive $1,000 each, courtesy of Ingram.
By Bill Anderson, John Charles, Barbara Hoffert, and Wendy Paige
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.
“It is really more of a marathon than a sprint, and we’re still at the beginning of the race.”
Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal wins the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which is given to an emerging Black American fiction writer. Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, tr. by Sean Cotter, wins the Dublin Literary Award. Ali Bryan’s Coq, Patrick deWitt’s The Librarianist, and Deborah Willis’s Girlfriend on Mars are shortlisted for the Leacock Medal for Canadian humor writing. The shortlists for Britain’s Society of Authors Awards are announced. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Amy Tan, Kaliane Bradley, and Monica Youn.
Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos wins the International Booker Prize. The winners of the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Awards and the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire are announced. Library Reads and LJ offer read-alikes for Ruth Ware’s buzzy book of the week, One Perfect Couple. People previews Sally Rooney’s forthcoming novel, Intermezzo, due out from Farrar on September 24. Emma Törzs’s Ink Blood Sister Scribe will get a TV series adaptation. And NYT distills the essential Don Delillo.
Call for Info: Library Renovation/Construction Projects Completed Since Last July
Library Journal is collecting information about library projects completed over the last year for our annual Year in Architecture feature. If your institution completed a library construction or renovation project between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, please tell us about it! The links below will direct you to download a pdf of the form before filling out your responses online. We have separate links for public and college/university library projects. The deadline for submissions is Friday, July 26. If you are unsure of the specifics for the form, please ask your architect. They will receive free inclusion in our architect listing. Submission of high-resolution images of your completed project is encouraged and you will find digital specs and instructions in the gray box on the form.
Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour, by Elton John, is "a must-have for fans and a fitting tribute to an amazing artist" and a starred nonfiction title. Kailee Pedersen's debut horror novel, Sacrificial Animals, is a starred selection. It "skillfully balances character and atmosphere. Recommend to readers who like creepy, methodically paced stories that focus on unease, such as the work of Kevin Brockmeier. Also a good pick for those who enjoy tales that use mythology in a revenge plot, like The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones." And Hardly Harmless Drudgery: A 500-Year Pictorial History of the Lexicographic Geniuses, Sciolists, Plagiarists, and Obsessives Who Defined the English Language, by Brian A. Garner and Jack Lynch, is a starred reference title. "Highly recommended for all word lovers curious about the people who codified English vocabulary throughout time."
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