Libraries Roll Back In-Person Services Due to COVID-19 Contact, Local Resurgence
By April Witteveen and Lisa Peet
No matter how conscientiously libraries stick to protocol, many have had to roll back reopening operations recently as employees fall ill or report positive COVID-19 tests or contact with others who test positive—or in some cases, as case counts in their areas rise or patrons refuse to comply with masking or social distancing regulations.

How Vendors Are Working with Academic Libraries in Their Pivot to Digital
By Matt Enis
Academic libraries are now facing budget cuts even as many are called upon to help faculty transition to online teaching. But the net result could be a better understanding of the resources libraries offer, and more appreciation among faculty for the role librarians can play as liaisons and facilitators on campus.

Expanding Chat Reference During COVID-19 | Peer to Peer Review
By Leah Dodd and Robert Kotaska
When the university moved to virtual instruction in March, Cornell University Libraries' Virtual Reference Response Team focused on building capacity in the ways we already connected with our remote users.

Board Barriers | Editorial
By Meredith Schwartz
As the library field increasingly recognizes the importance of equitable representation among not just staff, but librarians; not just librarians, but managers; and not just managers, but top leadership; we must not forget representation on the board.

In This Together: School Librarians Help Address Learning Loss, Upheaval
By Wayne D’Orio
Educators greet returning students and ease their anxieties while addressing the COVID slide.

Romance Author Virginia Kantra on Why Your Story Matters | Librarians' Day, RWA 2020
By Annalisa Pešek
Following the May cancellation of the prestigious RITA Awards, now retired and replaced by the Vivian, the Romance Writers of America (RWA), the world's leading nonprofit writers' association dedicated to the success of published and unpublished Romance authors, forged ahead to produce a memorable annual virtual conference.

Pandemic Stories: A New Anthology Explores Community and Creativity in the Era of COVID-19
By Annalisa Pešek
Jennifer Haupt's Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19 (Sept.; LJ 9/20) includes mostly original essays, poems, short stories, and interviews that highlight the pandemic experiences of 90 diverse authors.

Update on REALM Partnership Test Results
By Lisa Peet
UPDATE 9/2/20:  The REALM Project Test 3 results were released on August 18. Studies show that after five days of quarantine in an unstacked configuration, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not detected on a flexible plastic storage bag or DVD.

Women Lead the Dublin Literary Award Shortlist | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
The Dublin Literary Award shortlist is out and The National Translation Awards longlists are announced. Mulan comes to Disney+ and Get Organized With the Home Edit debuts on Netflix. Debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé gets a seven-figure deal for two YA novels with Feiwel and Friends.

Washington Post Survey: Pandemic Readers Seek Social Justice, Comfort | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
Thick as Thieves by Sandra Brown leads nine new books onto the bestseller lists. The New York Times celebrates the 100th week Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates has remained on the bestseller list.

 

WEB-FIRST REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND MEDIA

Aimee Molloy's starred mystery, Goodnight Beautiful, "breathes new life into the unreliable narrator thriller genre in a book everyone will be talking about.... Along with a rip-roaring suspense plot, Molloy adds depth with critiques of gender conventions that causes readers to investigate the assumptions they bring to the text." The Ninja's Blade, by Tori Eldridge, is another starred mystery. "Lily and the secondary characters are rich and complicated, and details about martial arts and Chinese culture add depth to the story. While it isn’t necessary to have read the previous book in the series to enjoy this one, readers won’t understand the extent of Lily’s emotional conflict without that context."

See All Xpress Reviews›››

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