Library of Congress and StoryCorps Partner on COVID-19 Oral History Archive By Lisa Peet On January 22, the Library of Congress (LOC) announced the launch of the COVID-19 Archive Activation website, an online tool created in collaboration with national oral history nonprofit StoryCorps, which will allow members of the public to submit audio accounts of their pandemic experience. Anyone wishing to share their story or interview others can take part. These oral histories will become part of LOC’s American Folklife Center collections and be made accessible at archive.StoryCorps.org. |
Artificial Intelligence Discussions Take Prominent Role at LibLearnX 2024 By Matt Enis Artificial intelligence (AI) was a hot topic at this year’s American Library Association LibLearnX conference in Baltimore, January 19–22, with multiple presentations, panels, and workshops covering the technology and its impact on libraries and the people they serve, touching on both AI’s potential and its current flaws. |
Hungry for Connection: Addressing Loneliness Through the Library By Hallie Rich When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency in May 2023, many libraries reported a transition back to what felt like pre-pandemic days. Yet, as just as we breathed a collective sigh of relief at the formal end of one emergency, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory warning of a pernicious health risk: loneliness. |
History | Prepub Alert, August 2024 Titles By Melissa DeWild and Neal Wyatt U.S. history is explored through a range of topics, from bookstores and social movements to notable historical events such as the Kent State tragedy and the 1925 Scopes trial. |
Hachette Will Go on the Stock Market | Book Pulse By Sarah Wolberg Hachette’s parent company, Vivendi, will put the publisher on the stock market. Tieshena Davis is elected board chair of the Independent Book Publishers Association; she will be the first person of color to lead the board. In Germany, a nationwide reading competition offers evidence that parents will read more if their children ask to read together. European publishers call on EU committee to approve AI act. |
Libraries and Loneliness | Editorial By Hallie Rich I’ve been worried about library visits for a while now, but my concerns have largely focused on the effect fewer visits will have on the future of libraries. What I learned is that I had it backwards. Yes, there’s a danger to libraries when fewer people use them; but the bigger threat in decreased library use is to the community itself. |
BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption By Steve Dennis An offering of nonpareil implications for any business or organization. This title expands Chip and Dan Heath’s Switch. It also serves as a contemporary update to Clayton Christensen’s classic The Innovator’s Dilemma. Highly recommended for all university libraries supporting business curricula. PREMIUM The Clear Leader: How To Lead Well in a Hyper-Connected World By James N. Donald & Craig S. Hassed Practical and evidence-based, this lofty effort will support any leader through today’s data dump. More valuable as a handy self-assessment or as a gap filler in leadership collections. |
SCIENCES PREMIUM Sloth By Alan Rauch This compact volume nicely covers the past, present, and future of sloths for readers who have fallen in love with them based on popular culture depictions. PREMIUM The Summer Canada Burned: The Wildfire Season That Shocked the World By Monica Zurowski A recommended title for forestry and media collections in higher education and for followers of Canadian events and studies. Deep Space: Beyond the Solar System to the Edge of the Universe and the Beginning of Time By Govert Schilling A stunning and essential coffee-table book. Targeted at amateur astronomers, the book takes advantage of today’s advanced astronomy research that provides exciting new information from the sensitive eyes of modern large telescopes, both in space and on the ground. Nicely supplements Erich Karkoschka’s Observer’s Sky Atlas and the National Geographic Stargazer’s Atlas. |
HISTORY PREMIUM The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy By Robert Hardman This title delivers a quite informative and historic account of events from Queen Elizabeth’s passing to Charles’s first year as King. Royal fans will appreciate this work, but the book’s portrayals of Harry and Meghan may come across as unfair to some readers. PREMIUM Black Elders: The Meaning of Age in American Slavery and Freedom By Frederick Knight A readily accessible read for all interested in the chronic, painful, physical, and mental battles that marked the daily lives of enslaved and emancipated Black people approaching the end of life, reckoning with their prospects, and reflecting on their mortality. This book centers elders, their roles, and day-to-day class and gender relations and demonstrates how Black communities cared for each other as they tried to maintain material and moral intergenerational bonds during and immediately after the era of enslavement. PREMIUM Puerto Rico: A National History By Jorell Meléndez-Badillo Meléndez-Badillo does a good job of explaining Puerto Rico’s complicated history. An essential addition to most libraries, for general readers of all types. |
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Wake County Public Libraries is seeking a Library Director. |
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