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 Best Books 2020: Worst Year, Best Books In a year that many would call one of the worst in recent memory, we were still rewarded with lots of great books. The LJ Best Books of 2020 feature themes of surviving loss, reckoning with class and caste, loving freely, rewriting history, exploring new worlds, busting the gender binary, seeking justice, preserving nature, and finding one’s way in the world. These 144 titles across 15 categories will help get libraries and readers through to better days. |
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 SPONSORED BY HBM ARCHITECTS |
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 LA Public Library Gets a Turn Hosting the National Book Awards By Lisa Peet The 71st National Book Award ceremony, held on November 18 and hosted by Jason Reynolds, was completely virtual, as are most other events of 2020. And rather than holding court at the glamorous Cipriani, NBF Board Chair David Steinberger broadcast from the Trustees’ Room at the New York Public Library and NBF Executive Director Lisa Lucas from the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library. |
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 Gift Shop at the Library, Online By Meredith Schwartz If your holiday gift shopping routine has been complicated by the pandemic, you’re far from alone. Fortunately, a variety of libraries public and private, in the United States and abroad, still have online gift shops that support library collections and programs and are open for business, no mask required (though several do sell cute ones). |
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 Unlearning False Histories: A Rosa Parks Resource List for the Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott By Duchess Harris When Rosa Parks passed away over 15 years ago, many well-known politicians spoke of her legacy at her funeral in Detroit, including then Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. A common theme throughout all of the speeches was one that all too many people are taught, unquestioned—Parks was a quiet, tired woman whose refusal to give up her seat sparked a bus boycott that lasted for just over a year. This narrative diminishes the highly impactful role Parks played in the civil rights movement. |
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| "Any time you see consolidation, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. My biggest fear is how that might impact access in terms of costs, licensing, and potentially physical access." | | |
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Calling all U.S. public libraries!LJ is currently fielding a survey about materials circulation in public libraries. We ask for your participation to help us report timely, accurate results. Barbara Hoffert will report on circulation trends by format and subject/genre in February. As a thank you, all libraries that complete the survey are eligible to win a $100 VISA electronic gift card! Start the survey: LibraryJournal.com/Materials2020Please respond by December 6. |
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 A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir Leads Holds | Book Pulse By Mary Bakija A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir leads library holds lists this week. The top LibraryReads pick of the month, How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams, comes out this week. Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson and A Promised Land by Barack Obama top the bestseller lists |
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 Movers & Shakers 2021 | Call for Nominations: Deadline Extended To December 15 The editors of Library Journal need your help identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Movers & Shakers profiles up-and-coming, innovative, creative individuals from around the world—both great leaders and behind-the-scenes contributors—who are providing inspiration and model programs for others, including programs developed this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for nominations has been extended to December 15. |
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From the Pages of infoDOCKET ... |
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 Top Trendsetting Podcasts from 2020 | Kidcasts By Anne Bensfield and Pamela Rogers While adult podcast listening is down, with fewer people tuning in while commuting, children’s listening increased by 24 percent in March, and by August, one in four children were tuning in to podcasts. |
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 NYPL Librarians Choose the Best Books of 2020 | Book Pulse By Mary Bakija New York Public Library selects their favorite books of the year. Nominations for 2021 Grammy Awards include audiobooks narrated by Rachel Maddow, Ronan Farrow, and Meryl Streep. The Costa Book Awards shortlist is out. A Promised Land by Barack Obama breaks sales records for presidential memoirs. The new series The Flight Attendant and an updated Black Beauty debut this week. |
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 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. |
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