LJ's Best Books 2018
By LJ
This year, LJ eschews our traditional top ten list of best books in favor of a larger and more diverse mix across 20 categories—with 188 titles in total.

Pleasant Valley Free Library Regroups After Fire
By Lisa Peet
On the morning of November 6 as residents of Pleasant Valley, NY, were lining up to vote on the town’s first library referendum in eight years, firefighters were battling a two-alarm blaze at the Pleasant Valley Free Library.

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Library of Congress Launches Crowdsourcing Platform
By Matt Enis
The Library of Congress in October launched crowd.loc.gov, a new crowdsourcing platform that will improve discovery and access to the Library’s digital collections with the help of volunteer transcription and tagging.

Can We Talk? Librarians Lead New Push for Civics Education, Focusing on Discourse
By Brenda Iasevoli
Librarians are helping to foster a productive exchange of ideas among students.

PEN America Files Brief For Court To Recognize Constitutional Right To Literacy
By SLJ
In connection with the lawsuit filed against the state of Michigan asserting it denied Detroit Public School students their fundamental right to literacy, PEN America has filed a friend of the court brief to urge the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to recognize a constitutional right to literacy.

If You Buy It, Will It Circ? In Defense of Visual Merchandising and Why Public Libraries Should Do More of It
By Karen Jensen
There is a science to why milk is placed where it’s placed in retail stores, and public libraries could learn a lot from the retail world.

New to the Bestseller Lists | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
Five new titles make the bestseller lists. Margaret Atwood is writing a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, titled The Testaments. LJ names the best books of 2018 and the NYT picks the Kids' Notables list.

Leaders Must Read, Think, and Evaluate Before Sharing | Leading from the Library
By Steven Bell
Leaders may find themselves inundated by a steady flow of reports and studies, some of which may be noteworthy while others are of questionable value. Leaders need a clear path of action to make the distinction.

The Cart Is the Thing: Making a Magnetic Mobile Maker Space Wall When You’re Short on Space
By Karen Jensen
I suggested a Lego wall, but a brief look around the room revealed that there was zero wall space. So what, I thought, about a Lego wall cart?

Run Your Week: Big Books, Sure Bets, & Titles Making News | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts and Milkman by Anna Burns lead holds this week. Pennie Clark Ianniciello and Reese Witherspoon are out with December book picks. More "best of the year" and December "best book lists" arrive.

UBC Library Partners with French Department on Revolution Pamphlet Collection
By Lisa Peet
At the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, a partnership between the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies and the Library will provide new levels of access to a growing collection of original pamphlets from the French Revolution.

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JOB OF THE WEEK
The City of Glendora’s Public Library is seeking a Library Services Manager