Palatine Public Library's Clear and Simple Message | Marketer of the Year Award 2019
By Meredith Schwartz
To pass an essential funding measure, Palatine Public Library District’s marketing team made the case with transparency, community feedback, and streamlined messaging—earning it LJ's 2019 Marketer of the Year Award.

Patty Wong, Steven Yates Announce ALA Presidential Candidacy
By Lisa Peet
Patricia “Patty” M. Wong, City Librarian at Santa Monica Public Library, CA, and Steven Yates, Assistant Director of the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies, Tuscaloosa, are the candidates for the American Library Association (ALA) 2020–21 presidency.

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Tenured Library Faculty Laid Off at St. Cloud State U.
By Lisa Peet
Four librarians were among the eight tenured faculty members laid off from St. Cloud State University, MN, at the beginning of the 2019–20 academic year, cutting the library's faculty by one-quarter.

Library Leaders Call for Better Communication with Publishers Over Ebooks | Baker & Taylor Summit
By Matt Enis
The publishing and book retailing ecosystem is changing rapidly, but public libraries continue to offer substantial opportunities to promote authors and books, and it is vital that publishers recognize libraries as important partners, a panel of library leaders said to an audience of publishing executives during Baker & Taylor’s Publisher Summit 2019, held September 24 in White Plains, NY.

Further Reading: Impeachment in Action
By Jacob Sherman
With the possibility of impeachment for President Trump making headlines, library patrons are bound to be seeking information and context. Whether for readers advisory or even a themed display, these titles will help explain the process, the current controversy, and the historical precedents.

Audiobooks Increase in Popularity as Science Supports Their Value
By Kara Yorio
More people are listening to audiobooks, according to the Pew Research Center, and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, say the brain might not know the difference.

New Kurt Vonnegut Museum, LeVar Burton, & A Giant Chicken Skeleton | Around the Web
By LJ
Each week, the LJ editors comb through the internet to find the best library-related news and tidbits. This week, a giant chicken skeleton graces the Denver Central Library, a new Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library opens in Indianapolis, and LeVar Burton will be hosting the National Book Awards!

How Much Coffee Do Librarians Drink?
By Lisa Peet
How much coffee do library workers need to get their jobs done? The results of LJ’s informal poll are in, and as it turns out, only about 60 percent drink coffee at all, with tea the beverage of choice for abstainers.

Library Leadership Is About More than Getting Things Done | Leading from the Library
By Steven Bell
When librarians move into an administrative leadership position, they may find they get fewer projects completed. That’s fine. It’s more important to contribute to subordinates’ personal growth and organizational progress.

Run Your Week: Big Books, Sure Bets, & Titles Making News | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
Bloody Genius, by John Sandford, leads holds this week. The October Read with Jenna title is The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett. It is a busy morning for forthcoming book news, including Susanna Clarke's Piranesi and Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom.

Kim Deitch | LJ Author Spotlight
By Tom Batten
Kim Deitch began his career scripting comics in the pages of the East Village Other in 1967. Often regarded as a "cartoonist’s cartoonist," he won an Eisner Award for Stuff of Dreams in 2003 and an Inkpot Award in 2008.

“We Are Better Than This” | SLJ Talks to George Takei
By Brigid Alverson
Actor and activist George Takei is as impassioned as ever about social justice. The author of They Called Us Enemy, his graphic memoir, Takei spoke to Brigid Alverson about the Japanese American experience and how the lessons of history can inform the current struggle for democracy.

Page to Screen | Book Pulse
By Neal Wyatt
The Center for Fiction announces the First Novel Prize short list. Changes come to the New York Times bestseller lists; the paper will start to include graphic novels and mass market paperbacks again. Joe Hill and David Mitchell both make news. PBS has a book-ish Sunday and more adaptations hit screens.

Peggy Barber, Library Promotion Pioneer, Dies at 75
By Lisa Peet
Margaret “Peggy” Barber, who helped change the way libraries promote their services, died on August 25 at age 75.

 Reviews

WEB-FIRST REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND MEDIA

Realm of Ash, by Tasha Suri, is one of this week's starred sff titles. "Suri’s companion to Empire of Sand continues to expand on the stark beauty and power of this magical realm." Also in sff, Steven James's starred selection Synapse "delivers a thought-provoking look at the definitions of humanity, belief, and faith in this timely near-future sf thriller." In James Sallis's starred mystery, Sarah Jane, "The lyrical language and ambiguous ending is reminiscent of the best of Craig Johnson’s 'Longmire' stories." The New Voices of Science Fiction, edited by Hannu Rajaniemi and Jacob Weisman, is another starred sff selection. "While readers may be familiar with many of the names and individual works here, having them together in one volume creates a stunning set of sf shorts. Highly recommended for all collections." And this week's starred nonfiction selection, Freedom from Family Dysfunction: A Guide to Healing Families Battling Addiction or Mental Illness, by Kenneth Perlmutter, is "essential for those whose family dynamics are in disarray and who wish to develop healthy relationships." 

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