The American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, held June 27–July 2 in San Diego, CA, was big and busy, with more than 8,400 attendees and 5,000 exhibitors, authors, illustrators, members of the press, and staff. And while those numbers didn’t top last year’s Annual in Chicago, which saw more than 15,000 guests, it felt busier—possibly because of the slightly smaller venue, and definitely because of the sense of engagement and enthusiasm throughout. The great weather may have kicked the mood up a few notches as well.
Summer arrives with delight, spilling out languid days and the endless possibilities of what feels like suspended time. Filling these halcyon hours are books that support and extend those feelings—offering exploration, inspiration, and moments of pure joy.
Libraries are undergoing a thrilling transformation with the integration of AI and linked open data. This shift towards data-centric operations underscores the growing importance of enhanced collaboration and increased community engagement. Don’t miss out on this chance to shape the future of your library.
Bunny Williams (an AD Hall of Fame member and winner of a House Beautiful Giants of Design Award) is known globally as a creative force in both interior and garden design. She’s the author of Bunny Williams on Garden Style, An Affair with a House, and more; her newest is Bunny Williams: Life in the Garden. She talks with LJ about making gardens, some of her most beloved sites, and books not to miss.
Library Journal will honor one library staffer or a library team with its sixth annual Marketer of the Year award in its October 2024 issue. The award, sponsored by Library Ideas, LLC, comes with a $2,000 cash prize. The award recognizes the importance of innovative approaches to marketing of library services, the role of marketing in building library engagement, and the value of quality marketing collateral to help build a vibrant sense of the library and define its relevance in the community. Collateral should reflect the diversity of the community and staff in imagery and reflect cultural competency in its language and message. The deadline for submissions is this Friday, July 19.
Resource sharing between libraries is nothing new, of course — but what is new is the ease with which potential resource-sharing partners can find each other. We spoke with three librarians who play leading roles in the Rapido/RapidILL resource-sharing community.
It's been a great year for YA so far. These starred titles include everything from contemporary coming-of-age stories to high-stakes fantasy to diverse romances, and more.
James McBride’s body of work wins the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. A new posthumous novel by Zora Neale Hurston, The Life of Herod the Great, is due out from Amistad in 2025, and Goose Island, a previously unpublished novel by the late Margaret Walker, is coming next year from University Press of Mississippi. Reagan Arthur, the former publisher of Knopf, is joining Hachette to start and run a new imprint.
“Gardens, like rooms, need to connect to one another, so you also need an understanding of pathways and how one room flows into another. In a garden, all these things need to be created from the ground up in the space that you have.”
Lit Hub previews the most anticipated books of the second half of 2024. Viola Davis will collaborate with James Patterson on a forthcoming novel. RBmedia will acquire Dreamscape Media, including Dreamscape Publishing and Dreamscape Select. Josh Gad will release a memoir in January and actress Christina Applegate is at work on a new book about her life. Emily Henry will adapt her novel Funny Story for the big screen, while Lev Grossman's Arthurian novel The Bright Sword and Carolyn Huynh’s The Fortunes Of Jaded Women will get series adaptations.
The Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, was created in 2019 to recognize the public library as a vital community asset. When libraries, civic entities, organizations, and the people they serve become close partners, their communities thrive. One winning library will receive $250,000 in unfettered grant monies from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation. The next Kline Community Impact Prize winner will be announced in Library Journal's February 2025 issue, so the deadline for nominations has been extended to July 31, 2024.
Chidi Ebere wins the Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize for his debut novel, Now I Am Here. New inductees to the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame include Nalo Hopkinson and Jo Walton. EC Dorgan, Paola Ferrante, Daysha Loppie, Aubrianna Snow, and Karianne Trudeau Beaunoyer are named Writers’ Trust 2024 Rising Stars. Macmillan will launch another graphic novels imprint, 23rd Street Books, while Random House will acquire comic books and graphic novels publisher Boom! Studios.
With picnics, barbecues, and backyard parties, summer seems made for cooking. Support patrons’ culinary plans with these tasty, wide-ranging suggestions.
Tie dye, potholders, and rock art—the simple, creative pleasures of camp crafts aren’t limited to weeks away at the lakeside. Help readers find summer hobbies with these instructive guides.
Call for Info: Library Renovation/Construction Projects Completed Since Last July
Library Journal is collecting information about library projects completed over the last year for our annual Year in Architecture feature. If your institution completed a library construction or renovation project between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, please tell us about it! The links below will direct you to download a pdf of the form before filling out your responses online. We have separate links for public and college/university library projects. The deadline for submissions is Friday, July 26. If you are unsure of the specifics for the form, please ask your architect. They will receive free inclusion in our architect listing. Submission of high-resolution images of your completed project is encouraged and you will find digital specs and instructions in the gray box on the form.
Southern Get-Togethers: A Guide to Hosting Unforgettable Gatherings, by Kelsey Barnard Clark with photographs by Antonis Achilleos, is a starred cooking and food selection. "A perfect guide for planning gatherings of any size; great for any collection." In horror, House of Bone and Rain, by Gabino Iglesias, is a starred title. "In his most accessible work to date, Iglesias has crafted a coming-of-age story that blends friendship, vengeance, and mysticism in beautifully written prose that demonstrates the thinness of the boundary between the spiritual world and grim reality." And Amanda Cox's Between the Sound and Sea is a starred Christian fiction selection. "Will draw fans of redemptive family sagas that cross time and space, such as Amanda Dyke’s Set the Stars Alight and Heidi Chiavaroli’s Hope Beyond the Waves. Cox (He Should Have Told the Bees) is fast becoming an auto-buy for library collections."
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