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To-do lists that don't get done. Perfect planners that go untouched for days or months at a time. Important information jotted on scraps of paper and promptly misplaced. Notes-to-self that [...]

Digital Highlights As librarians, we know that public libraries provide a wealth of benefits to members of their communities, some more tangible than other. A recent working paper titled 'The [...]

New York Public Library's (NYPL) Manuscripts and Archives Division has acquired more than 300 boxes of material belonging to influential psychologist and author Timothy Leary, whose advocacy of the use [...]

www.computype.com Computype has announced the availability of the Peel N Shield labels, the all-in-one spine label and label-protector. Designed for in-house label printing, the Peel N Shield label combines a [...]

Librarians used to be the gatekeepers to knowledge. Forty years ago, if you were in need of information for a school paper or a corporate report, you would go to [...]

I have long maintained that the reason we are comfortable with ink-on-paper information delivery is that it is our paradigm. We learned to read in that format. We first encountered [...]

Today, literature is much more than traditional books made of paper. SMS (text) short stories, Internet literature, apps, poetry slams, literary happenings, and performances are just a few among many [...]

In the old days, federal grant requests comprised hefty piles of paper, generally several inches high. They kept copiers humming all across the country. Assembling all the pieces was a [...]

The Project Outcome Civic and Community Engagement Immediate survey results for more than 6,900 responses, summarized below, capture feedback from patrons and are typically handed out in paper format after [...]

BookBrowse, an online magazine for book lovers, combined responses from its annual survey last summer with its fifteen years of experience with book clubs to create the white paper entitled, [...]

Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual (Second Edition Revised) By Kenneth Lavender / New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011 / 265p. / $80 ISBN 978-1-55570-747-7 Lavender's how-to manual for book and paper repair [...]

The Whole Library Handbook 5: Current Data, Professional Advice, and Curiosa about Libraries and Library Services Edited by George M. Eberhart/Chicago: ALA Editions, 2013/ 528P. / $50 ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1090-0 (Paper) [...]

Library Management 101: A Practical Guide EDITED BY DIANE L. VELASQUEZ / CHICAGO: ALA EDITIONS, 2013 / 366P. / $65 / ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1148-8 (paper); 978-0-83899502-0 (PDF) / LC: 2012044514 Just [...]

Library PressDisplay offers library patrons the whole newspaper without all the paper. Every article, advertisement, crossword puzzle, and cartoon is presented in its original context. By subscribing to Libran/PressDisplay, libraries [...]

In 2015, we embarked on a journey of innovation when we discovered a unique device from Japan: the Roku. This unassuming gadget, capable of streaming video on most TVs, inadvertently [...]

Forming powerful partnerships within your community is as simple as ABC or, in the Hastings Public Library's case, AARP. We have been partnering with AARP Nebraska for close to two [...]

Has a librarian made a difference in your life? Nominate them for this year's I Love My Librarian Award! Ten amazing librarians from public, school, and college/university libraries will each [...]

Think of a department in a public library where data could not be used to inform decisions, evaluate operations, or improve public services, if only indirectly. Were you able to [...]

The full report--with tables, appendixes, and links--is available from thePLA website: https://www.ala.org /pla/data/plasurveys. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The results of the Public Library Association (PLA) 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities [...]

Dayton, Ohio is a midsized city in the southwest corner of one of America's most populous states. Home of poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar and humorist Erma Bombeck, Dayton is known [...]

Data Driven Decisions A Practical Toolkit for Library and Information Professionals Amy Stubbing LONDON, UK: FACET PUBLISHING [DISTRIBUTED IN THE US BY ALA EDITIONS], 2022 200 P. / $71.99 / [...]

One thing is certain, in order to meet our customers' real needs, we first need to know what they are. In this book, authors Bignoli and Stara offer simple strategies [...]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Public Library Association (PLA) 2021 Public Library Staff and Diversity Survey focuses on this most important public library asset by updating information on beginning librarian and library [...]

During the ten years I served as a children's librarian, I would often help parents wishing to check out both audiobooks and the corresponding print books for their children. These [...]

It seems odd that in 2023 book bans are still a thing, let alone a tactic increasing in frequency and expected to grow over the coming year. (1) In the [...]

At the time of this writing, it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I'm currently observing Dr. King's life and legacy by reflecting on his works, which spoke so [...]

Pima County Public Library's (PCPL) Ravenous Readers team started out as a group of library staff members who wanted to talk about books with likeminded people. They would get together [...]

He looked at me and said, 'If I had those resources when I was a kid, I wouldn't be here [in jail] today.' (1) I'd just told incarcerated persons participating [...]

One of the best ways to understand library customers is through a diverse workforce. As our population ages, more community members experience vision changes. Librarians with vision disabilities are adept [...]

WebJunction cites an IMLS study that estimates 'about 37 percent of library computer users (28 million people) use library computers and seek assistance from librarians for health and wellness issues, [...]

'The message I have received so far is that my mental wellness and stability is my responsibility alone and has nothing to do with my workplace' --A FRONTLINE PUBLIC LIBRARY [...]

Through one unique partnership, the Stark Library, in Ohio, collaborates with a like-minded organization, the Early Childhood Resource Center, to deliver the SPARK program and ensure our young children start [...]

Get the girl to check the numbers.' In a scene from the movie Hid den Figures, astronaut John Glenn asks mathematician Katherine Johnson to verify the calculations required for his [...]

In response to the first surge in the coronavirus pandemic, PLA and ALA conducted two nationwide surveys about libraries' experiences. This article analyzes and contextualizes the data from public libraries [...]

My first augmented reality (AR) experience occurred while visiting Gaudi's Casa Batllo in Barcelona in 2019. Visitors receive a tablet which, when lifted towards the architecture, overlays the current interior [...]

'I don't belong here' With that line I opened my presentation on imposter syndrome at the 2020 PLA Conference. While my intention was to use this sentence to hook the [...]

With all its challenges, the year 2020 has become a symbol of misfortune in many memes, a year of extreme uncertainty, discord, and stress. In response to the global pandemic, [...]

As we consider the myriad ways public libraries can encourage civic engagement, citizen science should not be overlooked. Highly adaptable and approachable, this avenue of public-driven exploration can be an [...]

In recent years, making activities have emerged as a valuable way to engage participants in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) practices, including design, fabrication, creative problem-solving, iteration, and [...]

'In the nonstop tsunami of global information, librarians provide us with floaties and teach us to swim.'--Linton Weeks ('The Old-Fangled Search Engine,' The Washington Post, January 13, 2001) Libraries have [...]

Along with much of the US economy, most public libraries shut down in March. A Public Library Association (PLA) survey taken between March 24 and April 1 revealed that 98% [...]

When I arrived at my library in the summer of 2017,1 was excited to lead an operation on the forefront of library innovation. We had everything going for us--a fully [...]

He has autism. He is non-verbal,' the boy's father said to me as they came further into the mobile-sensory environment we had set up as part of a large community [...]

Even in advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, a book placed in my mother's hands would bring a smile. While she could grasp the book, she could no longer turn its [...]

Here's the scenario: You're a super-intelligent, well-educated librarian, dedicated to public service and readers' advisory, and you really and truly care about your job. The problem is, sometimes it feels [...]

Imagine this scenario: You've got a big heart and you love helping people. You earn two degrees to work towards your 'helping people' job and you wrack up significant debt [...]

Implicit bias contributes to health disparities within minority populations and thus affects individual as well as community health.1 Lack of health literacy compounds those disparities. The health and medical communities [...]

Visit any public library and you'll find more great ideas, stories of professional success, and tips for effective service than you can count. Unfortunately, most of these stories remain within [...]

When our public libraries are asked to defend their relevance, we often rise to the bait, drowning our detractors in the myriad of services, programs, and events we offer. But [...]

At present, our library digital collections are growing in size and scope. From their early days as small holdings of e-books, many libraries have seen the addition of digital magazines, [...]