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The author reports on the 2010 annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) which was held in Washington, District of Columbia. The Washington Convention Center turned out to be an opportune oasis for librarians to gather and recharge away from the heat, climatological and metaphorical. Though library travel budgets have taken a direct hit, the attendance was a creditable 26,201, with 19,513 attendees and 6,688 exhibitors. The comparable 2009 numbers in Chicago were 22,762 and 6,179, totalling 28,941. The meeting also served as a national launching pad.

How do publishers describe the first novels they will be releasing this spring and summer? "Amazing," "fabulous," and "unique" are words that pop up frequently, though hats off to one publicist forthright or cheeky enough to call a work "weird Western/horror." The proof of such praise is in the reading, but why not check out this preview of first novels to see what's coming? This article presents a list of first novels of different genres including pop fiction, christian fiction, thriller, historical fiction, mystery and fantasy/horror.

Celebrating original voices, highlighting what might otherwise be lost--the "Library Journal" book editors try for a list of best books that they think will make a difference in everyone's reading lives. In other words, they had rather offer readers a sharp, interesting list that challenges than a list no one could complain about--or discuss. A list of the Best Book 2009, Best Genre Fiction 2009, and Best How-To 2009 books is presented.

This article provides a list of books for librarians. The list is grouped by type: pop fiction, literary, trillers, science fiction/fantasy/horror, romance, western, mystery, and Christian fiction.

How does one learn a second language? By drilling on conjugations? By practicing dialog? For decades, though the recommended method kept changing, linguists tended to argue that there was only one best way to learn French or Spanish or Hindi. But no more. Now, linguists agree that there's more than one way to learn a new language effectively and that different people in fact learn languages differently. Certain methods simply work better for some learners than others. In the end, acquiring a new language is a more nuanced process that anyone thought, and most people benefit from a setting that maximizes the varied types of learning experiences from which to choose. Language-learning tools have become increasingly popular at public and academic libraries in America--for both native-born English speakers eager to learn another language and foreign-born Americans hoping to polish their ESL skills. But if linguists are right that there's no single best way to learn a language, then there's no single best tool librarians should acquire for patrons embarking on a course of study. What's more, if they truly want to serve those patrons, librarians should strive to create a rich learning environment boasting a whole array of tools. There's plenty librarians can do to facilitate language learning in their communities without breaking the bank--or losing their minds. Initially, their job is to create a multimedia environment rich in opportunities for different kinds of learners. Whether they're licensing an exciting new generation of online products that make learning a multidimensional experience or ushering patrons to social-networking tools that invite chats with native speakers, librarians can help orchestrate the learning experience. Language learning is an ongoing process that requires commitment and, for the best results, a range of tools addressing different learners' needs. In this article, the author presents some language-learning tools that are excellent starting points.

Thousands of novels are published each year, some of them debuts that promise to be fresh, fun, and maybe even the work of the next John Grisham or Marcel Proust. This article lists a wide-ranging selection of forthcoming first novels grouped by genre, with a listing of the author's state or country for programming purposes. The best of last season's successes is also included in this article.

In an August 14, 2008 story, the New York Times reported that ethnic and racial minorities will likely be a majority of the U.S. population by 2042. Many of the blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and others constituting this emerging majority will be immigrants or the children of immigrants; the number of foreigners hitting these shores is projected to rise to two million annually by mid-century, up from 1.3 million today. Currently, the foreign born make up about 12 percent of the population, but the guess is that by 2025 they will make up 15 percent, surpassing a high-water mark set in 1910. And they won't all be speaking English, at least not right away. Librarians know that they need to stock up on world-language materials today. This article describes how public libraries select materials for a growing population whose first language is not English. According to Library Journal's (LJ's) 2008 book-buying survey of public libraries, fully 50 percent of respondents serving populations of 10,000 or more and almost all respondents serving populations of 100,000 or more have world-language collections. On average, these libraries add 600 world-language titles to their collections annually, with the largest libraries adding over 6500 titles on average.

From the fall's cascade of great new books, "Library Journal's" editors select their favorites--a dark rendition of Afghan life, a look at the "self-esteem trap," a celebration of Brooklyn activism, and much more.

Everybody has a story to tell, but not everybody can tell it well, which it why some first novels jump to the best sellers lists and others fade away. This year's crop of successful first novelists come from all walks of life--there's journalist Vanora Bennett and historian Alison Weir, dance critic Anita Amirrezvani, and financial analyst manque Dana Vachon. They all share a way with words that allows them to deliver incandescent stories that could change one's life. This article presents a list of successful first novelists for 2007.

With the pileup of responsibilities that range from programming to outreach to web management, more and more librarians are finding vendor-based book selection enticing. Most librarians see vendor-based selection as an option to relieve the pressure and still provide good collections to their patrons. However, using vendors to help facilitate collection development is both controversial and complex. This article takes a look at Phoenix Public Library's decision to procure the services of vendors in its book selection responsibilities. This article also describes the advantages and disadvantages of using vendors in library's book selection and development processes.

One leader, 12 readers, and a few well-thumbed copies of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." That is all a book club once required, but this is no longer the case. This article describes how the runaway popularity of book clubs has brought with it a whole new set of possibilities. Thematic discussion? A fiction/nonfiction mix? Videoconferencing? Multimedia exploration? With these and other approaches, librarians nationwide are successfully restructuring chitchat about beloved classics or recent best sellers to deliver a richer and more vibrant experience for everyone. Buffed, blended, and hooked up to other media or to videoconferencing equipment, the current book club looks nothing like yesterday's modest tea party. As book clubs keep booming, more and more libraries will become happy hosts. The book club is not just a way to satisfy a few hard-reading patrons. It helps polish the library's image and build bridges to the entire community. In today's library, with groups large or small, book club talk is priceless.

This article examines how collaborative collection development affects libraries. For many public libraries, adopting the collaborative collection development model would require a new way of thinking. In this model, libraries are equal partners "in which each library recognizes that it is a node in the network and that if it does not do its work, the whole system will fail." Some toughly independent academic libraries have learned to work together and love it. Public libraries already have significant tools in place to allow collaboration, though they may well take a different direction from their academic brethren. Collaborative collection development can take any number of forms, and librarians can make it work for them.