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Welcome to the 2024 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries throughout North America. Like the profession itself, library facilities are in a constant state of rebirth and reimagination. Libraries have evolved from places devoted strictly to scholarship and materials collection to true third spaces, where diverse communities come together […]
The American Library Association (ALA) and the International Interior Design Association are pleased to present the winners of the 2024 Library Interior Design Awards. Submissions, open to any library worldwide, are judged by industry professionals based on aesthetics, design, creativity, and function. Of the selected projects, one is named Best of Competition. The winners were […]
New English Canaan (1637) by Thomas Morton The year 2023 was another record-breaker for book bans. The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) documented 1,247 attempts to censor library books and other materials—most of which were works by or about people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, or both. Since these […]
Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) recognizes the achievements of more than 200 individuals and institutions with an array of awards honoring their service to librarians and librarianship. Winners are chosen by juries of their colleagues and peers and embody the best of the profession’s leadership, vision, and service as well as a continued […]
Illustration: Tom Deja Sonya Knisley, head of children’s services at Clark County (Ohio) Public Library (CCPL), has seen it happen over and over again. Someone walks into her location and applies for a library card—with one obvious aim. “As soon as they get their card, they immediately place a hold on a ghost-hunting kit,” Knisley […]
At Jacksonville (Ala.) State University’s Houston Cole Library, students used augmented reality to complete a treasure hunt–themed orientation. With Gen Z in its higher-education years and Gen Alpha fast approaching, academic libraries are seeking ways to reach tech-savvy students. “College students, being digital natives, are more inclined to engage with technology-driven learning tools,” says Yingqi Tang, […]
Ted Quiballo (right), instructional technologies librarian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, shows interns for World Relief Chicagoland’s youth summer program how to use a 3D scanner. For nearly a decade, Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, and the Chicago office of the national nonprofit World Relief have worked together to offer free summer programming […]
Ada LimónPhoto: Ayna Lorenzo/John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation This October, NASA will launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Engraved into the craft’s side is the poem “In Praise of Mystery” by Ada Limón. As US poet laureate, Limón has created You Are Here, an anthology (Milkweed Editions, […]
A 1981 concert flier for Dr. Cool and Cold Crush Brothers, archived in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library. 1,000Number of event fliers in the Hip-Hop Collection at Cornell University Library (CUL) in Ithaca, New York. These handmade fliers, made between 1976 and 1984, advertise early live performances by genre trailblazers like Grandmaster Flash […]
Photo: Willis Bretz From outside, Downtown Reno Library of Washoe County (Nev.) Library System looks like a big square brown box. “There’s no pizazz out front,” says Kristen Ryan, branch manager. So when people walk inside and find a lush central atrium with an abundance of philodendrons, spotted begonias, and other greenery; several towering trees; […]
Photo: EPNAC Max Greenfield knows that anxieties can keep our mind racing at night. Even the most far-fetched ones. “It’s totally normal to be scared of a shark if you’re in the water and a shark is swimming toward you,” says Greenfield, an actor most known for his roles on sitcoms New Girl and The […]
Kwame Alexander speaks at the 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition. Photo: EPNAC San Diego’s dreamy weather and landscape were no match for the sunny disposition of library workers and advocates reuniting under a shared mission at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition. A total of 13,532 people registered for the event, […]
The Library Marketplace at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. Photo: EPNAC The American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition (June 27–July 2) brought 13,532 registrants to sunny San Diego for educational programs, featured speakers, business meetings, and celebrations. Though attendance was slightly down from the past two […]
Connie Chung speaks at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego on June 29. Photo: EPANC Connie Chung has been bringing you the headlines since the late 1960s. As the first Asian American to anchor any news program in the US and the first woman to coanchor the CBS Evening […]
By Megan Bennett | July 24, 2024 Photos: EPANC The weather report at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition, held June 27–July 2 in San Diego, was all smiles. Here are some of the week’s picture-perfect moments. Clockwise from top: Haley White, reference department manager at Springfield-Greene County (Mo.) Library District, takes […]
What an amazing Annual Conference experience in San Diego! It was great to see strong attendance numbers of nearly 13,600, reflecting a continued desire for learning and engagement. As we look ahead to meet the information needs of our membership, it is important that we stand united to remember why we work in this trusted […]
On October 15, 2008, I had an essay published in Library Journal called “Stranger Than We Know” which was my attempt to try and understand where the next 10 years would take technology and libraries. Written just after the release of the iPhone 3G, I was trying to think carefully about what the smartphone explosion […]
A colleague alerted me to the existence of this project, which had flown under my radar. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) has used “a commercially available Large Language Model (LLM)” to generate summaries of primary case law, and legislative documents for Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan. It’s the summaries of legislative documents […]
San Diego’s famously sunny reputation may rest on its Mediterranean climate, but “America’s Finest City” has more to offer than beaches and breezes. As the former stomping ground of Theodor Geisel (also known as Dr. Seuss; see our By the Numbers) and Raymond Chandler—and the place where speculative-fiction stars Kim Stanley Robinson and Cindy Pon […]
Seasonal fare from Mabel’s Gone Fishing. Photo: Kimberly Motos Did you pack your sunscreen and hat? Ready to check out San Diego’s famed surf and sand? You’ve come to the right place. The convention center resembles a huge sailboat docked beside the deep blue San Diego Bay, where luxurious yachts fill the marina. Restaurants both […]
