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Thalia Lightstone recently joined the Digital Content Processing Section as Librarian in Residence on the Digital Services track. The Librarians-in-Residence program (LIR) supports and develops the next generation of librarians and information professionals by providing meaningful work experiences at the Library of Congress. In this interview, Thalia chats with Pedro Gonzalez-Fernandez, Digital Collections Specialist, about […]
Welcome to the 2025 Library Design Showcase, American Libraries’ annual celebration of new and renovated libraries throughout North America. Today’s libraries are places where people from diverse communities can connect, learn, and grow. The institutions featured in this year’s showcase embody the library’s role as a true third space while honoring local histories and cultures […]
The following libraries are winners of the 2025 Library Building Awards, sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures (a division of the American Library Association) and the American Institute of Architects. The awards recognize the best in library architecture and design and are open to any architect licensed in the US. Projects may be located anywhere […]
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. Chosen by juries of their colleagues and peers, winners embody the best of the profession’s leadership, vision, and service as well as a continued commitment to […]
A patron at Orange County (Fla.) Library System takes the wheel of a virtual driving simulator. The technology has helped people with limited access to traditional driver’s education feel more confident on the road. Photo: Orange County (Fla.) Library System Not everyone has access to a safe, reliable car. And even those who do sometimes […]
Author Andreas Souvaliotis appears at Toronto Public Library’s sensory-friendly Autism Employment Expo, which drew nearly 200 autistic adults and support people. Photo: Toronto Public Library In 2022, as part of the City Librarian’s Innovation Challenge, Toronto Public Library (TPL) asked staff to submit ideas for workforce development initiatives. Recognizing Canada’s high unemployment rate among autistic […]
Author Rebecca F. Kuang Photo: John Packman For Rebecca F. Kuang, academia is more than a fictional setting. After writing The Poppy War in 2018 as an undergraduate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Kuang went on to study at two of the world’s most famous universities, Cambridge and Oxford in the UK. Her fourth […]
20th-century vintage sewing and knitting patterns in the library at Arizona State University’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Photo: Arizona State University’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising London, Milan, New York, and Paris will host their Fashion Weeks throughout September and October. 754Number of 20th-century vintage sewing and knitting patterns […]
Photo: Aaron Clamage First things first: Legends don’t need middle names. “It’s Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear,” says Sara Lee (pictured), lead librarian for special collections at the National Agricultural Library (NAL), who oversees the US Forest Service Smokey Bear Collection. That’s just one of many intriguing tidbits to be learned while visiting the […]
Sustainability is a promise we make to future generations that libraries will continue to be cornerstones of community life and prosperity. Recognized as a core value of our profession, sustainability is one of the five essential values guiding our work and decisions to balance environmental stewardship, societal well-being, and economic feasibility. Aldo Leopold, a writer […]
Today’s guest post is from Hana Beckerle and Spencer Zidarich of the Collections Digitization Division at the Library of Congress. Hana Beckerle and Spencer Zidarich of the Library’s Collections Digitization Division (CDD) have been named as the Library of Congress co-leads for the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) Still Image Working Group, effective July 1, […]
Yikes! I can’t say I’m surprised, but I just received the following email from Typepad support (this blog is hosted on Typepad): We want to inform you that we have made the difficult decision to discontinue Typepad, effective September 30, 2025. What Does This Mean for You? After September 30, 2025, access to Typepad – […]
A new report shows how Ontario library professionals are using AI tools in their day-to-day work and their perspectives on these burgeoning technologies. See the press release and access the 8-page PDF at https://ocul.on.ca/ai-machine-learning-2025-survey-report Surely Ontario isn’t unique? This is one of the first reports I recall seeing that includes at least a few specifics […]
The world we dream about I’m finding it really difficult to find the right words to say goodbye to Hadestown. This show and this cast have been the very best that live theater can be; a moment, a happening, an emergent experience that was so much more than the sum of the parts. The cast, […]
This post was written by Sahar Kazmi and edited by Jaime Mears. A longer version of this post appeared in the Library of Congress staff Gazette on July 25th, 2025. The Library of Congress has embarked on a new multiyear digital initiative, LOCal, that will help expand access to the digital collections through partnerships with […]
This is a fascinating summary of a big problem with some AI-enhanced library products: The AI powered Library Search That Refused to Search (Aaron Tay). The link to the ACRLog post is also worth a read: “We Couldn’t Generate an Answer for your Question”. In a nutshell, it appears that Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI content filter, […]
Three news releases in quick succession made my antennae stand up, though they’ve actually been trickling out over the past month. In the order I saw them: Introducing Lumo, the AI where every conversation is confidential. A new privacy-focussed LLM Chatbot from Proton. I’ve only poked at it a bit, but it seems solid, aside […]
Libraries are having a Hollywood moment, as several documentarians have recently turned their lenses towards libraries, librarians, and intellectual freedom issues. Some of these films made their mark at the recent American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, on PBS, at the Sundance Film Festival, and even at the Oscars, where The […]
Today’s guest post is from Sabrina Templeton, a 2025 Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress. Sabrina is pursuing her MS in Information Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to starting her degree, she worked as a software engineer and she is passionate about the intersection of library and technology spaces. As this […]
Geena Davis at the American Library Association’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia on June 30.Photo: EPNAC Hollywood has no shortage of polymaths, but Geena Davis might be in a category of her own. She has won Academy Awards for both acting and advocacy, founded the groundbreaking nonprofit Geena Davis Institute, written the memoir […]
