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2024 Annual Conference Preview

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 […]

A Taste of San Diego

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 […]

Seeking Sanctuary

Illustration: Shane Tolentino Last year, when states were introducing a raft of legislation that would effectively take books off the shelves, librarians at Harris County (Tex.) Public Library (HCPL) knew they wanted to take a stand. Texas House Bill 900, which would have restricted materials in school libraries and required vendors to assign book ratings […]

Working for Well-Being

Photo: ©SewcreamStudio/Adobe Stock Social workers who connect patrons to needed physical and emotional care. Quiet rooms for rest and relaxation. Robotic pets that purr away patrons’ anxieties. And grief groups to support patrons over the holidays. Over the past decade, mental health support in libraries has grown more inventive, specific, and widespread. Institutions continue to […]

Shaking Up Science

At Roanoke (Va.) Public Libraries’ 2023 Flip the Fair event, elementary school students discuss a research presentation on microbiology with a graduate student from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Photo: Amber Lowery On a school morning last September, small groups of 5th-graders crowded around tools connected to scientific research—a microscope, a robotic camera, and even a […]

Sip, Sip, Hooray

Staff members from Collier County (Fla.) Public Library dressed for a Bridgerton-themed high tea. Photo: Collier County (Fla.) Public Library On a leisurely Saturday afternoon, guests draped in Regency-era fashion—lightweight muslin and chiffon, adorned with delicate lace and ribbons—converge in an airy hall to indulge in a spread of tea, elaborate pastries, cakes crowned with […]

A Greener Way to Read

Summer reading program participants at Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries choose brand-new books to take home, courtesy of Friends of the Library, Montgomery County. Photo: Jason Turner/Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries Summer reading program prizes are a fun way to spark children’s participation. But those prizes often consist of nonrecyclable plastic items that—once the fun has […]

Newsmaker: Dave Eggers

Photo: Mark Davis Dave Eggers, a dynamic literary force, is also a passionate, innovative, and generous advocate. The cofounder of 826 National, a network of youth writing and tutoring centers around the country, he also established nonprofit independent publishing company McSweeney’s and is an exceptionally creative and prolific writer. His many books for adults include […]

Bookend: From A to Zoo

Photo: Brett Alan Photography Kelley Woolley remembers visiting San Diego Zoo and its Safari Park as a kid. The big cats, giraffes, and koalas were often her first stops. She recalls watching elephants do tricks and riding the now-closed monorail, which offered great views of the tiger habitat. “I’ve been a huge animal person my […]

‘Operation Endgame’ Hits Malwa

Law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe today announced Operation Endgame, a coordinated action against some of the most popular cybercrime platforms for delivering ransomware and data-stealing malware. Dubbed “the largest ever operation against botnets,” the international effort is being billed as the opening salvo in an ongoing campaign targeting advanced malware “droppers” […]

Why Implement Two-Factor Authe1

In this week’s Princh Library Blog, recurring guest writer Nina Grant discusses why your library should implement two-factor authentication for your library management system (LMS), and the various benefits doing so will bring. Enjoy! Keeping your library’s data safe is more important than ever these days. Just like your personal accounts, library databases hold information, […]

Is Your Computer Part of ‘The

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today said they arrested the alleged operator of 911 S5, a ten-year-old online anonymity service that was powered by what the director of the FBI called “likely the world’s largest botnet ever.” The arrest coincided with the seizure of the 911 S5 website and supporting infrastructure, which the government […]

Treasury Sanctions Creators of1

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today unveiled sanctions against three Chinese nationals for allegedly operating 911 S5, an online anonymity service that for many years was the easiest and cheapest way to route one’s Web traffic through malware-infected computers around the globe. KrebsOnSecurity identified one of the three men in a July 2022 investigation […]

If it’s worth sharing, it’s wo

If it’s worth sharing, it’s worth saving – Wayback to Facebook

I don’t know why this particular solution didn’t initially resonate with me, other than my doggedly wanting to link to THE ORIGINAL source, but with the recent demise of my locally-hosted instance of ShareNews, I’ve been searching for other ways to circumvent Facebook’s ban on sharing news sites. I discovered a couple of solid commercial […]

Stark Industries Solutions: An1

The homepage of Stark Industries Solutions. Two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a large, mysterious new Internet hosting firm called Stark Industries Solutions materialized and quickly became the epicenter of massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on government and commercial targets in Ukraine and Europe. An investigation into Stark Industries reveals it is […]

Library Safety Audits: Assessi1

In this week’s Princh Library Blog post, guest writer Sam L. Bowman discusses the different methods libraries can use to assess risks at their locations, how they can approach creating plans to deal with the identified risks, and, finally, how they can communicate the risks towards their patrons. Enjoy! Libraries are among the most valuable […]

Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles 1

Image: Shutterstock. Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geo-locate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of billions of devices globally — […]

Libraries In The Age Of AI: Mo1

In this week’s Princh Library Blog, guest writer Nina Grant spotlights the trendiest, ever-present technology of today, discussing the role of libraries in the age of AI. Enjoy! Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days, and with its big impact on jobs, you might scratch your head wondering where old-school places like libraries […]

Patch Tuesday, May 2024 Editio1

Microsoft today released updates to fix more than 60 security holes in Windows computers and supported software, including two “zero-day” vulnerabilities in Windows that are already being exploited in active attacks. There are also important security patches available for macOS and Adobe users, and for the Chrome Web browser, which just patched its own zero-day […]