The biggest takeaway from this project was that deselection of materials had a largely positive impact on the age of the collection, greater than just adding brand new materials could. It’s like trying to mix a grey paint; you’re going to need to dump a whole lot of white onto your black paint to get it to lighten up. It’s so much more effective if you take all the old, unused stuff away first. Committing to keeping up with how we are progressing towards our goals is the only way I would have found out that the time invested by liaison librarians into collection development has been paying off – and more importantly, just how much of an impact their actions made. I think it is so much more valuable to see that quantitative comparison in the data than to simply say “good job.”
Books
Good luck finding a spare copy of “Spare” at your local library
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/14/prince-harry-spare-book-library-waitlist-length
If you’re trying to nab a copy of Prince Harry’s new memoir “Spare” from your local library, chances are you’ve got a long wait ahead of you.
Why it matters: The massive demand for the royal tell-all highlights how libraries remain a key public resource across America — and how a blockbuster bestseller forces them to make tough decisions to keep borrowers happy.
“A very street library thing”: in praise of sharing books with strangers | Books | The Guardian
%u2018A very street library thing%u2019: in praise of sharing books with strangers
From chance encounters with neighbours to the 1970 Australian Women%u2019s Weekly Cookbook, a weekly trip to the street library is a special kind of joyv
Hidden books in NSW town Braidwood taking kids on literary treasure hunts to encourage reading – ABC News
Kids find a book sealed in a plastic sleeve, take it home to read, write their name in it, and then re-hide it or pass it on to a friend.
The books are hidden in shop windows, parks and around the streets.
The concept is simple and follows the global painted rocks craze, where kids hunt for painted rocks around their local neighbourhood.
Mum of 10, Samantha Dixon, started the trend after seeing it on a community Facebook page overseas.
“We had a bookshelf full of books the children had already read,” she said.
Can Science Solve the Mystery of the Concrete Book?
When a sledgehammer isn’t really an option.
THE SLAB OF CONCRETE IS more than a foot tall, ten inches wide, and two inches thick. It weighs about 20 pounds, and it is cataloged in the University of Chicago’s library system as a book.
Do You Know Where These Authors (and Their Characters) Have Lived?
NY Times Book Review Quiz Bowl
Thoughts of “home” often dominate the last two weeks of the year as people celebrate the holidays, so this week’s quiz is about novels at least partly set in states where their authors have also lived at some point. To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be revealed.
Books bans and ‘gag orders’: the US schools crackdown no one asked for
Few parents are demanding censorship but rightwing politicians are passing restrictive laws nevertheless
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/books-bans-gag-orders-suppress-discussion-racism-lgbtq-us-schools
Ten Stories That Shaped 2021
How time flies! Once again we look back at the memorable events of the past year.
10. More Libraries End Late Fines
Libraries continue to make headlines for discontinuing the assessment of financial penalties for returning books late. Not only does this practice help get overdue books returned, it promotes equitable access to library collections.
9. Cape Town Library Damaged by Fire
In April, a fire partially destroyed the main library at the University of Cape Town. Recovery efforts are still underway.
8. Taylor Swift…?
Not one but two copyright stories this year involved Taylor Swift: the dubious practice of the police playing her songs to avoid being live streamed, and the musician having to re-record her hits in order to regain ownership of them.
The Lighter Side: "Library Rap" Raises Eyebrows
All I can say about this story is to watch the video yourself, if you can get through it.
7. University of California Re-Ups with Elsevier
After a long standoff over pricing and author rights, the University of California agreed to again subscribe to the for-profit publisher’s titles.
6. Supply Chain Issues in Publishing
Shipping delays and understaffing hit many economic sectors this year, and the books trade was no exception.
5. "Illegal Aliens" LCSH Retired
After over a decade of controversy, the Library of Congress approved a change to their "Illegal Aliens" subject heading in November, replacing it with the terms "Noncitizens" and "Illegal Immigration," prompting an outcry from Senator Ted Cruz.
Dishonorable Mention: NFTs
Librarians are all too familiar with the contrived scarcity imposed on electronic formats by commercial interests. This year, the hype train that is non-fungible tokens reached fever pitch, causing concerns over their environmental impact.
4. Controlled Digital Lending
Whither libraries in the Internet Age? One answer is the use of metered circulation mechanisms that allow for libraries to "lend" electronic copies of materials. Commercial publishers, unsurprisingly, would prefer to set their own prices.
3. Cancel/Consequence Culture
The publishing industry has always had its fair share of scandals. This year’s controversies involved Josh Hawley, Doctor Seuss, Alex Gino, Alice Sebold, Captain Underpants, and Phillip Roth.
2. Covid Exacerbated by Misinformation
Ahmed Baba describes the situation perfectly: "It’s important to directly state that Republicans and right-wing media have spent this year blatantly sabotaging Biden’s COVID response while simultaneously criticizing him for not getting COVID totally under control. It’s a deliberate strategy and it’s unfortunately working."
1. Book Banning Intensifies
This perennial entry takes the top spot this year due to the drastic rise (or "dramatic uptick," to quote the ALA) in challenges led by conservatives to library books.
What was your favorite library story of 2021?
Ten Stories That Shaped 2020
Here’s my annual look back at some of the notable library headlines from this year. Can you guess what number one is?
10. News Flash: Prejudice Still Exists
The problem of algorithms propagating bias continues to be an important issue in our field.
9. More Elsevier Cancellations
Following the University of California’s break with their expensive subscription costs in 2019, other libraries have joined the cause.
8. The USPS Slowdown
As libraries rely upon the mail for many services, such as interlibrary loan, the problems with the postal service before the election was a story worth following.
Honorable Mention: Curbside Videos
On the lighter side, several libraries created innovative marketing materials for their adjusted pick-up procedures due to COVID-19.
7. Scandals Roundup
Issues attracting bad publicity this year included the beleaguered American Dirt release; former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh’s fraud conviction; the removal of Gone with the Wind from the airwaves; the weeding process at New Zealand’s National Library; toner theft from the Austin library; and J.K. Rowling’s dubious attempt to convince people that transgender people can be criminals by penning a novel featuring a transgender criminal.
6. Proctorio’s Bonkers Surveillance Practices
Online test taking had a bit of a moment this year, for obvious reasons. The methods employed by exam proctoring software, however, have raised several eyebrows.
5. The Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library
Due to the closure of many physical library buildings, the nonprofit organization running the digital library at archive.org opened its texts for free viewing, much to the chagrin of commercial publishers. An ensuing lawsuit had the desired effect: the project was shut down. The fair use practice of online story hours faced similar threats.
Dishonorable Mention: Bad Patron Behavior
Librarians adjusting their service models due to the pandemic this year were often challenged by patrons with unrealistic and uninformed expectations about how libraries should be operating, not to mention blatant acts of rudeness.
4. Vaccine Hunt Fraught with IP Issues
Ah, capitalism. The search for a COVID-19 vaccine was driven, and perhaps hindered by, interests of those seeking to monetize the cure.
3. Bookstores Challenge Amazon
Amazon reaped in record profits this year, while several brick-and-mortar stores closed their doors for good. The efforts of Bookshop.org to compete with the retail giant received some much needed attention.
2. Misinformation Endangers Lives, Democracy
Conspiracy theories about the coronavirus abounded this year, causing an untold number of unnecessary deaths. And earlier this month, a poll of Republican congressman discovered that just ten percent of them will say who won the presidential election. As for librarians, if our mission is to slay ignorance, our role in combating bad information remains unclear.
1. #closethelibraries due to COVID-19
With a few notable exceptions, library leaders were excessively slow to shut down their buildings in order to protect the health of their workers and clientele. A campaign to close the libraries spread before many of the closures finally occurred. How libraries will reopen in 2021 is yet to be seen.
What was your favorite story of 2020?
Seattle Public Librarians Just Want to Read You Stories – Slog – The Stranger
The Lit Line (206-386-4656) isn’t necessarily a newfangled idea, SPL librarian Robin Rousu told me. It’s pretty old. Rousu has been a librarian with SPL for 15 years. She used to run the Dial-a-Story program where kids were encouraged to call a number to get a story read to them. That program was built around the idea of landlines. So, naturally, it’s since faded from relevance. But, the infrastructure and the idea were perfect for the COVID-19 era.
From: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/07/22/44139355/seattle-public-librarians-just-want-to-read-you-stories Seattle Public Librarians Just Want to Read You Stories – Slog – The Stranger
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