AI on the Horizon By Matt Enis Several major companies—including Clarivate, EBSCO, OCLC, and OverDrive—are introducing new AI tools and features that will impact researchers, patrons, and library work directly. | Escape into the Season’s Top Titles | Fall Book Preview By Jessica Trotter The busiest book season of the year showcases the big titles and trends readers will be following for the next several months. Escapist stories, tinged with fantasy, are highlights, and cli-fi and nature writing come to the fore as well. A surprising number of subjects appear in both novels and nonfiction—including books about grief and hope and those that evoke a feeling of coziness. | SPONSORED BY MIT PRESS The Real Story behind the Invention of Dungeons & Dragons
In Playing at the World, 2E: The Invention of Dungeons & Dragons, Jon Peterson distills the story of how the wargaming clubs and fanzines circulating around the upper Midwest in the 1970s culminated in Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's seminal role-playing game. An indispensable resource for academics and game fans.
Learn more>>> | Digital Rights, Free Speech Groups Raise Concerns as KOSA Passes the Senate By Matt Enis On July 30, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) 91–3. Supporters of the bill say that it will help protect children from the potential harms of social media platforms and other online services, but critics say that if the legislation passes the House and becomes law, it will lead to online censorship—potentially including politicized censorship by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general who would enforce the law. | IMLS Honors Five Libraries with 2024 National Medal By Lisa Peet On the evening of July 31, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) celebrated its 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. IMLS Acting Director Cyndee Landrum presented the National Medals to the award recipients, which included a range of libraries from across the country. | SPONSORED BY EX LIBRIS, PART OF CLARIVATE Resource Sharing Leaders on Creating a Borderless Community
Resource sharing between libraries is nothing new, of course — but what is new is the ease with which potential resource-sharing partners can find each other. We spoke with three librarians who play leading roles in the Rapido/RapidILL resource-sharing community.
Read more>>> | Call for Nominations | LJ Movers & Shakers 2025 The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying emerging talents in the library world—both great leaders and behind-the-scenes contributors who are providing inspiration and model programs for others. Our 23rd annual round of Movers & Shakers will profile up-and-coming individuals from around the world who are innovative, creative, making a difference fighting against censorship, and helping improve their workplace. From librarians and non-degreed library workers to publishers, vendors, coders, entrepreneurs, reviewers, and others who impact the library field—Movers & Shakers 2025 will celebrate those people who are moving all types of libraries ahead! Deadline to submit: October 18, 2024 | LJ Talks With James Weston Lewis, Illustrator and Book Jacket Designer By Neal Wyatt James Weston Lewis, the illustrator who created LJ’s August cover and illustrated the Fall Preview, has designed for a myriad of publishers and created covers for Frederik Backman and Cat Sebastian, as well as many others. He talks with LJ about his creative process and the art of book jackets. | “One hundred percent of our engineering and development and product teams have embraced the use of AI internally for our workflows for building, improving, and refining products.” –From: AI on the Horizon | Shadow of Doubt by Brad Thor Tops Holds Lists| Book Pulse By Kate Merlene Shadow of Doubt by Brad Thor leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Katee Robert, T. Kingfisher, Casey McQuiston, Sarah Pekkanen, and Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Nine LibraryReads and eight Indie Next picks publish this week. People’s book of the week is Hum by Helen Phillips. Audiofile announces the August Earphones Award winners. August’s Costco Connection features C.J. Box and the paperback release of his novel Three-Inch Teeth. The Wedding People by Alison Espach is the Read with Jenna and B&N book club pick for August. | SPONSORED CONTENT Looking for the Latest Technology Products
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Read More>>> | Honoring James Baldwin’s 100th Birthday | Book Pulse By Sarah Wolberg NPR, NYT, and LitHub honor the centenary of James Baldwin’s birth. Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright wins the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The longlist has been selected for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. A new revised volume of Freud’s complete works, 30 years in the making, is out now from Rowman & Littlefield. The Dallas-based Southwest Review is launching New Pony Press. Plus, Page to Screen. | Call for Nominations | LJ Librarian of the Year 2025 The LJ editors are seeking nominations for the 36th annual Library Journal Librarian of the Year Award, sponsored by Baker & Taylor, to honor a professional librarian for outstanding achievement and accomplishments reflecting the loftiest service goals of the library profession. Deadline to submit: October 23, 2024 | NYT Book Club Picks Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend for August | Book Pulse By Sarah Wolberg The NYT Book Review book club picks Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend for August. Catherine Taylor wins the TLS Ackerley Prize for memoir and biography with The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern Time. The Cundill History Prize longlist is announced. The short stories on the Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist are revealed. Finalists are selected for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, recognizing the best books with a horse racing backdrop. Howard Andrew Jones wins a Trigon Award, honoring “the past, present, and future of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.” Time releases its list of the 50 best romance novels. Plus new title bestsellers. | Robyn Schiff’s Information Desk Wins Four Quartets Prize | Book Pulse By Kate Merlene Robyn Schiff has won the Four Quartets Prize for her poetry collection Information Desk. The September Indie Next list is out, featuring #1 pick Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner. A bankruptcy court has approved B&N’s purchase of the Denver-based bookstore the Tattered Cover. NPR says The Most by Jessica Anthony “deserves to become a classic.” LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Alison Espach’s buzzy book The Wedding People. John Scalzi signs a major 10-book deal. Plus, Riley Keough announces a fall book tour for her late mother Lisa Marie Presley’s forthcoming memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, due out October 8. | WEB-FIRST REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND MEDIA | Stacy Sivinski's debut novel, The Crescent Moon Tearoom, is a starred SFF selection. "Readers who fell hard for Hazel Beck’s 'Witchlore' series and Ann Aguirre’s 'Fix-It Witches' books will be thrilled with these turn-of-the-century sister-witches in Sivinski’s debut." The Rose Arbor, by Rhys Bowen, is a starred mystery. "Bowen is adept at writing mysteries filled with intriguing clues, satisfying solutions, expertly captured historical settings, and a little romance. A must-add to popular mystery collections." And Ann Dávila Cardinal's We Need No Wings is a starred fiction selection. "Cardinal (The Storyteller’s Death) deftly blurs the boundaries between literary and relationship fiction, crafting a novel full of magical realism that unfolds with leisurely grace as it traces a plot that is deeply engaging. Swift yet reflective, intimate yet universal, this is a novel of deep rewards." See All Reviews››› | Job Zone utilizes unique job matching technology to help you find the perfect job (and employers find the perfect candidate), whether you’re actively seeking or just keeping an eye out for your possibilities. Log on today and check out our newest features, including automated job and candidate matches, and email alerts. JOB OF THE WEEK The Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma is seeking a CEO. | |