Over the years, Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service and Star Library ratings have focused on recording and reporting data for the purpose of promoting libraries through quantitative data; helping improve the pool of nationally collected library statistics; and encouraging library self-evaluation. Libraries have effectively used the LJ Index to track progress on outputs including circulation, visits, program attendance, public internet computer use, and, more recently, digital circulation and website traffic. It’s a finely calibrated thermometer.
Regina Gong was named a 2023 LJ Mover & Shaker for her work developing a student-centered Open Educational Resources program at Michigan State University Libraries to help make education more accessible and equitable, especially for underserved populations. Since being named a Mover, she’s moved on to a position that’s providing her a wider range of diversity, equity, and inclusion opportunities.
The winners of the National Book Award are announced: Justin Torres’s Blackouts, Ned Blackhawk’s The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, Craig Santos Perez’s from unincorporated territory [åmot], and Stênio Gardel’s The Words That Remain, tr. by Bruna Dantas Lobato. Halik Kochanski wins the Wolfson History Prize for Resistance: The Underground War Against Hitler, 1939–1945. Kirkus lists its best fiction of 2023. Washington Post shares more picks for the best books of 2023.
Mystery publishers are reveling in a surge of genre mashups. Creative pairings combine classic crime thrillers with elements of genres as wide-ranging as horror, romance, dystopian, sci-fi, paranormal, political, and western. New mystery titles also feature historical characters like Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare. Why this influx of genre mashups?
Vividly realized novels and insightful nonfiction trace the struggles and triumphs of women from the 16th century to the age of space exploration.
“There’s a metaphor that says leaders can either be thermometers recording data, or they can be thermostats, reading the temperature and then taking action to transform the environment. It’s an interesting concept when applied to libraries—how often are we thermometers for our community, recording changes in data? And how often do we act as thermostats, regulating the 'temperature' on key issues like literacy, broadband accessibility, and workforce development?”
John Vaillant wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. Kim Stanley Robinson wins the Hans Carl von Carlowitz Sustainability Award for The Ministry for the Future. The winners of the National Outdoor Book Awards are announced. Waterstones shares its books of the year for Scotland and Wales; Blackwell’s also announces its books of the year.
Sarah Bernstein wins the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel Study for Obedience. ALA unveils the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medals finalists. Two sponsors have withdrawn ahead of tonight’s National Book Award ceremony, due to planned author statements over the Israel-Hamas war. Amazon selects its best books of 2023, including #1 pick The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Time reveals its 100 must-read books of 2023. Plus, Publishers Weekly reports on Hachette’s “major and largely unprecedented” restructuring.
Biographies about tennis champ Rafael Nadal and legendary editor Judith Jones, along with a memoir by actor Tom Selleck, top the list of personal stories.
The Serpent & the Wings of Night, by Carissa Broadbent, is a starred SFF title. "A self-published hit picked up by a big publisher, this series launch from Broadbent (Mother of Death & Dawn) is a haunting, action-packed political fantasy with a doomed romance at its center, full of heartbreak and intrigue." Julie Mai Trân's Ăn Chua?: Simple Vietnamese Recipes That Taste Like Home is a starred cooking & food selection. "Step-by-step recipes and beautiful photos pair with Trân’s engaging teaching style to make delicious Vietnamese cuisine easy for even beginner home cooks." And Samantha Harvey's Orbital is a starred fiction title. "Coming from five different countries, the space travelers represent a microcosm of humanity. This is a beautifully written, deeply thoughtful meditation on planet Earth and our place in it."
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