Among all the encouraging dispatches coming out of this year’s American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, one of the most welcome was ALA’s announcement that Daniel J. Montgomery has been appointed as the association’s next Executive Director. He will start in the role on November 10, succeeding Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger. LJ sat down with Montgomery at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to talk about coming to the role from outside of libraryland, goals for ALA, and the potential need for an acronym cheat sheet.
R. David Lankes, the Virginia and Charles Bowden Professor of Librarianship at the University of Texas at Austin and co-host of the Libraries Lead podcast, recently published his latest book, Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship, in association with Library Journal. The following is the first in a series of excerpts from Triptych, which is a compilation of three lectures.
It’s been four years since LJ spoke with Joy Bivins when she first stepped into her role as director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research division of New York Public Library. During that time, Bivins has thoughtfully grown the collections and expanded programming, and this year’s Centennial exhibit and celebration have given her the chance to flex still further. LJ caught up with Bivins to hear her thoughts on collecting, the importance of archiving with an eye to the future, and what goes into celebrating 100 years of cultural heritage.
Almost all scientific publications are published as PDF files. A major drawback of this format is that the formatting is fixed. Particularly, you cannot adjust the font size of the content. Hence, reading PDF files on smaller screens means that you constantly have to zoom in and out to read text.
This Disability Pride Month, we need library workers and other allies everywhere to help us spread the word: literacy doesn’t end when print becomes hard to read.
“I think the time we’re in, with the threats, we see that in education and in libraries. I saw it even in Illinois in the last few years, where there were pitched battles over library trustee elections—just like in school boards, where police were having to be called to settle near fist fights and things like that. I think it’s all of a piece for me, the calling to protect these fundamental bedrocks of democracy.”
Older adults are looking for ways to reduce isolation, forge connections with others, and learn new skills—and libraries have a key growth opportunity to help them achieve these goals. Gale Presents: GetSetUp helps libraries fill these critical needs with a turnkey online solution that doesn’t place any additional burden on staff.
Eager attendees packed a much anticipated screening at the American Library Association Annual conference in Philadelphia. With the filmmakers and titular subjects on hand, it was an emotional experience of The Librarians, which examines the national crisis of censorship and the heroic professionals on the front lines of defending intellectual freedom.
This month’s can’t-miss documentaries include the chilling story of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, klezmer and ethnomusicology, and a tribute to a beloved family-owned Ukrainian restaurant in New York.
Library Journal is seeking submissions for its annual Year in Architecture issue (November 2025). The issue will feature public and academic library projects completed between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. Let us know about your remodeling projects and new buildings by filling out this online form. Material must be submitted by Friday, August 1 to be considered for the issue.
This month’s top indie and foreign films feature a twisty spy thriller, a dramatic deep-sea repair mission, and a humanist story from writer-director Payal Kapadia.
Upcoming DVDs and Blu-rays to watch include a Stephen King short-story adaptation, a study of jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, and a classic screwball comedy from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, was created in 2019 to recognize the public library as a vital community asset. When libraries, civic entities, organizations, and the people they serve become close partners, their communities thrive. One winning library will receive $250,000 in unfettered grant monies from the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation. The winning library will also be profiled in the March 2026 issue of Library Journal and online. Honorable mentions may also be named. Find out more in the guidelines page here. The deadline for nominations is September 15.
Shortlists are announced for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for fiction about Australia, Scotland’s Highland Book Prize, and the Taste Canada Awards for cookbooks and food writing. A group of authors is suing Microsoft for allegedly using pirated books to train its LLM. A federal judge sided with Meta in dismissing a copyright-infringement lawsuit from a group of authors (the second such ruling this week, after the Anthropic decision). Plus, Page to Screen and new books by Malala Yousafzai, Matthew McConaughey, and Cynthia Erivo.
Victoria Amelina’s Looking at Women Looking at War wins the Orwell Prize for political writing, while Donal Ryan’s Heart, Be at Peace wins the award for political fiction. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer wins the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Winners of the International Thriller Writers awards are announced. Power Pulp, a new comics and graphic novels distribution collective, will lower the barrier to entry for indie creators. Plus, new title bestsellers and upcoming books from Paula McClain, Demi Lovato, and Jennie Garth.
A federal judge has ruled that Anthropic’s use of books to train its AI falls under fair use. Shortlists for the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, the Highland Book Prize, and the British Fantasy Awards are announced, along with the winners of the Premios Kelvin prize. Publisher and CEO of Kirkus Reviews Meg LaBorde Kuehn will step down on July 11. Emma Forrest’s forthcoming novel Father Figure will get a feature adaptation, and Hannah Friedman will pen an adaptation of Caro Claire Burke’s forthcoming novel Yesteryear. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight turns 20 this year, with a special edition to publish on September 30.
Natalie Sue wins the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for her novel I Hope This Finds You Well. Winners of the Indigenous Voices Awards are announced. Aisling Rawle’s The Compound is GMA’s July book club pick; Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores’s Happy Wife is the Read with Jenna pick. Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin is NYMag’s summer book club selection. Bob Dylan will publish a new art book, Point Blank (Quick Studies), on November 18. Plus, Sterling K. Brown’s Hulu series Washington Black based on the novel by Esi Edugyan, gets a trailer.
The Last Lions, edited by Don Pinnock and Colin Bell and published by Smithsonian Books, is a starred sciences title. "A landmark in conservation communication. Essential for libraries supporting environmental science, African studies, or wildlife preservation." In fiction, Lisa Ridzén's debut novel When the Cranes Fly South is a starred selection. "Readers will laugh and cry. In Bo, Ridzén has created a character who can evoke empathy in anyone." And Amanda Chapman's Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library is a starred mystery. "Chapman ('Cape Cod Foodie' series, writing as Amy Pershing) does a wonderful job of bringing the iconic Christie to life in a believable manner and surrounding her with a charming cast of characters and a twisty plot worthy of the Queen of Crime. Recommended for readers of Colleen Cambridge’s 'Phyllida Bright' series and a real treat for any Christie fan."
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