Members of the book industry are finding that the current pandemic is accelerating changes that were already taking place.

From The Dispatch: Monday, the Columbus Metropolitan Library board of trustees voted to furlough 609 full- and part-time employees. That’s 72% of its 846 staff members. The decision was announced following a lengthy executive session to discuss personnel matters.The furloughs are effective April 19.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced on April 13 that it would begin steps to distribute the first $30 million appropriated to the agency through the federal Coronavirus Aid Package, or CARES Act. The $2 trillion emergency funding legislation, which passed on March 27, included a $50 million package spearheaded by the Washington Office of the American Library Association (ALA) to help ensure that libraries could continue to provide workforce development, connectivity, and digital content during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as well as to protect core library services in the face of future expected cuts and to help support library organizations.

Consider these library (and library-adjacent) crowdsourcing projects as a fun way to connect to the community and make a difference during the COVID-19 outbreak.

During the week of March 19–23 MIT Libraries convened experts from across disciplines and domains to identify and address grand challenges in the scholarly communication and information science landscape.

Suppose a librarian receives an email from a man named Greg Walsh, wanting to become a cardholder or simply inquiring about the open hours. Would the librarian reply? And, if so, would the reply be polite, including for instance some form of salutation, such as “Hello” or “Good morning”? Does your answer change if the guy is called Tyrone Washington? Is a librarian treating Jake Mueller differently from DeShawn Jackson?

A detailed look at pain management implementing the use of medical cannabis rather than opioids; A complex look at the issue of opioid abuse backed up with research and first hand stories; A valuable addition to the conversation about addiction filled with case studies illustrating the complexities of the disease

Editor Sarah Janssen discusses editing The World Almanac in an age where being attuned to "fake news" is especially vital.

From the Park Ridge Advocate/Chicago Tribune: With expectations that social distancing will be necessary for an extended period of time and lingering concerns about the spread of COVID-19, directors of several area libraries say that reopening the buildings will likely happen in stages. They will also likely take extra precautions based on guidance from health […]

From the Institute for Education Science/U.S. Dept. of Education: On March 26, NCEE [National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance] announced a call for nominations of rigorous research they are aware of or have conducted that evaluates the effectiveness of specific distance education practices or products on student outcomes. This page includes all nominations from the […]

From a Guest Blog Post by Charles Watkinson (Associate University Librarian for Publishing and Director of University of Michigan Press) via Digital Science: Many publishers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by relaxing access restrictions, and various library communities have developed resources for maximizing this temporary free access. University presses have been particularly vigorous in responding […]

The following preprint was recently shared on arXiv. The complete article is in Spanish and was originally published here. An abstract/visualizations are available in English. Title Growth Rate of Scientific Production on Covid-19. Analysis in Databases and Open Access Repositories Authors Daniel Torres-Salinas Universidad de Granada Source via arXiv From the Abstract: The scientific community […]

From a PLA/ALA Release:  As public libraries close their buildings to the public, staff continue to serve their communities in innovative ways. Those are among the chief findings the Public Library Association (PLA) announced today in the broadest survey of public libraries’ response to the pandemic to date.

Members of the book industry are finding that the current pandemic is accelerating changes that were already taking place.

Many libraries, library organizations, and others are offering webinars during the COVID-19 for a variety of reasons including thinking/planning for the future, developing learning new skills, and simply conversing with colleagues. infoDOCKET is organizing a spreadsheet with links to these recordings, along with a submission form for libraries and vendors to add more.

Update from March 16: COVID-19 Reports from the Congressional Research Service; Searchable Video From C-SPAN; and More Added to infoDOCKET Roundup

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler and Magnolia Table, Volume 2: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering by Joanna Gaines lead the bestseller lists this week. Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner is the May LibraryReads top pick. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is headed to TV. Brave New World gets a trailer. There is going to be a docuseries on The Mandalorian.

When the research team at Ithaka S+R closed their survey of academic library directors at the end of last year and began to examine the responses, they had no idea that within three months the academic library landscape would look entirely different.

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, is going to feel different, since many traditional observances involve a) not staying home and b) getting together in groups. But there are still plenty of ways to celebrate and further the cause of sustainability responsibly through the library.

Women’s fiction includes the popular Elin Hilderbrand and Cecily von Ziegesar, while historical fiction includes two novels in translation, David Diop’s At Night All Blood Is Black and Annette Hess’s The German House, that treat World War I and World War II, respectively.