Can it be only two years, as Alan Jay Lerner once wrote, "since the whole [economic] rigmarole began"? Yet libraries have weathered to varying degrees the unreliability of funding, especially with regard to programming, materials, and hours. Money earmarked years ago is seeing construction through to conclusion; state support has helped out in…

The latest calamities to befall the economy aren't reflected in the 2008 compilation of building projects. This article discusses how public and academic buildings combine for 213 projects in 2008. The 183 public libraries and 30 academic facilities, completed between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, squeaked through before the repercussions from…

The libraries featured in this article--all projects competed between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010--harmonize with and expand into their communities. Today's library is more than the mere sum of its parts. As evidenced by these 125 public library projects and 12 academic buildings, the thinking these days is for the library to harmonize with…

This paper provides a compilation of a top ten list of books for 2010. The goal was to glean the very best the great publishing tsunami has to offer with the input of librarians and trusty reviewers; the result is a mix of both the usual suspects and dark horse contenders.

With the exhibits at New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center open just two days, the show floor at this year's BEA was a real free-for-all, with lots of traffic from the moment the doors opened on Wednesday, May 26. But for LJ's review editors, it was worth enduring stubbed toes and rattled nerves to find fresh and interesting titles. In this…

This article presents the highlights of the 2007 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference held at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of librarians showed up early for a day of service, volunteering in libraries, schools, and other Washington-area institutions. As the conference wound down, some 2000…

The year in architecture offered grand facades, creative collaborations, and calamities overcome and viewed as opportunities. This article features 168 public building projects and 21 academic facilities completed between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007 that provide a glimpse of the future. Many libraries reported here achieved Leadership in…

If the resort city of Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland and its "imagineers," marked a departure from the urban reality of the typical American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, it was impossible, at this 2008 meeting, to avoid urgent library issues. How do libraries maintain their value and cultural presence as users…

These nine articles discuss research and statistics on libraries and librarianship, including libraries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; acquisition expenditures in public, academic, special, and government libraries; price indexes; state rankings of public library data; library buildings; expenditures in school library media centers; and…

Even as libraries face the economic downturn, a record-setting number of people attended the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Chicago, July 9-15. The tough economy, however, was felt in the number of exhibitors, which declined from the previous record set in 2007 in Washington, DC, and in anecdotal evidence that suggested…

Presents eight articles that discuss research on libraries and librarianship; number of libraries in the U.S. and Canada; highlights of NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) surveys; library acquisition expenditures; budgets; price indexes; library buildings construction; and expenditures for school library media center resources. (LRW)

Provides nine articles: research on libraries and librarianship, 1997; changing faces of library education (ALA-accredited graduate program title changes); number of libraries in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; highlights of NCES surveys; library acquisition expenditures; price indexes for public and academic libraries; state rankings of selected…

Three articles on library buildings present Library Journal's annual architectural survey of completed public and academic library buildings and library projects in progress; guidelines for leasing a shared library facility, and a description of a successful public library building project in Michigan are also discussed. (EM)

A number of library projects show the cost-effectiveness of sharing space in buildings. Six tables provide statistics for new academic and public library buildings; additions and renovations; renovations only; and a six-year cost summary. Photographs of library interiors and exteriors illustrate the article. (AEF)

This article presents results of a survey of 100 U.S. libraries focusing on their audio and video collections. Discussion covers genre or type of video collected, popular feature video titles, nonfeature films, nationwide jobbers and wholesalers and local distributors of audios and videos, and popular audiocassettes (how-to, motivational tapes).…