Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post). On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. “A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

In a touching reflection on love between generations, a grandfather passes down a hat that has seen a world of moments—and carries a big piece of his heart. A hat can do many things. It can keep you warm and dry. It can help you stand out in a crowd, or it can help you blend in. It can hold your dreams or your secrets, and it can hide your fears. In a debut picture book, Rachel Stubbs pairs winsomely expressive artwork with a gentle meditation on family connection and memory, as a grandfather offers his grandchild the anticipation of a life lived with wonder and openness . . . and a very special hat.

The ninth edition of this popular overview of the various programs and services offered by libraries offers best practice and useful tips for implementing them effectively. Building on the strong foundation of the previous editions, award-winning author G. Edward Evans returns with a new co-author, Stacey Greenwell, for this update that combines their signature style of textbook readability, informality, and sometimes humor, as well as their knack for balancing foundational topics and new trends. A new feature in this edition is the incorporation of the concept of "library social work" through "Social Work Connections" sidebars in each chapter. Anecdotes throughout the text and "Career Connections" sidebars offer practical advice and specific current examples. Greenwell and Evans have combined several chapters from the previous edition and expanded discussions of new trends while retaining and updating the fundamentals. The ninth edition is a welcome update for library and information science courses and a valuable handbook for public services librarians.

Libraries as social and service-based institutions are constantly seeking innovative and effective ways to meet the needs of their users and maintain relevance amidst alternative information sources. They are constantly adjusting to meet the needs of users, contribute to the personal development of users, and alight with national development. All of these have placed a burden on libraries to engage in sustainable practices both to increase their capacity to drive current developmental endeavors and to sustain future relevance. Global Perspectives on Sustainable Library Practices provides a rich and robust knowledge resource that brings together diverse sustainable library practices that will revamp library operations towards optimally meeting the current objectives of libraries as a developmental institution as well as sustaining value for future operations and service transactions. Covering topics such as access efficacy, green space development, and library service delivery, this premier reference source is an essential resource for librarians, library administrators, educators and administration of both K-12 and higher education, students of library sciences, pre-service teachers, researchers, and academicians.

Inherent Strategies in Library Management describes general and specific strategies for libraries based on core library values, and does so through concrete research. Many strategic management books for libraries introduce concepts of business management to the library world, but often neglect traditional library culture and core values. This book reexamines management through the lens of libraries themselves, rather than relying on strategies borrowed from the business world, in an attempt to bring to light the factors and decision-making processes behind how librarians have run their libraries over the past fifty decades. In other words, their decisions can be regarded as inherent management, born naturally from the core foundations, considerations, and operations of libraries. In addition, this book investigates the broad influences of business management theories on libraries, including a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of their use. - Presents management strategies for libraries based on core library values - Provides detailed analysis on the effects of business management theories on libraries - Lays down the fundamental rules for managing libraries - Explains various management analysis methods - Bridges the gap between library core values and business efficiency

This 230+ page study looks at trends among corporate and other business libraries, such as those of MBA programs or trade associations. The report gives data on trends in spending, materials purchasing, employment, virtual library development, technology acquisitions, evolving role of the corporate librarian, use of internet resources and many other issues of interest to corporate and business librarians. Data is broken out for corporate and non-corporate business libraries, and also by library size and focus (sci-tech, business, etc.). For corporate libraries, the study presents per employee spending data on a range of library materials and services.