Lisa Peet and Matt Enis

After averting a cyberattack with a systemwide shutdown, Calgary Public Library brought staff and patrons along on its recovery journey. Santa Fe Springs City Library, CA, and Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources, FL, received honorable mentions.

This year’s American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, held from June 26–30 in Philadelphia, drew 14,250 participants: librarians and library staff, authors, publishers, educators, and exhibitors, including 165 international members. While still not up to pre-pandemic attendance levels, the conference was—by all accounts—buzzing and busy, with well-attended sessions and a bustling exhibit floor.

The 2017 conferences held by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L), in March and April respectively, covered trends ranging from diversity to emerging technology.

In a June 25 session at the ALA Annual conference in Orlando, John Bracken, VP of media innovation for the Knight Foundation, said that the foundation has been focused on three key questions when working with libraries: What can be done to foster cross-discipline collaboration, possibly learning from projects in other civic sectors such as Code for America, 18F, or the Knight-Mozilla OpenNews collaboration; how can community be put “even more robustly” at the center of the foundation’s work; and how can the foundation help libraries tell their stories to wider audiences? “To succeed, particularly in a time of reduced public investment, it is vital to tell our stories in ways that people can understand the breadth of our work, and on platforms” where the public is present and listening, Bracken said.

Former New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott was named president and CEO of Queens Library (QL) on March 1. Walcott, a native of Queens, was selected by the board after a six-month national search. He succeeds Bridget Quinn-Carey, who has served as interim president and CEO since former QL president Thomas W. Galante was placed on administrative leave and then fired in December 2014 for alleged misconduct and mismanagement of library funds. Quinn-Carey will return to her prior role as QL executive vice president and COO. Assuming Walcott’s appointment is approved by the New York State Department of Education (DOE), he will assume his duties at QL on March 14. Although he is not a librarian, Walcott’s career has been devoted to education and social services, serving high-level administrative roles in New York City’s government and community organizations.

As always, the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter meeting was the occasion for the debuts of new offerings from a wide range of library vendors. Below, please find a smattering of those we spotted in the aisles in alphabetical order. This list is necessarily far from comprehensive; if we missed yours (or your favorite) please add it in the comments!