Last month, OCLC published a great list based on our own original research: The Library 100—Top Novels of All Time. It's a list of the novels that more libraries have on their shelves than any others.

The research was based on holdings information in WorldCat, which lets you search the collections of thousands of libraries around the world. The hard part of the research wasn't counting the libraries that had a copy… it was "clustering" lots of variations, editions and translations of books. That way, a 1964, French translation of "Pride in Prejudice" counts the same as an English... Read more

Libraries are a place for finding answers, but first come the questions. Whether working at the reference desk or teaching a class, you've likely had more than a handful of patrons approach you to say, "I have a stupid question." My response has usually been, "There are no stupid questions" but I don't like this response. I decided to take advantage of my social media learning network and #LibraryTwitter to ask colleagues there for advice on how to respond in a more positive way. The crowdsourced responses to my post were so helpful and inspirational that I wanted to share... Read more

For the cohort of small/rural libraries that participated in WebJunction's Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces project in 2017-18, the most transformational aspect of the process was realizing new ways to meet and collaborate with their communities. Achieving their goals to re-envision and activate their physical spaces into participatory, active learning spaces, pivoted on the depth of their collaboration with community members. We call this "community discovery."

WebJunction just launched a second cohort of "smart space" libraries, and they’re getting ready to start the community discovery phase. As we introduce them to a number of community discovery strategies and tools,... Read more

In New York, state law was recently changed to allow public libraries to administer naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. This prompted the New York State Library and several partnering organizations to collaborate in developing guidance, resources and technical assistance to support New York's 756 public and association libraries in their efforts to develop formal programs to address the growing opioid overdose crisis in local communities across the state.