ATG News & Announcements – 1/8/21

33% growth for digital books from public libraries and schools in 2020 sets records

According to Library technlogy Guides “Librarians and educators achieved record levels of digital book circulation in 2020. Readers worldwide borrowed 430 million ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in the past 12 months, a 33% increase over 2019. This significant growth was influenced by the pandemic, social justice and remote learning. Data was reported by OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for 65,000 libraries and schools worldwide…”

New Princeton University Library Program Provides Princeton Students, Faculty, and Staff Opportunities to Curate Digital Collections

According to infoDOCKET “Princeton University Library’s (PUL) digital repository houses over 130,000 digitized items from the Library’s unique and rare collections. Curated Collections, a new program at PUL led by Reference Professional for Special Collections Emma Sarconi, provides the Princeton community opportunities to curate these digital items into online exhibits, add detail and narrative, and contextualize them within a larger theme…”

PW Launches New U.S. Book Trade Fair for May

“Publishers Weekly will launch a new American publishing trade fair. The U.S. Book Show will run virtually May 26-28 and will offer events and programming for the domestic and international publishing industry, including booksellers, librarians, publishers, and self-published authors…”

U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero Responds to Capitol Riots

According to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) “Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero today responded to the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, that took place as Congress took up the presidential election certification process. He stated that the National Archives is taking appropriate measures to protect its employees and property, including the Charters of Freedom – the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights – and shared this statement with National Archives staff:…”

MORE LIBRARY AND PUBLISHING NEWS FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES

• American Chemical Society statement on final EPA transparency rule

• KOHA ILS Koha Community Announces 20.11 Release

• NPD: 2020 Was the US’ Bestselling Year for Print in a Decade

• EveryLibrary Encourages Early Vaccination of Library Workers

• New Theses and Dissertations Dashboard helps universities grow and showcase research

• Oxford University Press to publish BJS Society journals

• Polaris Community Welcomes Five More Libraries to Innovative

• HighWire hosts journal for China Anti-cancer Association

• Lyngsoe Systems to acquire P.V. Supa Group

• France: A New Small Press in Normandy Champions Short Stories

• JMIR appoints three senior executives to join its leadership team

Tom Gilson

Tom is originally from Brooklyn N.Y but has spent his entire professional career in South Carolina, most recently as Head of Reference Services at the College of Charleston. As part of the Against the Grain and Charleston Conference team, he serves as the associate editor of the print ATG as well as the co-editor of the webpage. Tom’s conference duties include coordinating the Penthouse Suite interviews as well as the conference poster sessions.

He received his MLS from the University of Buffalo, SUNY and a second master’s in public administration from the College of Charleston and the Univ. of South Carolina. His wife Carol and he live in downtown Charleston and she is an artist and a tour guide offering historic walking tours of the city.