School Library Musings: Geeking Out at Library Conferences

Attending conferences can be one of the best ways to get energized and refocused. When folks who work in the same field—or have an interest in it—get together to share ideas, compare experiences, and plan together, they will often become friends. And after communicating via email, participating in social media, working together online, or otherwise only meeting up virtually, a few days of in-person gathering is a true delight.

EveryLibrary’s 10 Most-Read Stories of 2025

In a year marked by book bans and political turbulence, readers turned to libraries for clarity, grounding, and hope. The EveryLibrary articles that rose to the top did more than inform—they sparked conversation, fueled advocacy, and reminded us why libraries remain essential to civic and community life.

The Curious Case of Gen Z and the Inexorable (?) Rise of AI in Healthcare Information

Right now, AI applications seem to be everywhere — although not all AIs are created equal, and each has its own specialism. One of the best-known types is the large language model (LLM), such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok, among others. These systems are trained on immense amounts of data, which allows them to generate text, perform machine translation, and summarise academic papers, as just a few examples.

Adopt This Icelandic Book-Loving Tradition This Holiday Season

Here’s a happy holiday word for you: Jólabókaflóð! It’s an Icelandic word that means “Christmas book flood.” While it may not look like a word that will just trip off your tongue (but it’s not so bad; this is how it’s pronounced: yo-lah-boke-uh-flowed), you might be more than a little interested in what that book flood is all about and ways to incorporate this cherished Icelandic holiday tradition into your own life.

The Joy of Borrowing

With inflation on the rise and many federal workers still recovering from the longest government shutdown in US history, the holidays this year are shaping up to be a major source of stress rather than joy.

Celebrate the Season of Giving at Your Local Library

The winter holiday season can be a bustling time when family and friends gather to celebrate, rejoice, and bring a festive bit of light to the darkest time of the year. But it is also a time of reflection and generosity, when we appreciate the good things in our lives and recognize that there are others who are not as fortunate. This time of year is known as the season of giving, when people come together to give back to their communities and help out those in need.

Who’s Going to Museums?

Museums are more than places to store art or history—they reflect how communities connect, learn, and grow.

The High Stakes of E-Rate: What Los Angeles Just Lost and Why America Can’t Afford to Follow

The Los Angeles County Library has recently announced the abrupt end of its long-running laptop lending program. For many Angelenos, these laptops were more than convenient; they were a lifeline. Yet due to steep cuts and administrative complications tied to E-Rate funding, the program could no longer be sustained, and thousands of residents who relied on the service have been left stranded in a digital desert.

When Libraries Do More Than Congress: Food-for-Fines in American Libraries

Across the country, public libraries are running “food for fines” campaigns for Thanksgiving and the Holidays. These are programs where patrons can pay off late fees by donating canned goods or other non-perishable items to benefit those in need.  

Culturally Connected Literacy: The Impact of the Indigenous Library Program

Little Free Library (LFL) is a nonprofit organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Its mission is “to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes.” The Indigenous Library Program, an LFL program born from the Native Library Initiative, is committed to providing book-sharing boxes on tribal lands in Indigenous communities at no cost. The program launched in June 2023, in an effort to bring books to “book deserts” in Indigenous communities.