Learn more about the shortlist and other book news, including the Texas Book Festival launching Burro Libro Press, an imprint for debut literary fiction with ties to Texas: hubs.la/Q04gGCbk0

We're seeking proposals for Steal These Ideas: A Teen Programming and Engagement UnConference! If you have a topic you'd like to present, or even if you don't want to present but have an idea you'd love to see covered, fill out this form: hubs.la/Q04gvWSM0

Shortlists for the Sami Rohr Prize and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award have also been announced. Read more: hubs.la/Q04gt6Wt0

Other winners include Emily Henry, Sally Smith, and Florence Knapp. Read more about today's book news: hubs.la/Q04gkd9-0

Also in demand are new titles by Dani Francis, Lynn Painter, Jack Carr & M. P. Woodward, and Alex Finlay. Learn more: hubs.la/Q04g6HMl0

In only three years at Sablatura Middle School, Rachael Welsh has made a significant impact through multiple initiatives, including her “Adopt a Shelf” program that received the Texas Library Association’s 2025 Branding Iron Award. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQYPn0

Pedersen, librarian at Deschutes Public Library, maintains the print and electronic resources that provide area residents with legal information and “coordinates programs and services that truly transform lives,” according to nominator Catherine Jasper: hubs.la/Q04fQYv10

Nominated for her collaborative prowess, Ellen Paul builds community within her state’s small libraries through strategic planning cohorts. Read more about her work as executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium: hubs.la/Q04fQXLw0

At Kenosha Public Library’s (KPL) Southwest Library Teen Space, Megan Nigh creates a space that is safe, fun, and respected—one where teens return day after day. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQXtS0

Lamm has built relationships with over 20 community partners and county stakeholders in her community to address needs like food aid, addiction support, mental health treatment, housing support, and additional social services assistance. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQWZs0

@thenextgenlib.bsky.social is known as the NextGenLibrarian on several social media sites, including TikTok, where she has nearly 10,000 followers and almost 100,000 likes. Read more about how she has used her platforms to discuss Texas book bans: hubs.la/Q04fQTSs0

@leahlibrarian8.bsky.social found her purpose when she joined Urban Librarians Unite (ULU). Read more about her involvement with the Library Worker Support Network, in which library peers help find solutions to trauma in the workplace: hubs.la/Q04fQSBd0

When tasked with creating a new student advisory board for her library, April Ibarra Siqueiros started with a student-centered foundation. The board is now in its fourth year, an accomplishment that sets her group apart. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQsV-0

As Collection Development Librarian at Bronx Community College, Nelson Santana does more than simply purchase books and materials—he connects people to resources and information, and to each other. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQqD90

@thelocdlibrarian.bsky.social has worked to open Seneca Middle School's library to all students, including launching a schoolwide initiative for discussion-based book conferences and creating a student-led book club. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQnfh0

Michelle Margolis is one of four codirectors of Footprints, a site that traces the history and movement of Jewish books—inside many of which their owners have documented their lives, milestones, and local events. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQm2_0

At New Orleans Academy of the Sacred Heart, Soline Holmes champions graphic novels, sometimes despite opposition, and has transformed attitudes. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fQlwP0

Dr. Alison Gurganus is Special Advisor on AI and Information Literacy to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges (CCCs) and President of Council of Chief Librarians for all 116 CCC libraries. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fKH6Z0

Aditi Gupta is cofounder of the BIPOC Faculty/Librarians Working Group and the Chair of the Faculty Association’s Equity Committee, with both roles springing from her Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work at the University of Victoria. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fKGqc0

Christina Chatel and Marcia Kochel have worked together on Young Teen Lit, which communicates the need for a separate book category for younger teens that gives them stories and protagonists closer to their ages. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fKFmj0

Cantel combats what she describes as a “severe infodemic” in the Philippines. As a pioneering Master Trainer for the ASEAN Digital Literacy Programme, she's reached thousands of citizens and students from universities to remote rural communities: hubs.la/Q04fK2vt0

Today we will be sharing our 2026 Movers & Shakers who have been recognized as Educators in their professions. Please take a moment to congratulate selected individuals as we highlight them! 🎉

@lhslibrarylori.bsky.social brought the romance genre to her high school students, and now the Lincoln High School Romance Book Club (LHSRBC) “pulls in between 50–100 students and has hosted dozens of romance authors,” she says. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fJ3Ns0

Matt King has transformed Missouri’s library community through his strategic leadership as past president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL). Read more: hubs.la/Q04fGCtT0

Lynda Kellam helped organize and coordinate the volunteer-powered Data Rescue Project (DRP), which backs up federal data in formats that can be freely accessed by users through the online repository DataLumos. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fGxSM0 @datarescueproject.org

Peggy Griffith manages library services across multiple secure juvenile facilities in Wilmington, DE. Her facilities’ summer reading program invites authors, educators, artists, and partners who lead workshops and events. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fGrCZ0

As Curator for African American and African Diasporic Collections at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library, Patrice R. Green has made it her mission to expand whose stories get preserved. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fGlgt0

As NYC Public Schools’ Bronx Library Coordinator, Donna Gray supports roughly 50 school librarians across the borough’s 350-plus schools. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fGcjx0

In 14 years of involvement with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), including serving as president in 2023, Jennie Garner advocates for the smallest libraries and works to connect libraries of all sizes. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fG98G0

As manager of the Civic, Cultural and Literary Engagement Unit at Chicago Public Library (CPL), Mariella Colon leads initiatives across its 81 locations, spearheading creative cultural engagement. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fG6SF0

Alvin R. Blount headed up Becoming Beloved Community (BBC), an initiative promoting social justice, racial reconciliation, and healing. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fFzxq0

Today we will be sharing our 2026 Movers & Shakers who have been recognized as Community Builders in their professions. Please take a moment to congratulate selected individuals as we highlight them! 🎉

In his first attempt, Travis J. Givens secured a $10,000 ALA Libraries Transforming Communities grant to improve accessibility at Tolono Public Library facilities. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fwdbr0

Working with the St. Louis County Jail, Miranda Gibson helped found the Tap In Center (TIC), which offers free legal assistance so people who missed a court date can resolve bench warrants without being arrested. Read more: hubs.ly/Q04fw1Fj0

Katelyn Duncan launched the ESOL Navigator Program, which helps patrons find English classes, food access, and housing; and the Monthly Immigration Clinics, which connect patrons with resettlement agencies and legal services organizations. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvJrv0

Last summer, Rebekah Cummings and University of Utah Professor Elizabeth Callaway hosted a two-week institute for humanities scholars exploring the social and ethical impacts of AI. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvBcv0

Valerie Burleigh has turned her library into a space where students can learn practical life skills ranging from grocery shopping, with an aim toward cooking multiple meals during the week, to repotting plants to managing personal finances. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvwQd0

Kiosha Boyles leads a marketing and communications team that exemplifies inclusivity, innovation, and ingenuity while deepening connections with the Richland Library community. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvhFm0

Ashley Biggs' work earned her the Maryland Optometric Association’s V. Eugene McCrary Award for a person outside the optometric profession who made a significant contribution to the enhancement of eye care for state residents. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvfnM0

Today we will be sharing our 2026 Movers & Shakers who have been recognized as Change Agents in their professions. Please take a moment to congratulate selected individuals as we highlight them! 🎉

Selina Sharmin has built partnerships with the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Bangladesh Consulate, and served on the Queens Borough President’s Immigration Task Force. Read more about how she's helped Bengali-speaking families: hubs.la/Q04flBYJ0

Danielle Pritchett's mostly hybrid genealogy programs have the highest attendance in her library’s system. Read more: hubs.la/Q04flw_60

Bethany Jones wanted to see her Kentucky library grow with the community, and she has succeeded in securing substantial funding to make it happen. Read more: hubs.la/Q04flrSM0

Danielle Daguerre used her artistic eye to redesign the children’s Active Learning Center and the Teen Studio in Broward County Public Library’s Main Library. Read more: hubs.la/Q04flkP_0

As Chief of Digital and Online Services for Boston Public Library (BPL), Jessica Chapel works on a pilot project funded by OpenAI/ChatGPT that explores how BPL can scale its digitization and archival cataloging efforts using AI. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fkJT20

Rose Brock, Associate Professor of Library Science at Sam Houston State University, has dedicated more than a decade to connecting authors, educators, and young readers through her work as cofounder of the North Texas Teen Book Festival. Read more: hubs.la/Q04frMDD0

Andrea Bono-Bunker runs the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP), which helps libraries renovate and expand, from pre-planning guidance to post-occupancy support. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fkmmq0

Bell manages the school libraries districtwide in the same county she grew up in. She's organized Lit Loot, a program that gives students a package of surprises to keep, containing a brand-new book, a bookmark, candy, a fidget, and fun trinkets. Read more: hubs.la/Q04fvb7V0

Today we will be sharing our 2026 Movers & Shakers who have been recognized as Team Players in their professions. Please take a moment to congratulate selected individuals as we highlight them! 🎉

Dr. Karlos L. Marshall has created a wide array of initiatives for the Dayton Metro Library, including the Social Justice Speaker Series, now in its fifth year, Reading Railroad, and more. Read more here: hubs.la/Q04fjZg70