Going to ALA Midwinter? Some excellent tips for making the most of your conference experience. "When there is money for conference travel, how do we maximize the potential for learning and growth face to face (F2F)? What’s the value of F2F in a virtual, networked world?"

"I don’t know what to say about the passing of the greatest American writer of her generation except that from the time I was nine years old, continuously, her work deepened, expanded and challenged my expectations of literature, awed me with the power of an unfettered imagination, and obliged me to sympathize with and understand—and in some stunning measure belong to—cultures and societies far removed in space, time, and even biology from my own."--Michael Chabon

Let's un-Girl the thriller genre.

Does your library have a copy of Teller of Tales in its rare book collection?

"To encourage use of BrainHQ, Sterling Heights partnered with the local senior center, introducing the software to attendees of computer classes and book groups, and incorporating it into the broader Exercise Your Brain! program."

Developing literacies across a wide spectrum of applications is central to the mission of libraries. Whether building early literacy skills with the youngest of customers and their families or providing programming to support digital, information, financial, food, and other adult literacy skills, libraries can best find success in these avenues by making sure they are intentionally included in the development of the strategic plan and, in the process, rethought afresh just as newer services are, rather than taken for granted.

Download the full article at
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/lifelong-literacy-free-downlo…/

The Hyman Archive in London, the world’s largest private magazine collection according to Guinness, contains more than 120,000 titles. Its founder, James Hyman, began collecting magazines as a teenager, Hyman is now seeking funding to finish meta-tagging and digitizing the entire archive for use by academics, curators and researchers.

"Of the original 100 copies, only four remain. Most libraries, concerned about poisoning their patrons, destroyed their volumes. Two of the surviving books remain in Michigan—one at MSU and the other at the University of Michigan."

It's almost time for #askalibrarian on Twitter. Join the conversation at noon to get a personalized book recommendation from a real librarian.

"The Newbern Library is located in a town of the same name with less than 200 residents, and was converted by fifth-year architecture students at Auburn University's Rural Studio – a programme founded in 1993 by Samuel Mockbee to create architecture for disadvantaged residents in rural areas."

Find out which writers will be inducted into the NYS Writers Hall of Fame. Who are your favorite New York authors?

Just a reminder that today is #LibraryShelfieDay on Twitter! Libraries, bookstores, and book lovers across the country will be posting photos of themselves, staff members, or even patrons in front of or near their beloved shelves of books using the hashtag #LibraryShelfieDay on social media. Follow along as Library Journal staffers share their personal #libraryshelfies.

The LJ reviews team share their banner picks in a variety of genres, formats, and topics that are sure to stir the interests of readers (and listeners) in libraries everywhere.