The Kent District Library Bookmobile has been visiting Michigan food pantries since 2019, but the pandemic has increased the importance of the partnership as a way to promote literacy, says Joyanne Huston-Swanson, operator of the bookmobile. Residents visit the vehicle before getting to the food, with as many as 10 food pantries visited each month to help connect adults with books and e-books, and offering take-home activity packs for younger readers.

Plenty of women's history books are written to appeal to students from preschool through middle school, Barbara Cohen, the bilingual children's librarian at Warner Library in Tarrytown, N.Y., says in this interview. For students ages 5 to 7, Cohen's recommendations include "She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game" by Chelsea Clinton, while she recommends picture books for younger students, including "A girl named Rosita: The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Trailblazer!" by Anika Aldamuy Denise, available in English and Spanish.

Mecanoo, based in the Netherlands, won an international competition to design a library on the site of a historic hotel in Macau. The modernist design of the library features a curved concrete facade meant to evoke the image turning a page in a book.

The public library and recreation and park systems in Lorain County, Ohio, have successfully collaborated on projects such as the "Little Library on the Lake," which provides sports equipment to be checked out using a library card. Officials recommend that partners start small, understand each other and communicate clearly to get good results.

Minecraft hosts a lot of kids' dream structures, but recently it added one that may interest citizens living in oppressive regimes: "Reporters Without Borders' Uncensored Library, a virtual hub housing a collection of otherwise inaccessible journalism from all over the world," writes Cian Maher. DDB senior creative Tobi Natterer notes that "countries with press censorship often [have] huge gaming communities," and Minecraft allows "players [to] write books in-game," meaning that work from slain journalists including Jamal Khashoggi is in the library -- in Arabic and in English.

Students in a Virginia school district are using the app Sora, installed on their Chromebook computers, to access e-books and audiobooks through the public library system. The program is open to all students, even those without a public library card.

Three nonprofits and a B corporation competed to buy the vacant Harley Clarke Mansion in Evanston, Ill., with the Artists Book House led by author Audrey Niffenegger being chosen the winner by the City Council. Artists Book House plans to focus on local artists at a center that includes a library, gallery and papermaking studio.

Review all the product announcements shared during this week's Innovative Users Group (IUG) annual conference. Read the press release.

Innovative is pleased to welcome four more partners to our Development Partner program for Vega Discover. Read the press release.

Guest blogger Mary Kelly reminds us about the importance of aligning your collection with your library mission. Read the blog.