Alessio, Amy J., LaMantia, Katie, and Vinci, Emily. A Year of Programs for Millennials and More.

American Library Association. June 2015. c216p. index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1332-1. $49.00.

In this thoughtfully- conceived publication, Alessio, LaMantia, and Vinci, all librarians at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois, offer a year’s worth of customized and focused library programming for “millennials” and individuals in their early 40s. Taking an age- expansive approach to people comprising the “millennial” generation—this group is typically comprised of men and women who were born in the 1980s, 1990s, and the early 2000s-- the authors briefly introduce these library patrons in terms of their age cohorts, lifestyles, interests, and the ways in which libraries better can serve their needs. In the twelve following chapters, one for each month of the year, they then present an average of four, start-to-finish, sometimes month- specific, library programs for millennials and others. Each program guide sets forth pertinent information pertaining to organizing, coordinating, and effecting the program, not limited to preparation time, length of the program, size and age range of the targeted audience, a shopping list, setup guidelines, “make it happen” tips, program variations, and promotional ideas. The authors include many programs that have proven to be very popular and fun such as old school gaming, Oscar night, March Madness, Realistic Summer Reading and Media Programs for Adults, Literary Speed Dating, Shark Week Celebration, and writing workshops. The 13th chapter describes ten, quarterly or monthly, library clubs with ideas for sessions, crossover programs, variations, and more. While unfortunately this handbook omits the very important budgetary costs for each program, overall it will serve as a useful, go-to, how- to guide for many public librarians, who may be responsible for adult library programming. Written by experienced public librarians, it is very highly recommended for many public and some academic library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com

Goldsmith, Francisca. Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the Community Understand Health-Care Options.

ALA Editions. 2015. c112p. ISBN 978-08389-1288-1. $24.00. E-book B00ORWJ076 (Kindle)

Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in the United States, many public libraries have attempted to provide access to information about the law while educating communities about it. In this guide, the first of its kind written for library staff, Goldsmith (Consultant and Instructor at Infopeople; author of Graphic Novels Now and Crash Course in Weeding) provides best practices, advice, examples of libraries’ responses to the implementation of the new law, and more. Seeking to help libraries define the expectations and limitations for support roles as the new law is implemented, she offers an overview and context for the Affordable Care Act, basic information about health insurance and the health insurance exchanges, ways to know and assess community needs, functional library strategies and tools for building health awareness, discussions pertaining to ethical and legal matters, as well as considerations relating to health- and healthcare- related reference interviewing, programming, ongoing training, and advocacy. Including appendices of resources as well as end-of-chapter “to do lists,” this ambitious, short, general but not comprehensive, informative guide, while not a detailed how-to-manual setting forth how to implement health insurance, healthcare, and health awareness support programs and services in libraries, nevertheless may be of considerable interest to librarians and other staff members. As a basic, first “go-to,” reference resource, it is highly recommended for many public and other library book collections. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com