“James Wade’s newest novel, Hollow Out the Dark, is a masterpiece of atmospheric crime fiction; a worthy successor to the likes of William Gay and Cormac McCarthy. Set in East Texas, it is an epic, and age-old, story of greed and generational betrayal—where vengeance is swift and forgiveness a long time coming.” Kathleen Kent, NYT bestselling autho…

In this installment, Chris speaks with Tim Ribaric from Brock Univeristy in Ontario. Tim talks about digital librarianship, whether he sleeps, what a “Computational Notebook” is along with working with Google Colab. We also talked about “spark”, bringing the abstract of ideas to life, the “Software Carpentry Organization“, python for libraries and …

They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne has already made waves, earning a spot as one of Goodreads’ biggest mysteries and thrillers of 2025 and a most anticipated book of the year by Book Riot’s Read or Dead. Author Kelly J. Ford raves, “The hills of Kentucky burn in this thrilling tale of warring crime families that harks back to the furies of the Ha…

In this episode, Chris speaks with Katie Ester, Director of the Shelby Township Library in the suburban Detroit Michigan area along with Dennis Janer from Bluewater Technologies Group. Katie and Dennis talk to us about Shelby’s amazing transformation, what Bluewater is all about (and it is a very unique and creative company), and Magic Book, which …

Belinda Bauer on The Impossible Thing… A Crime Story Like No Other A taut, brilliantly imagined novel packed with intrigue at every turn, The Impossible Thing cements Belinda Bauer’s place as one of our great crime writers. From the two-time winner of the CWA Crime Novel of the Year and Sunday Times bestselling author of Snap and Exit, this grippin…

Want to laugh and learn at the same time? Then this is the episode for you. Megan Lotts, an Art Librarian at Rutgers talks and laughs about so many great things she is doing. She is a Maker, Author, Artist, Librarian and INNOVATOR!! We talk about the “spark”, the concept of “play”, unleashing the concept of play with colleagues and yes, Chris’ favo…

One of my favorite mystery series just got a brand-new installment! Glory Daze by Danielle Arceneaux has officially launched, and I couldn’t be more excited. In this highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning Glory Be, Glory Broussard is drawn into the mystery of her ex-husband’s death—this time with an unexpected ally by her side. Compellin…

I had the absolute honor of hosting international best-selling author, producer, screenwriter, and filmmaker, Tess Gerritsen on the podcast! Tess joined me to talk about her brand-new series, The Martini Club, set in the Midcoast region of Maine. The first book, The Spy Coast, introduces Maggie Bird, a retired spy who stumbles upon a secret group o…

On this installment, Chris and Bob speak with Beth Bayley from Karger Publishers. Beth joins us from Switzerland to talk about public access to information, Creative Commons Licensing, how librarians can assist in supporting open access, misconceptions about open access and the role artificial intelligence has in open access. Beth was such a good s…

An exuberant debut, The Husbands delights in how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options. Holly Gramazio’s first novel, The Husbands, was an instant NYT bestseller, a Read With Jenna Pick for April of 2024, made so many best-of lists for 2024, and rightly so! As Holly heads out onto her paperback book tour, she sat …

A series about older women doing kick-ass things, in this case? Assassins! Four women assassins, senior in status, and in age, sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn, a riotous follow-up to the NYT bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age. We had such a great conversation about wome…

In this installment of the podcast, Chris speaks with Jessica Bomarito, Senior Product Manager at Gale part of the Cengage Group. This episode explores a brief overview of what Gale offers the profession including the Gale Literature Resource Center. Chris talks about the evolution of digital literacy information from CD-ROMS to the current mode of…

In this final installment from the conference, Bob speaks with two former guests and friends of the podcast Carol Ann Tack from The Merrick Library and Nick Tanzi, Chair of the committee that puts the conference together and Assistant Director at the South Huntington Public Library. Carol Ann is an amazing readers advisory librarian. She spoke abou…

In part II, Bob sits down with Dr. Kathi Inman Berens and Dr.Rachel Noorda from Portland State University. Kathi and Rachel speak about their presentation regarding Millennials and Generation Z, how they cope with the flood of information they have at their disposal, the challenges that presents and how it effects their reading habits. They explore…

Award-winning author William Boyle joins me to discuss his eighth novel, The Saint of Narrows Street—a gripping tale set in Gravesend, Brooklyn, spanning 18 years in the lives of two sisters and the life-changing decision they made one fateful night. William shares insights into his drafting process, the joy of discovering small yet impactful detai…

The Podcast was happy to be invited back to the Long Island Library Resources Council’s Conference on Libraries and the Future. This is the first part of our conversation with amazing library related professionals talking about their presentations and how they work with libraries. In Part 1 Bob is joined by Joanna Christodoulou, Director of the BEA…

Love Lies in the Throes of Rhetoric by Anthony Gedell is an incredible debut featuring a rookie PI thrust into the deadly game of hunting a killer on the loose as fast-paced, intertwining narratives collide with volatile characters in an unforgettable story. Praised as “literary lightning” by Eli Cranor and a “white-knuckle thrill ride” by Jamal Ma…

Hold on to you hats, folks! I had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Cannell to talk about the jaw-dropping, true story of law enforcement and the Mafia in the 1970s. Absolutely compelling interview – thank you so much, Michael! For the first time in forty years, former New York Times editor Michael Cannell unearths the full story behind two…

In this installment of the podcast, Chris sits down with Kelly Harris, Director of the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, New York. Kelly talks about so many important topics including what Association Libraries are and their funding, unintended barriers to library service, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the library world, attra…

In this installment of the podcast, Chris sits down with Dr. Betsy Cauble, retired Social Worker and professor at Kansas State University. Chris and Betsy discuss the social work profession, training for social workers specifically working in libraries, assisting homeless that frequent our facilities, a “day in the life” of a social worker and the …

In this installment of the TLP, Chris has a chat with Trina Leigh Walker and Zindzi Cresswell covering library consultancy. Thanks to Matt Finch for connecting us all. It starts with the proper way to pronounce “Carnegie” (yes, Chris gets it wrong), working in the information world, and how important a strategic plan is. Continuing with the idea of…

Chris had the opportunity to converse with Essraa Nawar, Assistant Dean for Library DEI Initiatives and Development, recognized in Forbes Arab American Heritage, Top 40 Women of Egypt, 125 Most Influential People in OC, and Women of Influence in O.C. Top 30 Egyptian Women Abroad. Essraa delves into unconventional perspectives on diversity, equity, …

On this installment of the podcast, Chris speaks with the founder and President of Hoopla Digital, Jeff Jankowski. Jeff talks about Hoopla’s birth with Midwest Tapes, his origin story along with how Hoopla curates and optimizes their products along with digital equity and so much more!By Chris DeCristofaro

Download What an amazing time with Melissa Taylor, Manager of the Center for Innovation at the Fayetteville Public Library in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Melissa shares about her corporate sponsorships with Walmart, JB Hunt and Tyson foods. Chris and Bob learned about all of the offerings in this beautiful facility and how Melissa keeps it all running,…

In this installment, the fellas were lucky enough to have Aaron Whitfield on the podcast. Aaron spoke about all Aaron has accomplished in his time in Libraryland along with being a BIPOC and what that is like in todays world. He also talks about the importance of “MU FA LI” in his life, his writing and music. Aaron talks about the power of positive…

Joining Chris and Bob is David Ecker from Stony Brook University. Dave is a repeat guest and its always great to speak to him. Dave spoke about being library “technologists”, time management for managers, how AI can help makerspaces and that dirty world in Libraryland “CHANGE”. Dave has a new book out entitled Leadership Takes Courage: How to Maste…

Joining Chris and Bob on the pod is Temara Hajjat Gastroenterologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and co host of the Bowel Sounds Podcast. Temara spoke with the fellas about what its like to go to medical school, the spark that started the podcast, the targeted listenership, the formula for the pod along with talking about Harvard Medical Scho…

This is really cool LOCAL episode for our friends on Long Island but also a great inspirational episode for everyone. Joining the podcast is Lilly Kiel from the Cutchogue/New Suffolk Free Library, Steven Alcalde from the Rogers Memorial Library and Anthony Giansante from the John Jermain Memorial Library to talk about the tech challenges working on…

In part 2 of this special episode, Chris and Bob were joined by Alice Knapp, Director of the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut, Scott Jarzombek, Director of the Fairfield Library in Fairfield, Connecticut, Kate Byroade Director of the Cragin Colchester Library in Colchester, Connecticut and Scott Brill, Director of the Derby Public Library,…

In this 2 part episode, Chris and Bob travel to Groton Connecticut at the invitation of the Connecticut Library Association to speak during their conference lunch period about mental health and wellbeing in the library profession. The fellas were joined by Doug Lord, Director of the C. H. Booth Public Library in Newtown, Connecticut and President o…