Today in Books is sponsored by Meet Me in the Strange by Leander Watts:
The AIA and ALA Announce Their Awards for Best New Libraries
Every year, the American Institute of Architects and The American Library Association recognize achievement in library design. The six honorees come from big cities and small towns, from main libraries to branches. Congrats to the winners—and especially to the communities that got these gems.
Black-Owned Independent Bookstores On the Rise
There has been widespread discussion of the growth in the number of independent bookstores over the last several years, and it seems that the trend is also happening among black-owned locations. According to Troy Brown who has been tracking black-owned stores for almost 20 years, the number has doubled from 54 stores in 2014 to 108 last year.
Marie Curie’s Notebooks Still Dangerously Radioactive
This isn’t news, but it came across my dashboard for the first time this week, so I am counting it. Apparently, Marie Curie’s research notebooks are still hazardously radioactive, even 100-years later (to the point you have to sign a waiver to access them and go into a lead-lined chamber). I guess it makes sense that if you have plutonium lying around while you try to figure out why it is glowing, you are going to get some after effects. The notebooks will eventually be safe to handle normally—in about 1,500 years.