Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).
“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Libby – The app for library ebooks and audiobooks.
Reach new patrons with Instant Digital Card – connect eager readers to your digital collection in just 30 seconds. Learn more today!
Before diving in — Kelly Jensen is revisiting her piece on sexual harassment in libraries from Fall of 2017 and would love to hear from you on changes (or lack thereof!) in your libraries related to the growth of the #metoo conversation. Survey is here and it is completely anonymous.
Libraries & Librarians
- Some Andover (KS) patrons are pushing to have LGBT books in the children’s section removed and/or re-shelved. Not. Cool.
- “Speed-repping” uses a speed dating setup to connect people with their government representatives.
- San Francisco Public Library may decide to go fines-free to live up to their promise of “free and equal access.”
- New trespassing & visitor policies implemented at the Pikes Peak Library District branches.
- EarlyWord talks about how to use GalleyChat as an ordering tool.
- The hunt for Nazi loot still sitting on library shelves.
- 40 books that changed librarians’ lives.
- The coolest library cards from around the world.
- A very scientific* look at which library books disappear the most. *Not at all scientific
Book Adaptations in the News
- Look for more Harlequin film adaptations in the future.
- Netflix has greenlit a series that will adapt both Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which are part of two different trilogies, which means LOTS of geeking out from your Leigh Bardugo fans!
- Sarah Michelle Gellar will star in the adaptation of Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney.
- Hannah Marks is directing the adaptation of John Green’s latest book, Turtles All the Way Down.
- The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty is coming to ABC, starring Heather Graham.
- After a prolonged legal battle, Mel Gibson’s adaptation of The Professor and the Madman will get a theatrical release.
Books in the News
- Publisher’s Weekly gives their top titles for Spring 2019.
- Daniel Jose Older’s next book will be released in 2019.
- Carmen Maria Machado has a memoir coming out!
- A new Bill Bryson title is coming out in October, called The Body: A Guide for Occupants.
- A new essay collection from Leslie Jamison – Make it Scream, Make it Burn. (Now there’s an attention-grabbing title.)
- There’s a collector’s edition of Fahrenheit 451 that you can only read with fire.
- New Arizona Superintendent uses the book Too Many Moose by Lisa Bakos for her swearing-in ceremony.
By the Numbers
- Indie booksellers had strong numbers to close out the holiday season.
- The number of Chinese readers increased by almost 30 million in 2018. Insert wide-eyed emoji here.
- British publishing (and really, all of publishing) still has a diversity problem.
Award News
- The Walter Dean Myers winners & nominees, from We Need Diverse Book.
- Hannah Sullivan wins the TS Eliot Prize for poetry.
- Philip K. Dick Award nominees announced.
- Winners & finalists for the 2018 National Jewish Book Awards.
Pop Cultured
- 2 Dope Queens is getting a second season on HBO.
- Netflix is facing a lawsuit from the Choose Your Own Adventure publisher over “Bandersnatch.”
- We have a premiere date for Season 2 of Killing Eve.
All Things Comics
- Take a peek at the first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home.
- Laurel and Hardy are getting the comic book treatment!
Audiophilia
- You can now read book reviews from Publisher’s Weekly AND listen to a sample of the audiobook at the same time! PW is rolling out this feature starting with Penguin Random House audiobooks.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
- 7 true crime books released this month.
- 4 poetry collections that changed the world.
- And on a related note, 50 must-read poetry collections in 2019.
- YA mysteries & thrillers to keep you on the edge of your seat.
- 5 books to read if you liked Bird Box.
- 16 of the best Islamic books for kids.
- 21 YA books about breakups & heartbreak.
- 8 year-long stunt memoirs to get your New Year underway.
- 20 books about gender identity.
- 10 books about climate change.
- Read Harder suggestions for humor books & books about journalism or written by a journalist.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- Mundelein (IL) High School transforms their hallways with iconic book covers! This is super cool, AND this is somewhat from my area, so there’s a little bit of local pride going on here!
- A woman transforms a rotten tree into an adorable Little Free Library.
- A beginner’s guide to Afrofuturism, and on a similar note, where to start with Nnedi Okorafor’s books. (Although she herself uses the term “Africanfuturist.”)
- There’s a Harry Potter-themed coffee shop in Pennsylvania, and that sound you hear is me booking a flight out there ASAP.
- This artist is creating breathtaking sculptures from stacks of old, donated, and discarded books.
- 15 of the best book recommendation websites.
- Bookstore cats! Honestly, for me, one of the best things about visiting different indie bookstores is the possibility of finding a kitty inside.
- Did all of the Baby Sitter’s Club readers really hate Mallory this much?
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!
–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently (re)reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.