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 Lion Forge.
In Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe has crafted an intensely cathartic autobiography about eir path to identifying as nonbinary and asexual, and coming out to eir family and society. By addressing questions about gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—the story also doubles as a much-needed, useful, and touching guide. Find the graphic novel memoir in stores now from Lion Forge!
A correction from last week’s newsletter: I mistakenly said that San Francisco city officials were naming a teen space after Amber Clark, when it was actually Sacramento. You can read the original article here, and I apologize for the error!
And now, on with the newsletter!
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- David Byrne joins the fight for NYC library funding. From the article: “The fight to fund cultural institutions in New York City is the same as it ever was.” *ba-dum-chhh*
- Proposed budget cuts to the Narragansett (RI) Public Library draw crowds of protesters.
- No more late fees at the Dallas Public Library.
- Leander Public Library (TX) cancels Drag Queen Story Hour. Meanwhile, Delaware County District Library (OH) is offering a Drag 101 program for teens interested in learning the basics of drag, hosted by a local drag queen, and is apparently standing firm in the face of public backlash. Now THERE’S a revolutionary teen program! I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
- The Digital Public Library of America created a free, readable eBook version of The Mueller Report, unlike the government-issued eBook version, which was a low quality, almost illegible PDF version.
- (TW racism) Doane University in Nebraska has suspended the director of the Perkins Library for a historical display that featured two photos of students in blackface in 1926, but did not provide additional context for the images.
- New library for the LGBTQ+ community opens in Hatboro, PA.
- Ian Rankin gifts his literary archive to the National Library of Scotland.
Cool Library Updates
- How the Sacramento Public Library used community outreach to engage with people with disabilities in the community.
- Nashville Public Library runs an early literacy program for incarcerated teen fathers.
- Sonoma County Library launches a Spanish eReading room.
- This digital bookmobile travels around and shows people how to access eBooks & eAudiobooks via Libby!
- How Alterspace allows library users to customize the light, color, and sound of their study room.
- Encouraging a reading culture in Africa.
- How to start your library’s first chess tournament.
- Turn RA into fun, simple programming.
Worth Reading
- Librarians respond to the humanitarian crisis at the border.
- How libraries can make a difference to help ALS patients and caregivers.
- A look at the affordable housing co-located with a library branch in Chicago.
- University libraries are seeing sharp declines in the use of their physical collections.
- Are you thinking about starting a non-traditional collection at your library? Check out this list of 200 random things that libraries are lending out – everything from cheese warmers to ghost-hunting equipment to skulls! Plus each of the listed items links back to its home library for more information!
- How to extrovert when you have to. *blech*
- The uncertain future of Sweden’s floating libraries.
- What student employees have taught this librarian.
- Who decides what will go into the Library of Congress?
- University of Southern Denmark discovered that three of their books from the 16th and 17th centuries contained large amounts of arsenic.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Another Stephen King adaptation: The Long Walk.
- Trent Dalton’s new novel, Boy Swallows Universe, is being adapted for TV.
- Queen Latifah will star and produce in the adaptation of The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo.
- FX is adapting Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater.
- Joshua Jackson joins the cast for Little Fires Everywhere.
- Hulu is adapting North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- Publisher Robert Bernstein dies at age 96.
- Penguin Random House acquires a minority stake in Sourcebooks.
- Berkley has acquired its first print queer female romance!
New & Upcoming Titles
- Hilary Mantel announces a 2020 release date for The Mirror and the Light, the last book in her Thomas Cromwell trilogy.
- The Jonas Brothers are writing a memoir.
- In “I’ll believe it when I see it news,” George R.R. Martin sorta promises a due date of August 2020 for The Winds of Winter.
- Marie Kondo is writing a children’s book, and I can only imagine how delightful this will be!
- A picture book about Venetia Burney, the girl who originally named Pluto.
- Donald Trump Jr. is writing a book, because of course he is.
- A preview of Karen McManus’ book One of Us is Next, the sequel to One of Us is Lying.
- 23 upcoming books that librarians, editors, and booksellers think you’ll love.
- Summer reading suggestions and previews from Bustle, Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, Shondaland, Vanity Fair, and Washington Post.
- What’s new in LGBTQIA+ YA for May 2019.
- New books by your favorite authors coming out this year.
- Time magazine picks the best fiction & nonfiction books of the year (so far)
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- NoveList now has a way to track media mentions of a particular title, so if you have a patron who’s trying to remember the name of a book mentioned on NPR, you have a new resource at your fingertips! This is so cool!!
- The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth – Josh Levin (New York Times, NPR).
- All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal Partnership – Darcy Lockman (NPR).
- Exhalation – Ted Chiang (NPR).
- The Bride Test – Helen Hoang (Washington Post).
- The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna – Juliet Grames (Washington Post).
- Middlegame -Seanan McGuire (NPR).
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong (New York Times).
- Patsy – Nicole Dennis-Benn (Time).
- City of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert (Time).
- A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II – Sonia Purnell (New York Times)
- Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark (Washington Post).
RA/Genre Resources
- A reader’s guide to different book genres.
- Donald Goines and the birth of black pulp fiction.
- YA addresses #MeToo.
- Crime fiction as self care – this is a great article to get you thinking about less obvious reasons why your patrons might be interested in a particular genre.
Books & Authors In the News
- Arizona Department of Corrections has banned prisoners from reading the book Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler, which discusses the impact of the criminal justice system on black men. The Department of Corrections apparently sent a notice to the publisher that some aspect of the book was “detrimental to the safe, secure, and orderly operation of the facility.”
- Related: New Hampshire prisons ban books that are critical of the justice & prison systems.
- Children’s author Judith Kerr has died at age 95 and award-winning journalist and author Tony Horowitz died at age 60.
- You may be hearing about Naomi Wolf, who learned on-air during a BBC radio interview that her interpretation of a legal concept frequently referenced in her upcoming nonfiction book, Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love, was completely wrong. Wolf later said that the issue was corrected and she stands by the premise of her book. I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t play one on TV, so I won’t delve into the minutia here, but holy cow, this sounds like an epic nightmare.
- We’re hearing a lot about Moby’s recent memoir, but only because celebrities like Natalie Portman have had to come forward and say, “Actually, I never dated Moby – he was just creeping on me when I was younger.”
- George R.R. Martin talks about whether or not the Game of Thrones books will end like the TV series.
- The Chicago Tribune did a feature on Nnedi Okorafor.
- Alexandria School District (MN) pulls two books from an eighth grade language arts unit after parent complaints: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and Sold by Patricia McCormick.
News & Trends
- Author Gabino Iglesias talks about the lack of diversity amongst the Big 5 publishers.
- On average, there are only 421 new fiction translations published each year in the US.
Award News
- Jokha Alharthi wins the Man Booker International Prize for Celestial Bodies.
- Melissa Harrison’s All Among the Barley wins the 2019 European Union Prize for Literature.
- Shortlist for the Forward Prizes for Poetry.
- Longlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
- The Wellcome Book Prize has been suspended due to lack of funding.
Pop Cultured
- How Claudia Kishi from the Baby-Sitter’s Club books inspired a generation of Asian-American writers.
- Vanity Fair has an enormous feature on The Rise of Skywalker, and honestly, I am 100% here for the John Boyega/Naomi Acki-as-black-space-cowboys and the whole Oscar-Isaac-sexy-desert-scarf look. Also, there’s going to be a significant Carrie Fisher appearance in The Rise of Skywalker.
- Suggestions for fiction podcasts.
- Trailer for Star Trek: Picard.
- 11 TV shows like Killing Eve.
All Things Comics
- Professional development opportunity! The ALA Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table is partnering with ALA president Loida Garcia-Febo for a free webinar on June 12th on “Libraries, Comics, and Superheroes of Color.”
- A beginner’s guide to comic books.
- Street Noise Books is a new YA publisher, which will focus on “unapologetic, authentic, and politically relevant” graphic nonfiction for teens.
- Comics to enjoy while you wait for Saga.
- The final season of Jessica Jones will be available for Netflix streaming on June 14th.
- Clue gets the comic book treatment.
- A Napoleon Dynamite sequel in comic form.
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl says “Farewell.”
- Trailer for Swamp Thing.
- Some light-hearted comics.
Audiophilia
- Washington Post lists some audiobooks perfect for your summer travels.
- We’re getting a brand new audio version of Charlotte’s Web, which will be narrated by Meryl Streep and an ensemble cast, and will be the first audio version of the book since E.B. White’s original recording!
- Audiobook roundup from Penguin Random House.
- Christian publishers are positioning themselves to take advantage of the growing audiobook market.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- Picture books that defy gender stereotypes.
- Picture books and board books about food.
- 10 books for fans of Raina Telgemeier.
- 30 middle grade & YA books by UK authors of color.
- 7 books about reproductive choice for teens.
- Must-read YA ballet books.
Adults
- New York Times: 75 suggestions for summer reading.
- Genre-bending romance series.
- 13 optimistic fantasy novels.
- 10 books about angry women.
- Literary thrillers.
- 7 creepy fictional couples, plus 7 domestic thrillers if you liked The Couple Next Door.
- 20 translated short story collections from around the world.
- 20 road trip novels for the summer.
- 24 unusual historical romances.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- The responsibility of a book critic in the era of a Trump presidency.
- Summer reading shouldn’t be a chore.
- Reading with toddlers may reduce harsh parenting and enhance your child’s behavior, according to this study.
- Bedtime stories in the digital era.
- Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has a post about being biracial and writing biracial characters.
- How to decorate a bookshelf with things other than books. (Is there such a thing?)
- 10 must-visit spots for mystery lovers.
- There’s a Nonfiction Women Book Club on Instagram, and an Iowa book club that plans to read all of the autobiographies written by Democratic presidential candidates.
- Suryakanta Barik told his future in-laws that he wouldn’t accept a dowry. Instead, they gifted Barik and his fiancee (both avid readers) with nearly 1,000 books for their personal library.
- Daniel Radcliffe’s original Harry Potter glasses are up for auction!
- A 17th century book with a hidden compartment for poison is selling for $11,000.
Level Up (Library Reads)
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 Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading all of my half-finished books from the last few weeks!