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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).
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- Librarians facing new tasks say that the crisis isn’t in the catalog. If you’ve been seeing discussions online about librarians being required to administer naloxone, this is the article that’s been sparking discussions. I say it’s one thing for libraries to choose to offer this service, but no library employee should be shamed or forced to administer this type of medical aide. I’m really tired of library staff being expected to shoulder trauma for the sake of the community.
- Nearly 100,000 Christians have signed a petition to ALA protesting its support of Drag Queen Story Hour. Seriously, can’t these people find something more productive to do with their time?
- There are 20,000 different titles banned in Florida prisons.
- The NYPL lions are getting a $250K restoration.
- I’m leaving this headline unchanged: Shoreline prudes cover up nippleless mannequin at the library.
Cool Library Updates
- Jeff Rise was helping his library move donated books into storage between fundraising sales when he thought, “What if a local business kept the book sale going year-round and gave all the profits back to the library?” And then thought “What if MY business did that?” So he ran the library book sale out of his liquor store and raised over $10,000 for the library in its first year! Way to go, Jeff!
- Silent book groups are a thing, and I would LOVE to see this as a low-key library program.
Worth Reading
- Libraries are finding new ways to support patrons experiencing mental health challenges, as well as the staff who serve them.
- Another response to Macmillan’s new eBook lending model for libraries.
- School libraries are essential for black and Latinx students.
- Why this librarian chose not to genrify the fiction section.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Lucasfilm is adapting Tomi Adeyemi’s best-selling Children of Blood and Bone!
- Daveed Diggs will play Frederick Douglass in the upcoming Good Lord Bird adaptation.
- James Wan’s production company picked up film rights for Nick Cutter’s The Troop, and my horror-loving self has just collapsed from excitement and impending fear.
- Netflix is adapting Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton, along with Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- The Atlantic writes about the Amazon Publishing Juggernaut.
- The final details of the Barnes & Noble deal. Can James Daunt save Barnes & Noble?
New & Upcoming Titles
- Dashka Slater, author of the YA nonfiction book The 57 Bus, has another YA nonfiction title slated for 2022 that looks at hate crimes and free speech.
- A look at Ronan Farrow’s upcoming book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.
- Rachel Maddow announces a new book.
- Best books to read this August from Town & Country, Salon, Crime Reads, and PopSugar.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Inland – Tea Obreht (New York Times, Washington Post)
- The Memory Police – Yoko Ogawa (NPR, New York Times)
- The Turn of the Key – Ruth Ware (NPR, Washington Post)
- The Doll Factory – Elizabeth Macneil (New York Times, Washington Post)
Books & Authors in the News
- If you or your patrons have never read Toni Morrison, you might be interested in these resources, which give readers a place to start: NYPL, O Magazine, Barnes & Noble, New York Times, Time, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today.
- J.D. Salinger’s novels will now be available as eBooks for the first time.
Award News
- The complete shortlist for Not the Booker Prize.
- Barnes & Noble picks its titles for their Discover Great New Writers selections.
- 2019 National Poetry Series winners.
Pop Cultured
- Teen-friendly horror movies that are heavy on the scares and light on the type of content that might give parents pause.
- There’s going to be a new animated Addams Family movie and SNOOP DOGG IS DOING THE VOICE FOR COUSIN ITT. There you go, you need no other news for the week.
All Things Comics
- Comic book thieves stole 3,000 comics, then unknowingly tried to sell the comics back to the original owner.
- 9 things this writer learned about parenting from reading comics.
- 8 dark, queer graphic novels.
Audiophilia
- Here are some audiobooks narrated by Toni Morrison.
- This AI reads books out loud in the authors’ voices. Is it time to welcome our technological overlords yet?
- Washington Post picks some audiobooks with stellar narration, and some with…less-than stellar narration.
- And some books that just work better on audio.
- Best audiobooks of August 2019.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Adults
- Books with new rules about dating.
- Readalikes for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
- 25 political books to read ahead of the 2020 election.
- 50 must-read books recommended by Roxane Gay.
- 19 books about white supremacy and how to combat it.
- Books to read if you loved The Nickel Boys.
- 6 metafictional horror novels that dissect the genre.
- Book Riot’s picks for Women in Translation Month.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- Turkish government destroys more than 300,000 books.
- A Tulsa, OK bookstore has been targeted by a white supremacist hate group.
- How to repurpose old books into DIY wall art.
- Some of the best hacks to up your Goodreads game.
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, and I’ll see you next week!
–Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently (re)reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.