Sponsored by Oni Press.
Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to maintain their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped-up social pressures (not to mention microaggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This week has been just a continuous streak of bad thunderstorms, and the power has gone out multiple times at the library. Today (Wednesday) was the worst — we ended up closing for the entire day because it took over 6 hours to get the power, Internet, and phones back online, just in time for another round of severe storms tonight.
And now on to the newsletter, which (fair warning) contains a lot of news items about parents and “concerned citizens” getting upset over books with diverse representation.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
The Campbell County (WY) library board receives both support and calls for resignation after the library promoted its LGBTQ teen collection on social media and also booked a magician to perform at the library, who the community later learned was a transgender woman. (This article has me pretty steamed, but if you click on the link, scroll through for a choice comment made by a library-supporting member of the public.)
A city foundation announced that it will be withholding funds from the Indianapolis Public Library until it acts on the recent reports of racial inequity in the workplace.
Critical race theory controversy hits the quiet public library in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Citrus County (FL) director defends the library’s use of displays, particularly an LGBTQ Pride display that sparked recent controversy.
After a so-called YouTube “auditor” came to Danbury, nearby towns evaluate their video policies for public buildings.
Overdrive announces a plan and timeline to sunset the OverDrive app in order to focus on Libby.
Kansas City Public Library hires the first-ever “Wikipedian-In-Residence” appointed by a public library in the US.
A 50-years-overdue book gets returned to the Plymouth (PA) Public Library, along with a note and a $20 donation. Same thing happened at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library too.
Cool Library Updates
There’s a dinosaur at the library!
LA County Libraries have eliminated overdue fines.
Baltimore County Public Library debuts the first mobile library law center.
Worth Reading
Baltimore bets on a new type of first responder: the librarian. (Ooooh, I have so many thoughts about mission creep and how incredibly willing local governments are to push social service responsibilities onto libraries, instead of…properly funding libraries or the agencies that would be much better suited to providing these services in the first place…Actually, those are my thoughts right there.)
Getting police out of libraries.
How hiring managers can help to increase diversity and battle hiring biases.
Drag Queen Storytime continues to stir up excitement and controversy with library patrons.
Add antiracism to your web usability work.
Book Adaptations in the News
Laurence Fishburne is producing an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor.
Margaret Cho joins the cast for Fire Island, described as a modern gay take on Pride and Prejudice.
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is being adapted for film.
The first trailer for House of Gucci has been released, which is based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. (I am obsessed with everything about this trailer.)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will start filming next year.
Here’s the trailer for Cinderella, starring Camila Cabello and Billy Porter.
Books & Authors in the News
The American Booksellers Association apologizes for accidentally promoting Candace Owens’ book, Blackout, rather than Dhonielle Clayton’s Blackout.
A Commack (NY) schools English director has filed a lawsuit against the district, saying that he was reassigned to a new position without union representation in retaliation for his protest over the removal of Persepolis from school shelves.
Anti-critical race theory parents are now fighting The Hate U Give.
Book controversy invades the Hamilton Southeastern School Board (IN) meeting.
The Leander, Texas School District pulls more books from student reading lists.
In the wake of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, the New York Times looks at “how Cuomo’s book became a cautionary tale” for publishers backing political books.
Kate Clanchy is rewriting parts of her memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, after backlash over racialized stereotypes and problematic language.
Sixth-grade author Simeon Hudson wrote a children’s book to help combat bullying.
21 commonly banned books in 2021, and the reasons why.
Numbers & Trends
How much do ratings and reviews on Goodreads affect book sales?
Award News
The RWA has rescinded the award for At Love’s Command by Karen Witemeyer.
Every Child a Reader revamps its book awards.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
A look at the extortion scams and review bombing that are plaguing Goodreads.
This Scottish guy built a hobbit house workshop in his backyard.
How to make time to read for pleasure in college.
Maybe you CAN have too many books in your TBR?
On the Riot
7 US libraries and collections named after trailblazing women.
5 ways working in a bookstore changed this reader forever.
Why you should break up with 3-star reads.
A mathematical formula for packing books for vacation.
Why you should start keeping a reading journal.
This reader has terrible reading comprehension, but they still love reading.
Learning to let go of reading books at the “right time.”
Okay, hopefully all of you have power this weekend! I’ll catch you next week.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently listening to The Witch Elm by Tana French.