Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I had the wonderful privilege of hauling both my cats to the vet yesterday, and I am delighted to report that Gilbert has not lost any weight, and Dini has not gained any weight, both of which I was worried about. But they are both very healthy boys!
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Here is the 2023 Library Systems Report.
The Movement of Rank and File Educators showed up in New York City to protest a gala where Mayor Eric Adams was being celebrated, despite his recent proposed budget cuts to public libraries and education.
UC Berkeley students occupy the anthropology library, hoping to save it from closure.
Cool Library Updates
Austin Public Library has launched a pilot program for enhanced library cards, which feature the user’s photograph and can be used as acceptable photo ID at many locations.
LibraryTok is helping libraries write their next chapter.
Worth Reading
Seattle libraries are transitioning into social work to help tackle mental health and drug use in their communities.
This tablet transforms images into tactile displays for people with visual impairments.
Authors talk about the importance of public libraries.
Book Adaptations in the News
Buckle up, folks: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix is being adapted as a film, and if it’s anything like the book, this is going to be a gleeful nightmarish romp that will stomp all over your emotions. I CAN’T WAIT.
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan’s novel Mad Honey gets a series adaptation.
Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian will be adapted into a feature film.
Julia Hart will direct the adaptation of My Lovely Wife.
Gabrielle Union will star in the series adaptation of Pretty Little Wife.
Prepare yourselves for Christopher Robin, an R-rated comedic reimagining of Winnie the Pooh.
Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty will come out this summer.
Red, White, and Royal Blue gets a premiere date.
First footage from the new Wicked adaptation.
First trailers for A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Dune, Part 2, A Haunting in Venice, and Killers of the Flower Moon.
10 screen adaptations much, much worse than the books they’re based on.
Censorship News
CBS’ book-banning segment irresponsibly whitewashed the extremist “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty.
The College Board will revise its AP African American Studies course.
The next generation United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Lake Travis ISD (TX) has a new digital book challenge form on their website.
Spring Branch ISD (TX) canceled a field trip to a performance of James and the Giant Peach, citing “age appropriateness.” Although the school has not gone into more detail, some people speculate it’s because a parent expressed concern at a recent board meeting about “the actors playing multiple roles that were both male and female, saying it’s drag.” I just can’t with the utter ridiculousness of this.
Florida’s book ban frenzy targets Nora Roberts, and she’s not happy.
Disney files a First Amendment lawsuit against DeSantis for his attempt to take over Disney World.
The Northwest Regional Library (FL) opened a book sanctuary.
Escambia County (FL) has created a default opt-in system where parents have to explicitly give permission for their kids to read controversial books. Except for the books that have already been banned of course. And if a parent wants to prohibit certain topics, they can specify that in the form for the library staff to decipher. It’s presented in a way that’s positive for parents (parents have more control over their kids’ reading materials!), but think about the library staff who now have to decide if a book is forbidden under a particular parent’s parameters. Or think about how few parents have actually used these setups in the past. (And don’t forget – the default option is to RESTRICT student access to books.) It’s such a bad system.
The FlaglerLive website (FL) published a review and recommendation that Damsel by Elana K. Arnold is not appropriate for high school students. “The following review by Dr. Stephen Playe and Ann Playe is presented as a guide,” but who even are these people, and why are they being treated as more knowledgeable than the teachers and school staff who are actually tasked with reviewing the book in an official capacity?
“Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of an amendment to the Rapides Parish Library’s collection development policy, as requested in January.” The policy in question reads: “[Children and teen] collections shall not include materials containing obscenity, sexual content (including content regarding sexual orientation and gender identity), or any other material that is unsuitable for the children and teen collections.” So to recap, he has no problem setting up a reporting line against teachers and librarians, but won’t weigh in on a censorious policy in his state.
The St. Tammany Library Board (LA) has approved a policy change that would prevent books from being removed from shelves when multiple challenges are filed for the same title.
The recommendation for RSU 14 (RE) to retain Gender Queer is being appealed.
Souhegan Cooperative School Board (NH) is preparing to hear a challenge against Gender Queer.
A New Jersey high school librarian is filing a lawsuit against several residents who labeled her a “child predator” when she refused to pull Gender Queer.
West Morris Regional Schools (NJ) will keep Fun Home in high school English classrooms, but it will no longer be required reading.
The Bernards School District (NJ) board rejected a proposed sociology textbook because “some members [of the committee] thought references to the protest group Antifa and the Michael Brown incident were unbalanced, and faulty studies and incorrect facts were presented.” Reminder: school board trustees are usually not trained educators, so why are they allowed to override the people who are?
School board members in Hempsfield, Pennsylvania “voted unanimously to begin a 30-day review of regulations to challenge books in district libraries. Anything with sexual content, ethnic intimidation, or other mature topics will be reviewed.” What the hell does “ethnic intimidation” even mean??
Several Strasburg (PA) parents are upset that their students bought LGBTQ+ themed items at a recent book fair, because this is clearly the school’s fault. Maybe sometime we can have a discussion about what the concept of “parental rights” actually entails, because a lot of people seem to think it means snapping their fingers and having the schools and libraries do all the work when the parents are upset.
Tom Hilterman from North Middleton Township in Pennsylvania thinks that Flamer and Let’s Talk About It are “not just unhealthy, but unsafe and destructive,” and should be removed from the Bosler Public Library. Who is Tom Hilterman? No clue, but apparently he knows better about collection development than the library staff.
New York senator Rachel May introduces the Freedom to Read Act, which would require school districts “to ensure school libraries provide students with access to an array of age-appropriate materials.”
Ballston Spa Central School District (NY) votes to retain Gender Queer.
Blankets and Flamer are being challenged in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
The ACLU has urged the Spotsylvania School Board (VA) to override the superintendent’s book removals.
One parent in Patrick County (VA) got a story removed from her son’s 3rd grade reading curriculum because she said it gave him nightmares. In a further conversation, this parent has complained about the presence of multiple other books in schools in libraries, except the titles she’s referring to aren’t available in the district.
The Union County School Board (NC) is getting ready to vote on a policy revision that would severely limit the content of classroom displays: “Classroom displays shall be limited to materials which represent the United States, the State of North Carolina, the school name and mascot, and/or are related to tie directly to the curriculum.” The policy addition is so vague that it means absolutely nothing, which means that virtually everything could be restricted.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower will stay in Catawba County (NC).
The Dorchester School District (SC) has updated their policy so that only parents and legal guardians of students can challenge materials, or as Kelly Jensen phrases it, “not just anyone with access to Moms For Liberty’s BookLooks site and too much time on their hands.”
Beaufort County Schools (SC) have reinstated ten challenged books, although some of them are now age-restricted.
“By July 1, as a result of a new state law, local Kentucky school boards must adopt a policy to address complaints submitted by parents alleging that material, a program or an event is harmful to minors.” Specifically, the law requires that schools ensure that a student whose parent has filed a complaint does not have access to the material in question.
Blount County Public Library (TN) refused to ban two challenged books, but have relocated Gender Queer from the teen section to the adult section.
Williamson County Schools (TN) decided to delay their vote on removing multiple books from the library.
Missouri librarian calls on libraries to make a stand against state censorship and budget cuts.
Seckman High School (MO) joins the list of schools where kids can experience a real school shooting, but can’t read about a fictional school shooting. (Nineteen Minutes has recently been removed.)
“The Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) has resigned after a pre-K educator resource book was pulled by the state that “contained a woke agenda.” The book in question is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th Edition, and according to the governor’s office, the book contains material “that focused on ideas for teachers such as there being a “larger systemic force that perpetuate systems of White privilege,” that “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism,” and that it should be taught to pre-K students that “LGBTQIA+ need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity and worth,” and other “equally disturbing concepts.”
A Michigan resident takes umbrage with a recent article about the attempt to ban Gender Queer from the Deckerville Public Library.
The Brandywine (MI) school board found 30 allegedly inappropriate books in the school library, and now 7th through 10th graders won’t have access to the books at all.
Books about riots, murder, and terrorism are slated to be removed from the teen section at the Hamilton East Public Library (IN), where the library has spent over $300,000 in taxpayer money to review the books in the teen collection.
A new Indiana bill could make book banning in schools easier.
“Fitzgerald said he’s not sure what specific books some in the community are concerned about and that no one filed any kind of complaint prior to the meeting. Fitzgerald, who emphasized that there are clear adult and children’s sections in the library, said the Salem Community Library [WI] is independent of outside influences and is not interested in prohibiting or censoring materials some may find controversial.”
Illinois’ landmark legislation to prevent book bans has been approved by the General Assembly, and will likely be signed into law by Governor Pritzker.
Elmhurst School District (IL) hears from parents who are upset that American Street by Ibi Zoboi is included in the high school curriculum.
Grinnell-Newburg (IA) community schools are getting complaints over The Glass Castle, but the students are getting fed up with the adults. One student said he “he ‘once aspired to live in this Grinnell community,’ but due to a variety of reasons — including racial discrimination and this attempt to change the learning curriculum — he no longer sees living in Grinnell as a current possibility.”
The Carroll High School (IA) review committee has recommended that the board retain Tricks.
Plattsmouth High School (NE) students protest the book banning happening in their school. They say 52 books are being challenged and many more have already been removed.
Approximately 300 people gathered in front of the Salida Regional Library in Colorado as part of a planned “Rosary Rally” to oppose LGBTQ books in the library.
A “drag queen” children’s book draws objections during a Douglas County (CO) library board meeting. I have two unrelated thoughts about this article. One, the feature photo does a great job of illustrating the pointless outrage that book banners love to exhibit, and Greg Francisco looks like he’s doing his best Jim Carrey impersonation. Two, I have absolutely had it up to here with the “both sides” type of writing that we get from these articles. Exhibit A: “Speaker suggests burning LGBTQ material, but others voice defense of books.” Because these are two equal points of view that deserve to be compared like this. To the journalists, I say you need to improve your skills, and fast, and to Greg Francisco, I say you need to find a better hobby.
Lander Valley High School (WY) drew criticism from the school board chair for the library’s banned book display, who said that some of the title selections were from the “woke left.” Which does not carry any sort of substantial meaning, but whatever.
Campbell County (WY) library board is considering allowing patrons to put warning stickers on books that they think other readers need to be alerted about. Literally, there would be no set standards, no vetting process, NOTHING. Patrons would just be able to put trigger warning stickers on any books that THEY deem appropriate. Like…what the actual eff?!
Ada Community Library (ID) tried to remove six books deemed “harmful to minors”. But PLOT TWIST: they violated the Open Meetings Act and so they have to reinstate the books. Isn’t it funny how so much of this book banning nonsense tries to happen behind closed doors? Probably because they know the community would be opposed to book banning attempts, and that’s just way too inconvenient to deal with.
School administrators in Rancho Santa Fe, California, have responded to criticism from the public that they removed several LGBTQ+ books from a book fair, along with LGBTQ+ positive stickers that some of the teachers displayed in their classrooms. The school board president sent an official communication that said “The two rumors being circulated allege that the Board has banned books and also that the Board stands against the LGTBQIA community. Both of these rumors are blatantly false.” But a school board member had already confirmed that the books were removed, and a teacher was told to remove her LGBTQ+ positive images & lanyard. Sooooo…way to go, school board.
Murietta Valley School District (CA) has rejected an 11th-grade social studies textbook after some trustees said it contains elements of critical race theory and critical statements about Trump.
Several right-wing protestors were removed from the Sherman Oaks Martin Pollard Branch Library (CA) for disrupting a drag queen story time program.
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (CA) decided not to remove Persepolis from classrooms, but then the trustees decided to give themselves the final say on all books used in the classroom. Again, these trustees are not educators. As the op-ed states, “This approach turns every mundane choice into a hot-button political issue. It will dumb down students’ reading material by assuring that educators propose only the least-controversial books – lest it set off controversy at a board meeting.”
Canby Public Schools (OR) are in the process of forming review committees in order to respond to the 36 books that were banned thanks to the work of two parents.
Seattle Public Library joins the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned initiative, which provides free eBook access to students across the country.
Let’s Talk About It is being challenged at the Anchorage Public Library (AK), by someone who used to work for the mayor, no less.
Mat-Su Schools (AK) have a lengthy list of books that have been pulled from library shelves on their website.
The fight for the American public library.
Okay, these banned book goods aren’t exactly a recommended strategy when it comes to fighting censorship, but I own a “Ban Bigots Not Books” tee shirt and I love it.
Books & Authors in the News
A previously unseen Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel will be published across Latin America in 2024.
Oprah picks The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese as her next book club pick.
Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading? Subscribe to Book Riot’s The Deep Dive to get exclusive content delivered to your inbox.
Numbers & Trends
James Patterson sells his 100 millionth book.
What are the actual reading trends for Gen Z?
The best-selling books of the week.
Award News
The 2023 Edgar Awards have been announced!
US Poet Laureate Ada Limón has been appointed to an historic two-year second term.
The LA Times Book Prize winners have been announced.
The 2023 Women’s Prize shortlist has been announced.
A new award seeks out debut writing from unpublished authors over 50.
Why we need more prizes for women and nonbinary authors.
On the Riot
Why teens need their own library space.
12 of the best summer reading programs of 2023.
How school librarians can survive the fourth quarter.
When children’s book authors don’t like children’s books.
Here’s Gilbert recovering after his ordeal at the vet. And I do mean an ordeal – we had to poke him out from under the couch with a broom, chase him around the apartment, and corner him on the couch in order to get him into his carrier. He hissed at us a lot, but thankfully he has the memory of a goldfish and forgave us very quickly.
Welp, that’s all I have for this week. I’m out till Tuesday. Don’t forget, BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal has a new podcast called First Edition, with bookish interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more! Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.