Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I can hardly believe it, but I’m coming up on my five-year anniversary at my current library! So much has happened over the last five years—I’m looking at you, COVID—that I feel like I’ve been there forever, and yet, compared to several of my coworkers, my tenure is still very short. (I have multiple coworkers who have been there 15-20+ years!) But of course, the most important part of this upcoming anniversary is that I need to bring in donuts for my coworkers!
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Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Library social media star Mychal Threets has resigned from his position to protect his mental health. I hate that he had to find himself in this position and that so many people were compelled to ruin his joy. I hope he finds a fantastic new position where his love of libraries is celebrated.
Cool Library Updates
A Massachusetts library system will let you pay fines with cat pictures!
Louisiana libraries are helping people apply for food stamps.
Worth Reading
Advancing pro-library stories in this election year.
Book Adaptations in the News
R. F. Kuang’s Babel has been optioned for adaptation.
Stephen King’s The Dead Zone is reportedly moving towards a new film adaptation.
American Psycho is reportedly getting a remake. Now, I have some THOUGHTS about this, as I loved the original and feel that its success was due in large part to having a female director interpret the original source material. However, a random person on Twitter suggested that they cast Jodie Comer as the new Patrick (Patricia?) Bateman, and if the powers-that-be actually do this, I’ll take back every critical comment I’ve made about this remake! DO IT, YOU COWARDS!!
Lionsgate is shopping a Twilight animated series.
The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA is being adapted as a series.
William Gibson’s Neuromancer is getting a TV series on Apple TV+.
Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal are starring in a Broadway revival of Othello.
House of the Dragon Season 2 is premiering in June.
Here’s the trailer for the Netflix Ripley series.
Censorship News
The landmine of Common Sense Media.
EveryLibrary has a piece about fighting back against laws and regulations that harm state library associations.
“It’s best to cancel:” Resilient listening and our kids today.
Referring to book bans as “intellectual freedom challenges.”
The Black History Month books that teachers hope won’t be banned.
A former Llano County (TX) librarian has filed a lawsuit against the county, saying that she was fired after she refused to remove books from the library.
A Denton ISD (TX) grandmother is trying to get the school to ban books that she says promote a “transgender ideology.”
Lake Travis ISD (TX) “considers improving parental access to library books online,” or in other words, making it easier for parents to find something to be offended about in the school libraries. Because the online catalog is too difficult for them, I guess.
The Florida Senate supports limits to book objections.
Hernando County School Board (FL) have decided to retain All American Boys, and ban Fade and All the Things We Do In the Dark.
Brevard School Board (FL) decided to ban The Nowhere Girls despite the review committee’s recommendation to retain it. This whole performative review process is a complete waste of everyone’s time. If the board is just going to do what they want anyway, they should announce that.
Pasco Schools (FL) are dealing with their first book challenge: The Letter Q.
MSAD 6 (ME) will retain Gender Queer, and MSAD 44 (ME) will retain Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
New Hampshire’s “state-run book banning bill” is dead.
The Brookfield (CT) School Board voted to keep Fun Home on library shelves by a single vote.
The Heartstopper graphic novels are being challenged in the Milford School district.
Lake Luzerne’s public library (NY) has a new director.
“Protests interrupt a Moms for Liberty meeting about removing books in Howard County [MD] schools.” GOOD.
The Virginia Beach School Board is considering a committee to keep “sexually explicit content” out of libraries.
Catawba County Schools (NC) are discussing hiring a court reporter for an upcoming hearing about book bans. Yeah, that’ll be a good use of taxpayer funds.
It’s official: Greenville County Libraries (SC) must move all books by or about transgender people from the children’s section. PEN America issued a statement.
Beaufort County (SC) schools were featured on 60 Minutes after two people attempted to remove 97 books.
A look at the advancing bill in the Georgia legislature that would cut all ties with the American Library Association. Office for Intellectual Freedom director Deborah Caldwell-Stone says, “‘Will [libraries] become arms of the state, only communicating those messages that a political actor believes is appropriate?…It just stuns me. We are the professional membership organization for librarians. Would you do this to the American Bar Association? Would you do this to the American Medical Association?’”
“Under new changes announced Wednesday, it will become easier to move or remove books from the shelves of the Dothan Houston County Library System [AL]…The board’s new policy adds more restrictive language, emphasizing that books ‘that contain graphic and gratuitous illustrations or depictions of sexual acts, unnecessary to the work taken as a whole, will not become part of the collection.’”
Two teenage plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit against Arkansas’ library obscenity law.
“‘Since this is going to be broadcast, I’m not going to be graphic. But there are pictures that are pornographic by anybody’s standard. They’re put in children’s books and they’re put on the library for children,’ said Ragan during an interview with NewsChannel 5.” This is such a tired tactic—claiming that everyone believes books should be censored.
“Kids are getting their hands on sexually explicit material through the library. Now, Perrysburg [OH] residents want something done.” Oh, for the love…LIBRARIES PROVIDE ACCESS. If parents are upset that their kids are accessing books without their knowledge (and at least one parent is, according to the article), that sounds like a PARENTAL problem, not a library problem!
A substitute teacher with the Redford Union School District (MI) lodged a complaint about the book And Then There Were None because of the offensiveness of the book’s original title. The book has since been removed from the curriculum.
The Winnebago County Board (WI) has withdrawn proposals that supported the creation of “adult-only sections” in public libraries.
“444 books have returned to the shelves of the Elkhorn Area School District [WI] after being challenged by a parent in November,” although some of the books have been relocated to the high school and others require parental permission. Also, this isn’t the point of the article, but this sentence just about knocked me over: “The parent sent a 656-page document to Elkhorn Area Middle School and a 1201-page document to Elkhorn Area High School.” Oh my gosh, PLEASE find a better hobby!!
An anti-book-ban bill is on the table in Minnesota.
Tensions are still running high after The Glass Castle was challenged in Grinnell, Iowa.
“An ongoing controversy dating back over a year now bubbled up again on Tuesday night as about 25 patrons attended the Marshalltown Public Library Board of Trustees meeting [IA], most of them asking the board to reconsider its previous decision not to subscribe to two conservative publications, The Epoch Times newspaper and American Rifleman magazine.”
In Colorado, the anti-book ban bill has failed in committee. But the Wellington (CO) town board just banned book bans at their local public library.
Garfield County commissioners (CO) are looking to take control of library board appointments.
Over 1500 people sign a petition against potential censorship in Washoe County (NV) libraries.
San Ramon Valley Unified School District (CA) will retain The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
“A contracted attorney for the city of Palmer [AK] gave an informational presentation at Tuesday’s regular city council meeting cautioning members of legal concerns regarding the potential banning of books in public libraries.” Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the fact that city officials need to be told that banning books in public libraries is unconstitutional is exceptionally sad.
It Ends With Us has been banned in Mat-Su schools (AK).
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
Award News
The 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction and Nonfiction longlists have been released.
Pop Cultured
Issa López, creator of True Detective: Night Country, is returning for True Detective Season 5.
Only Murders in the Building adds Eva Longoria and Eugene Levy to the cast.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
Is anyone else cackling at the recent Willy Wonka experience (aka “Fyre Fest for Kids”) in Glasgow??
The Reading Rainbow documentary Butterfly in the Sky is getting a theatrical release through AMC Theaters.
Merriam-Webster says you can end a sentence with a preposition (which lots of us already knew), but apparently, the internet is up in arms.
On the Riot
The Perks of Being a Wallflower turns 25.
How this Rioter started reviewing all of the books they’ve read.
15 tiny ways to celebrate National Reading Month.
Here’s another photo from my weekend snuggle time with Dini. He woke me up on Saturday morning and wiggled under my chin, so I couldn’t resist taking a selfie!
All right, friends. I’ll be back on Tuesday. Stay groovy.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.