Oprah’s Book Club or Death?

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

NYC library leaders rally against the recent multi-million dollar budget cuts.

Cool Library Updates

How libraries support cycling during National Bike Month.

Worth Reading

A look at the old-fashioned library at the heart of the AI boom.

Book Adaptations in the News

“Irresponsible Netflix execs summon ‘Willy Wonka reality show’ into existence.” The headline says it all.

Kiera Knightley is starring in the Netflix film adaptation of Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is getting a (film) sequel, with stars Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez set to return.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 has been delayed until 2025.

A new adaptation of Hamlet starring Riz Ahmed is in the works.

Amazon reveals the first look at Aldis Hodge as Alex Cross.

Trailer for It Ends With Us.

10 sci-fi, horror, and fantasy books to read ahead of their upcoming adaptations.

Censorship News

What do book challenge forms look like?

Public school textbooks are the latest target for book banners.

Why book bans are bad for mental health.

Here’s an article from Amarillo College’s online news center about the ended partnership between Storybridge and the Amarillo Independent School District (TX).

The long wait to restore the First Amendment in Llano County (TX) libraries.

I knew there was a catch…while the majority of the challenged books at Fort Worth ISD (TX) have been returned to shelves, questions still remain about how much access students will have to said books.

Granbury ISD (TX) school board member Courtney Gore ran for her seat on an extreme GOP platform, and now she’s saying that she was lied to, and there is no evidence of student indoctrination. Well, no shit, Sherlock, and maybe if more of these people would do some actual research on these conspiracy theories beforehand (like they’re always yelling at other people to do), we wouldn’t be in this position. Anyway, she’s formed a support group for people who have been alienated by the GOP’s far-right tactics, but I really wish she would put more energy into supporting intellectual freedom and fighting back against the book banning she had previously campaigned for, but I guess that’s too much to hope for.

The lawsuit against the Escambia County school district (FL) for banning And Tango Makes Three has a trial date scheduled for early 2025.

At the beginning of next school year, Clay County (FL) parents will sign an “online, hybrid opt-in/opt-out form and select one of five options to control what books will be accessible for their children: unlimited access, general access, limited access, no access or daily email alerts.” This sounds unnecessarily complicated. And what happens if a parent DOESN’T complete the form? Is their child automatically barred from accessing the library?

Pinellas County School Board (FL) member Stephanie Meyer (no, not that one) has challenged Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk.

A New Hampshire bill is moving forward that would allow parents to opt their children out of “ any ‘instruction or program of’ sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression.”

Remember the Great Barrington (MA) teacher who threatened to file a lawsuit if the district and the town did not agree to mediation over her classroom being searched by police? Well, she filed a lawsuit.

(Paywalled): The South Western board president (PA) submitted a complaint against Flamer that ultimately led to it being banned at a Hanover-area middle school.

A federal appeals court ruled that Maryland parents can’t opt their children out of reading books with LGBTQ+ characters on the basis of religious rights.

Hanover County School Board (VA) has adopted a new policy for parents to indicate what level of access they’d like their children to have to classroom and library instructional materials. The one good thing about this is that it’s an opt-out system and if parents don’t submit the form, their children will automatically have full library access.

(Paywalled): Moore County School Board (NC) is facing a federal civil rights complaint after it ordered books featuring gay parents to be removed from elementary schools.

North Carolina parents push for a statewide ban on “explicit” books in schools.

The Alabama Public Library Service Board officially adopted the newly proposed rules that say libraries that do not restrict access to materials deemed sexually inappropriate by the APLSB could lose state funding. And now libraries must quickly restrict these “inappropriate” children’s books or risk $7 million in state funding. This is all kinds of bullshit.

Former Autauga-Prattville Public Library (AL) director Andrew Foster reached a settlement with the board over what he claimed was an unlawful termination.

Alabama’s bill that would have criminalized librarians for obscene comments has failed in the Senate.

“Three St. Tammany [LA] library board members removed after a years-long fight over book content are suing the parish council and one of its district representatives in an attempt to block their removal.“ Here’s a statement from the St. Tammany Library Alliance in support of the board members, and EveryLibrary has issued a statement as well.

Plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction of Arkansas’s blocked library obscenity law.

A group of time wasters in Daviess County (KY) have demanded a massive audit of the library’s materials, and now, months after the audit was completed, the group continues to take up a disproportionate amount of time at the monthly board meetings.

A surge in book challenges has Wisconsin school districts scrambling to keep pace.

A new Minnesota bill banning book bans has reached the governor’s desk.

Montana librarians made a silent but LOUD statement against the actions of the state library commission by refusing to show up for their annual meeting. This comes in response to the commission’s decision to sever ties with ALA, as well as the ridiculous hand-wringing over the implications of having a colorful organizational logo.

In related news, “Montana State Library Commissioner Carmen Cuthbertson on Friday compared the Montana Library Association to the Ku Klux Klan, claiming the organization sent an anonymous letter as part of boycotting a meeting.” Well alrighty then.

The Donnelly Public Library in Idaho is unable to comply with the new state legislation that requires libraries to relocate challenged or “inappropriate” materials to areas that are only accessible to adults, due to its tiny size. The library therefore announced that it will only be accessible to adult patrons 18 or older as of July 1, 2024, and all patrons will need to sign an agreement to use the library. I have no words.

Meanwhile, the Boise Public Library (ID) will be using the Miller Test to determine whether or not any books in the collection violate the new state legislation, which makes this whole farce completely pointless. If the book banners would just use the definition set by the Miller Test, WE WOULDN’T BE HAVING ARGUMENTS ABOUT PORNOGRAPHY IN LIBRARIES.

Breaking news: Uninformed Oregon resident April Bailey doesn’t understand how weeding or general collection development works.

“The local chapter of Moms for Liberty reached a settlement Tuesday with Yolo County [CA] in its federal lawsuit alleging the shutdown of a contentious meeting at a Davis library last year violated the group’s civil rights.”

After announcing a ban on same-sex parenting books last week, the Western Sydney Council in Australia decided to overturn the ban.