Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m writing this newsletter on a Wednesday, but I’m already looking forward to the weekend when we’ll be going out for my sister’s birthday…can you say tacos and margaritas??
Don’t forget, during the month of September, all new free subscribers to The Deep Dive will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler plus 5 mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Under a new initiative, free Narcan will be available at all St. Louis County (MO) libraries – “no questions asked.”
Cool Library Updates
A year after the Vancouver Public Library eliminated fines, here’s how many books are overdue.
The Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez in Barcelona has been named the best new public library in the world.
16 libraries that managed to be cooler, smarter, and more interesting than any library this writer had ever been to.
Worth Reading
A book is a book is a book, except when it’s an eBook.
Book Adaptations in the News
Denis Villeneuve teases a possible Dune: Part Three.
Amazon and Netflix are competing for the rights to Crime 101, based on a Don Winslow novella.
Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.
Censorship News
How to alert your school board to right-wing bad actors.
The far-right book ban push has fueled a library exodus from ALA — the Montana, Missouri, and Texas state libraries have already withdrawn, and right-wing legislators in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming are pushing for similar action.
The new, uneven landscape of public schools.
School Library Journal posts the results from their recent Controversial Books Survey, showing how book challenges have had a marked chilling effect on school librarians nationwide.
A federal judge has blocked HB 900 from taking effect in Texas. This is the bill that would have required book vendors to provide ratings for all of their materials.
Amarillo ISD (TX) is withdrawing from the Harrington Library Consortium: “Because of increasing state requirements to report and track library books, AISD’s Electronic catalogue system through the Harrington Library Consortium is no longer able to service the needs of the district.”
“A group of 10 women volunteers perused the children’s section of the Midland County Public Library’s Centennial branch [TX] on Wednesday morning, taking note of titles they deemed inappropriate for youths.” Yeah, that’s not how library volunteering works.
The authors of And Tango Makes Three have added Escambia County Schools (FL) to their ongoing censorship lawsuit.
The Indian River County School Board (FL) decided to ignore their own policies and removed at least two dozen books based solely on complaints made by Moms for Liberty members at a recent meeting.
The St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s office is investigating an incident where a woman claims she was assaulted at a recent board meeting.
Cumberland (ME) police have concluded that having Gender Queer in the high school library does not violate state obscenity laws. It’s been a little while since I posted an article about the police getting involved with library book matters…apparently this is still a primary strategy used by book crisis actors. (This is sarcastic, of course — I know these strategies will continue, and will likely increase.)
(Paywalled) Exeter Public Library (PA) will not be restricting books from young readers, despite the efforts of township officials.
A Maryland judge has ruled against religious parents who want to pull their children from lessons where books about LGBTQ+ characters are read aloud.
The Worcester County School Board heard from a book crisis actor at a recent meeting, who was upset that she had submitted a challenge for three books, but her request was denied because she didn’t have a student in the district. Quelle surprise.
Members of the “Clean Up Samuels” book-banning campaign may force the closure of the Samuels Public Library (VA) on October 1st.
The teachers union for Prince William County Schools (VA) talks about the list of “sexually explicit” books that the district recently released, and how it’s left staff feeling “overwhelmed and underappreciated.”
Students at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (NC) have been temporarily denied school library access while a parental rights bill is being evaluated.
Alamance County’s [NC] commissioners have bumped an incumbent member of the county’s library committee to make room for a new appointee, who rose to prominence about a year ago when she publicly criticized an LGBTQ-themed book display at the flagship branch of the county’s library system.
The South Carolina Department of Education said it is ending a 50-year partnership with the South Carolina Association of School Librarians over concerns about materials in school libraries.
Hardline conservatives in Lexington County (SC) have suggested creating a morality police force school district commission to screen classroom materials.
One parent was responsible for the removal of 12 books from Horry County Schools (SC). Or another way to report it, one parent was allowed to make parenting and educational decisions for every student in the district.
“On Monday morning, WDHN got an e-mail from the chairman of the Houston County [AL] Commission, Brandon Shoupe, saying public institutions like our libraries are being “infiltrated by political extremists,” something he calls a deeply disturbing trend.” Political extremists, huh? YOU DON’T SAY.
Missouri prisons have banned friends and family members from sending ANY books to incarcerated people.
Book banners in Kentucky get to work distracting librarians and hurting democracy.
(Paywalled) St. Joseph County Public Library (IN) will not be removing two LGBTQ+ books from the teen section.
Hamilton East Library Board (IN) suspends its book reviewing policy following community pushback.
At a recent Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp (IN) board meeting, 14 BCSC librarians and library assistants submitted a letter to the board about how their recent decisions have undermined their professionalism and shown a sincere lack of trust in their abilities to perform their jobs. Also, parents continue to hammer the “groomer” and “pedophile” narrative being pushed against educators and librarians…one parent spoke against “teachers forming close, personal relationships with students,” and discussed statistics on the prevalence of pedophiles working in public schools. Thankfully, the superintendent said that he “cannot tolerate the continued statement about pedophiles.”
For John Green, the battle over access to books has gotten personal.
Bridgette Exmanthe, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for public schools in Mason City, Iowa, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about how she became the “book-banning monster of Iowa” for using AI to identify and remove books containing sexual content. I don’t deny that school leaders are in a very difficult place here, but I’d really like to see more genuine pushback in the face of censorship and fewer op-eds about why AI was the best tool to remove hundreds of books.
I wish I could highlight all of the excellent points made in this op-ed from an Iowa teacher on the nonsensical new state laws, but here are a couple: “Yet here we are, sitting through a district meeting in which our superintendent reads out what SF 496 states is a sex act in incredibly graphic detail. Ironically, it is a thousand times more graphic than any of the material students have available in school libraries and assigned coursework.” And, “Yet, this law and its proponents boil down entire narratives — real or fictional — into two categories: sex or no sex. It’s honestly perverted to think in such a way.”
The Papillion La Vista (NE) school board affirms the decision to keep All Boys Aren’t Blue in the school libraries.
Natrona County School District (WY) is implementing an “opt-in” system for specific books. “Instead of requiring disapproving parents to block books for their children, the [book-banning] parents wanted certain books to be off limits to all students, allowing them access only if their parents approved.”
Pima County Library (AZ) faces a surge of recent book complaints. “‘We’ve been receiving more complaints than usual about LGBTQ material and BIPOC experiences. These are the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous people of color,’ said librarian Kate Demeester-Lane.”
Oregon libraries received the most content challenges since 1992 this year.
“A new proposal from the Matanuska-Susitna [AK] school board would significantly weaken the role of the board’s student representative…Student representative Ben Kolendo asked several pointed questions about the selection process for members of the committee and about the ongoing contract negotiations with the teachers’ union. Two months later, a three-member board policy committee proposed weakening the student member’s role.” WOW. Student exhibits critical thinking skills and asks questions directly related to his student rights, and the district’s response is to punish him.
A Brandon School Division (Manitoba) trustee put forward two motions at a recent meeting: 1) to create a review committee for materials in school libraries and classrooms, and to remove books that contain “adult content,” and 2) make sure that parents are informed “about all activities involving their kids, and about what kids are learning, seeing, and hearing at school.” Neither motion passed.
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
How much have book prices increased since 2019?
Award News
The 2023 Anthony Awards have been announced.
The longlist for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction has been announced.
Here’s a Twitter thread about what it’s like to serve on the Pulitzer jury for fiction.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
Is that unread book making you feel guilty? You’re not alone.
On the Riot
How to get students back into reading after summer break.
Who gets to be a horse girl in fiction?
Gilbert has been dealing with a bad case of suspected allergies, so Blaine tucked him in for a nice little nap and gave him a stuffed animal to snuggle with. Hopefully his sneezes wind down soon!
All right, friends. I’ll see you again on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.