Welcome to Check Your Shelf. My work schedule has changed so that I’m no longer scheduled to work Wednesday evenings. Except I’ve worked Wednesday evenings for years (since I worked at my last job!), and now I don’t know how I’m supposed to know what day it is! Truly a struggle…
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Denver’s Center on Colfax reopens its free LGBTQ+ library.
Cool Library Updates
Libraries are planning mocktail programs in response to a growing number of adult patrons pursuing alcohol-free lifestyles.
Meet Mychal Threets, the 33-year-old California librarian who’s become very popular on TikTok and Instagram with his upbeat library videos.
Censorship News
A partial victory in the Iowa book ban lawsuit — more information here.
The Massachusetts police chief that raided a middle school classroom looking for Gender Queer has issued an apology.
After initially returning A Court of Mist and Fury to school library shelves, the Lexington-Richland School District 5 school board (SC) voted 5-2 to remove the entire series against the recommendation of the review committee.
From Alabama: a few key people are responsible for the majority of book bans.
Etowah County (AL) GOP member Amy Minton is challenging library funding for the Gadsden Public Library and has already challenged 30 books, with an additional 40 challenges thought to be on the way. Because this is clearly the biggest problem her community is facing…
“The leader of a far-right organization in St. Tammany [LA] has withdrawn the more than 150 book challenges her organization has submitted [to] the parish’s library review board.” But before you automatically think this is good news, this person is pursuing legislative action and believes that the new governor, legislature, and parish council will be “more sympathetic to her cause.”
Public libraries vs. quorum courts: an ongoing local conflict throughout Arkansas.
New laws on book challenges and “indoctrination” have created a culture of fear for Arkansas school librarians, and some have become very wary of selecting books, lest their choices attract accusations or legal trouble.
The Murfreesboro City Council (TN) quietly and unanimously voted to repeal the city’s decency ordinance, which the same city council put into effect six months ago. The ordinance had a lasting impact on the county library system, which is set to implement a new library card policy that will make it more difficult for kids to check out books not meant for their age group.
The Big Walnut school board (OH) voted in their December meeting to restrict Pride flags and any displays of materials not directly related to the current unit of study in classrooms.
(Paywalled) Eight challenged books will remain in Northview Public Schools (MI).
The Las Cruces school district (NM) has denied an appeal on the decision to retain Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts), so it will stay in the school library.
I’m just leaving this headline as-is: “Washoe [NV] library board meeting results in hours-long public comment. Again.”
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
The New York Times says this about Goodreads: “Let’s rescue book lovers from this online hellscape.”
On the Riot
19 of the coolest bookstores in the world.
Here’s Dini enjoying the gift I got for Blaine for Christmas. I ordered a gorgeous blanket from Shutterfly with vacation photos from all of the places Blaine and I have visited over the last five years, and when we brought it home, Dini said, “Well, thank you very much!”
Hope everyone had a good first week of 2024! I’ll see you on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.