Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m trying to put this newsletter together without interruption, but Gilbert’s sitting next to me on the couch and doing his best to lick a hole through the nearest throw pillow. I can’t tell if he’s actually trying to lick the pillow, or if he just thinks he’s licking his foot, but I have to keep reaching over to redirect him. He’s always been a pillow-licker though…
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Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Philadelphia students navigate school without access to school libraries.
Publishers look to make edits to Massachusetts’ eBook access bill.
Cool Library Updates
The San Francisco Public Library launched a new free music streaming service that spotlights local musicians.
The British Library is making the entire collection of Geoffrey Chaucer’s manuscripts available in digital format.
Worth Reading
Digitizing books can spur demand for physical copies.
Book Adaptations in the News
Amazon is developing a series adaptation of The Fourth Wing.
Multiple buyers have already placed bids for the adaptation rights to Britney Spears’ memoir.
Taron Egerton will star in a film adaptation of Jordan Harper’s She Rides Shotgun.
Here’s the trailer for Stamped From the Beginning.
Censorship News
Here’s a list of every school board candidate endorsed by Moms for Liberty in several states.
They may not be the most targeted books, but they’re still banned.
Ending censorship applies to prison too.
A new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and George Mason University found that banning a book in one state often led to circulation increases for that book in states that did not ban it.
This is how you can protect your local library. (Come for the public library support, and stay for the awesome professional resource that is Ask a Manager!)
The Art of War and Amy Schumer’s memoir are among the many books banned in U.S. prisons. Here’s why.
School librarians from across the nation speak about mounting pressures.
Conroe ISD (TX) is on the verge of implementing a book ban that mirrors the new policy recently approved at Katy ISD.
The Abilene City Council (TX) approved a “controversial” statue design for the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden. The controversy? The statue depicts the two main characters from Itty Bitty Kitty Corn, a picture book about a kitten who dresses like its unicorn friend, which residents say is an encouragement of the “transgender lifestyle.” Yes, grown adults who seemingly have families, drive cars, and pay bills are upset about a kitten and a unicorn from a children’s picture book.
Florida joins the list of conservative states severing ties with the American Library Association.
The Tampa Bay Times covered the recent American Association of School Librarians conference, including the Right to Read rally, which was held indoors due to safety concerns.
Miami-Dade (FL) students now need a parent’s permission to attend the school book fair.
“Thirty-thousand children could face new restrictions on what they can borrow from Hillsborough County libraries [FL] under expanded parental controls to begin early next year.”
The Volusia County School District (FL) has put the Bible back on the shelves after it was challenged for “sexually explicit content.”
Hernando County Schools (FL) have recommended that It’s So Amazing: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families and The Perks of Being a Wallflower be removed from school libraries after a local member of Moms for Liberty challenged the titles. From a MfL member quoted in the article: “Moms for Liberty is not in the business of banning books…For the parents who want their children to have access to age inappropriate material, they can visit the county libraries, Amazon, eBay and other stores.” Sure, let’s just forget the fact that Moms for Liberty are targeting public libraries just as much as school libraries and that many families can’t afford to purchase books for their children anyway.
The Woolwich Central School board (ME) unanimously rejected a request from a parent to remove It’s Perfectly Normal, saying it was too sexual for students. Again, I point out that if adults consider books about puberty too sexual, that says way more about them than it does about the library that carries the book.
Southington High School (CT) parents are upset about their children having to read Native Son in English classes.
The East Hampton City Council (MA) has issued a resolution to oppose book bans and other attempts to limit information at the public library.
A bigoted pastor has found himself on the receiving end of a one-year ban from Clyde-Savannah Central School District property (NY) for his conduct at a recent board meeting, so he gets a non-critical write-up in the local paper about his collaboration with Moms for Liberty.
The Pennsylvania Senate has passed its “explicit content” legislation despite heated debate over whether or not the legislation supports book bans. The bill now heads to the Democratic-majority House.
The courts have sided with a Pennsylvania parent, who won an open records lawsuit against the Pennridge School District, which he contends has been secretly banning books and having staff check out contentious books to keep them off the shelves during the review process.
Nazareth Area School Board (PA) will decide soon whether or not to ban Push.
“A handful of community members in the Pine-Richland School District [PA] pleaded with school directors Monday evening to remove books from school libraries they deemed to be sexually explicit and obscene.” Words matter, and using words like “pleaded” to describe these demands is not a good choice.
(Paywalled): Catawba County Schools (NC) have read 24 contested titles, but the challenges aren’t over.
Anatomy of a communication mess: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (NC) banned Banned Books Week activities, then reversed the ban on Banned Books Week. However, they did decide to keep Nineteen Minutes and Sold in the school libraries, so yay?
South Carolina state superintendent Ellen Weaver wants the state, not local school districts, to control which books and educational materials are purchased for school libraries. So much for small government, amirite? (Semi-paywalled – I had to answer three questions to get 48 hours of free access to this article.)
Moms for Liberty is upset that the Horry County School District (SC) only restricted access to Monday’s Not Coming, and didn’t remove the book entirely from the library.
Greenville County Library Board (SC) slightly loosens its draconian display policy, but only slightly. From the article: “‘We seem to be the only ones that we can find that has gone to this particular level of policy,’ said trustee William Pinkston.” You’re so close to getting it, Trustee Pinkston! So close!
“The Lexington-Richland 5 school board [SC] voted Monday to deny a request that committee members get a three-week extension to finish its review of the book,” so it’s possible that some committee members may vote on a recommendation for the book without having read it in its entirety.
Berkeley County School District (SC) will provide recommendations for 10 of the 93 books that were challenged by a single parent.
Alabama State Library director Nancy Pack has caved to the governor’s demands and ended the state’s ALA membership.
Alabama libraries battle extremists. Will lawmakers do the same?
Residents at a recent Athens-Limestone County Library (AL) board meeting called for the library to rewrite its policies regarding sexual content in library materials.
The Cullman Library Board (AL) has declined to move three challenged LGBTQ+ titles.
The Arkansas Library Association’s president declined an invitation to a legislative hearing, as the ArLA is participating in a lawsuit against the state. In response, an Arkansas State senator has said that the state will withhold funding from the ArLA, except the ArLA doesn’t receive state funding and never has. Will these people learn to at least research their threats before making them?
The Iberia Parish School District (LA) has removed Gender Queer for review and possibly two additional LGBTQ+ titles? It’s hard to tell from the article. But a parent challenged all three titles in an email titled “Library Scavenger Hunt,” and wrote, “‘I’m sure many other parent (sic) will find this unacceptable. We are not only making it accessible to MINORS but now rewarding/promoting it with this sick scavenger hunt…This is absolutely unacceptable.’” It’s unclear what they mean by “library scavenger hunt” though.
The St. Tammany (LA) library board rescinded a policy that segregated over 150 challenged titles that were pending review.
The Daviess County Public Library (KY) moved three books from the Young Adult to the Adult section, but the director says the decision had nothing to do with the recent “audit” made by the Daviess County Citizens for Decency.
A local Michigan group called Parents and Taxpayers Against Pornography in Rockford Public Schools filed a lawsuit against the district for having books with sexual content in school libraries, but the lawsuit has been dismissed.
Kenosha Unified School District (WI) has removed four books this year: This Book is Gay, Gender Queer, Let’s Talk About It, and All Boys Aren’t Blue.
District 300 has reversed its decision to cancel Hampshire High School’s (IL) spring musical production of The Prom.
A group of parents and students led a silent protest at a recent Cheyenne School Board (WY) meeting against a proposed policy that would require parents to opt-in to give their students access to specific titles. The current policy allows parents to opt-out if they want to restrict access.
Garfield County Libraries (CO) hosted a Freedom to Read rally in response to a patron who wanted several manga titles to either be separated from the rest of the collection or removed altogether.
The Will Rogers Public Library Board (OK) has decided to retain My Footprints.
The Salt Lake City Tribune has created a database of titles banned in Utah.
The Chino Valley School Board (CA) continues to debate a potential policy change that would allow books with “sexually graphic content” to be removed from school libraries.
Visalia Unified Board of Education (CA) heard from several disgruntled residents who were upset that the school chose not to ban 13 challenged titles.
Books & Authors in the News
The Taylor and Travis fan fiction that’s tearing TikTok apart.
In other Taylor Swift/TikTok news, there’s a theory bouncing around that Taylor Swift is the person behind the pseudonym Elly Conway, whose espionage novel is coming out in January and has already been snagged for a movie adaptation. However, Vanity Fair investigated and concluded that T. Swift is not Elly Conway.
Stephen King wrote an op-ed for the New York Times on gun control after the deadly mass shooting in Maine last week.
Mario Vargas Llosa says that his latest novel will be his last.
George R.R. Martin is still working on Winds of Winter.
Numbers & Trends
What are the book-owning and book-reading habits of Americans?
The bestselling books of the week.
Award News
The 2023 World Fantasy Award winners have been announced.
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters is the winner of the 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize.
Pop Cultured
The 10 best detective movies of all time, ranked.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
The long legacy of book clubs.
On the Riot
What works in book clubs and what doesn’t.
Why does Frankenstein endure in pop culture?
Dini’s figured out that he’s doubly cute when he looks at us upside down like this! Don’t you just want to give him all the scritches and kisses??
All right, friends, it’s the weekend! I’ll see you on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
