Welcome to Check Your Shelf. How’s everyone doing with their upcoming eclipse plans? I vividly remember the chaos of 2017, and I vowed that I would be taking PTO when the next eclipse rolled around. Thankfully, we’re much better prepared this time around — we have over 1000 pairs of eclipse glasses to give away, and we created a structured registration process for patrons that actually seems to be working! Fingers crossed!
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Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
The American Library Association was awarded the Toni Morrison Achievement Award at the National Book Critics Circle Award ceremony.
The Kansas City Public Library estimates a loss of at least $3 million in property tax revenue with the proposed new Kansas City Royals stadium.
The high cost of eBooks has libraries struggling and seeking legal action.
Cool Library Updates
The Missouri River Regional Library offers sword fighting and fencing classes.
Worth Reading
Texas libraries work to bridge the state’s mental health services gap.
Libraries employ (and investigate) artificial intelligence.
Book Adaptations in the News
Christopher Storer, the creator of The Bear, will adapt Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway for film.
Trailer for Harold and the Purple Crayon, which comes out in August.
House of the Dragon drops “dueling” Season 2 trailers.
Censorship News
Common myths about book bans.
How the BookmarkED/OnShelf app fuels book bans.
“Amid book bans, DEI cuts, and ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws, 7 states will mandate LGBTQ-inclusive curricula.”
Dave Eggers has a documentary about book banning, which will be featured as part of MSNBC Films’ spring and summer lineup.
The Lake Travis (TX) school board is meeting to vote on whether to ban two books: The Haters and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
Midland ISD (TX) has a group of parents and pastors calling for the removal of certain books.
Montgomery County (TX) officials adopted a new policy that would empower a citizen committee to review and potentially remove library materials at the request of the public.
“Some of Florida’s loudest advocates for public school book removals make up half of a state government-sponsored group to advise school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off shelves.” Moms for Liberty instructing librarians on what books to remove…this is just salt in a gaping wound.
(Paywalled): The pro-book banning group Polk County (FL) Citizens Defending Freedom has sued the Polk County school district for its book challenge policy.
Hernando County School Board (FL) removes four more books: The Truth About Alice, Beyond Magenta, Dime, and The Haters.
“An angry and unruly crowd confronted the Newfound Area School Board [NH] on March 11 over alleged licentious policy decisions that made sexually explicit reading material available to students.” Crisis actors putting on a very dramatic performance here.
Vermont is poised to pass legislation that would curtail book bans and bad eBook contracts, and would also protect teen library records.
Massachusetts libraries saw dozens of book ban attempts in 2023.
“The board of the South Western School District in York County [PA] is considering cutting a $10,000 donation to the Guthrie Memorial Library in Hanover.” Why? Because the Guthrie Library carries a book that the school board thinks is inappropriate.
Lancaster Public Library (PA) canceled its Drag Queen Story Hour and closed for the day due to a suspicious-looking package being delivered to the Library.
The Catawba County (NC) Board of Education has elected to retain Nineteen Minutes after a school board member challenged it.
More people are urging the Burke County (NC) Board of Education to remove certain books from school libraries. “‘I pray to God that no rapes take place in our county, or even worse, if it does, it falls on those that have made this accessible to these children,’ Deal said.” But don’t worry…they’re not banning books. “‘We’re simply saying that these tools of wickedness have no place in our school system or with our children.’”
“The Anderson County [SC] chapter of parental rights group Moms for Liberty claimed school librarians stocked inappropriate books for students and went to lengths to conceal those titles from parents.” (Pretty sure this didn’t actually happen.)
“The Greenville County [SC] Library Materials Committee met Monday afternoon to discuss moving a new list of books to different sections of county libraries.”
“A Georgia bookseller filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing an Atlanta-area sheriff of imposing an unlawful policy that only allows books into the county jail from “authorized retailers” under the guise of security concerns, alleging the practice is arbitrary, subjective, and an “unconstitutional permitting scheme.”
The Autauga-Prattville Public Library (AL) Board Chair, Ray Boyles, who was one of the people behind the recent firing of the Library’s director, took to a right-wing radio show to share new details about the board’s recent actions “and to malign former director Andrew Foster.”
Know what I bet he didn’t talk about? How the Autauga-Pratville Board likely violated the Open Meetings Act while selecting an interim director.
The Trussville Public Library (AL) is reviewing how it classifies its books because the governor has recently proposed some new amendments to the state library administrative code.
The Lafayette Parish Library board (LA) is considering a ban on displays that promote “sexual” or controversial topics.
Earlier this year, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry “required all libraries in the state of Louisiana to adopt a new policy that would require a parent or guardian to decide whether their child may check out books that contain sexually explicit material.”
The New Prairie (IN) school board voted to retain eight challenged books.
The Minnesota legislature has introduced a “ban on book bans” bill.
Here’s how people incarcerated in Iowa prisons access books.
A Nebraska lawmaker incites outrage over reading a rape scene from a book on the Capitol floor.
Well, Utah’s trigger bill that would pull books from all school libraries in the state if three districts opted to remove a specific title is now officially law.
(Paywalled): Parents are upset over nine LGBTQ+ books in the Clancy Elementary School library (MT).
Idaho’s book banning bill is stalling in committee.
(Paywalled): Huntington Beach (CA) is considering privatizing the public library.
Students walked out at Esperanza High School (CA) to protest the conservative school board majority and its parental rights agenda.
“Washington has passed legislation intended to safeguard its public libraries, after a small city in the southeastern corner of the state nearly became the first community in the nation to shutter its library over the book battles that have engulfed schools, libraries, cities and states across the country.”
Books & Authors in the News
Primatologist and best-selling author Frans de Waal has died at 75.
Author and psychologist Daniel Kahneman has died at 90.
Laurent de Brunhoff, creator of Babar, has died at 98.
A Bronx teacher emailed Tommy Orange to tell him about the impact that his books have made on his AP English students, and Orange stopped by the classroom!
Stephen King’s Carrie turns 50, and Margaret Atwood wrote about its continuing relevance in The New York Times.
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
Award News
The winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards have been announced.
The 2024 ITW Thriller Award finalists have been announced.
The shortlist for the 2024 Dylan Thomas Prize has been announced.
Here are the finalists for Barnes & Noble’s Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards.
Pop Cultured
Cillian Murphy is definitely returning for the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club is back with a March Madness-style bracket.
The art of arranging a bookshelf.
On the Riot
How to organize your TBR list.
How to achieve the bookshelf wealth aesthetic.
All right, friends. May you be able to fulfill all of your patrons’ requests for eclipse glasses over the next week. I’ll see you on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
