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Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Holy cow, it’s officially spooky season!! I mean, I feel like September should be considered part of spooky season as well, but once October hits, there’s just no denying the scary. Just make sure to take time on Sunday to recognize Mean Girls Day. (It’s October 3rd.)
And with that, let’s talk about libraries.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
The US Senate Finance Committee presses publishers on library eBook contracts.
Parents protest the book It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie Harris at the Cass County Public Library.
A commissioner and a teacher are among the latest to raise concerns about books at the Campbell County (WY) Public Library.
The San Antonio Public Library is going fines-free.
The Obamas officially broke ground on the presidential library being built in Chicago.
Cool Library Updates
Madison public libraries are now lending out eBike passes.
Birdwatching programs help foster community during the pandemic.
Worth Reading
COVID-19 and library late fees.
How to help school boards resist pressure groups.
Here’s a look at a “human library” in Copenhagen that allows you to “check out” other people.
Why your library’s logo might be terrible.
Book Adaptations in the News
All the Light We Cannot See is getting a limited series at Netflix.
Netflix now owns all of Roald Dahl’s stories.
The Last Mrs. Parrish is being turned into a movie.
Clarissa Goenawan’s Rainbirds will be adapted for film.
Let the Right One In will be adapted as a TV series for Showtime.
Amblin Television is developing Kimberly McCreight’s latest novel Friends Like These into a series.
Here’s the trailer for Ethan Coel’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Books & Authors in the News
A Texas mom slams the Lake Travis Independent School District Board for allowing the book Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez in school libraries. (Yeah, this is the incident where the woman tells the school board all about her thoughts on anal sex.)
The Central York school board finally votes to rescind its book ban.
Teen Vogue takes a look at the consequences of recent censorship attempts for Banned Books Week.
Oprah picks Richard Powers’ Bewilderment as her latest book club selection.
This year’s MacArthur Genius Grant recipients include Hanif Abdurraqib, Ibram X. Kendi, and Daniel Alarcón.
Jason Reynolds extends his term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for a third year, the first time this has happened for the position.
Sally Rooney’s latest book, Beautiful World Where Are You, is now the most reviewed book of all time.
Numbers & Trends
Who doesn’t read books in America?
Behold: the book blob. (How the current trend of abstract book covers have come to dominate bookshelves and Instagram.)
Goodreads members’ most read books by genre.
Award News
The Emmy Awards were announced.
The National Book Awards have cancelled its in-person ceremony for 2021.
The 2021 Ignyte Awards have been announced.
The Center for Fiction announces its 2021 First Novel shortlist.
Why we still need the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
NPR is starting a “Book of the Day” podcast.
What was the first banned book in history?
On the Riot
Ditch that book: the importance of weeding in libraries.
5 unexpected items your library can lend you.
Why this reader wants more virtual book stuff after the pandemic.
12 TV shows based on YA books.
20 must-read online literary journals.
An introduction to the book-length essay.
Why is satire difficult for modern readers to understand?
What to do with a loved one’s books when they die.
The next newsletter will be brought to you from the Upper Peninsula, so prepare for lots of photos of pretty trees! See you next week!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.