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NYC Public Libraries Are Ending Late Fees Altogether: Today in Books

Winnie the Pooh’s Poohsticks Bridge for Sale

The bridge made famous by the Winnie the Pooh book series is now up for sale by the British auction house Summers Place. The bridge was the inspiration for the bridge featured in A. A. Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner, where Winnie the Pooh and his friends played “Pooh Sticks.” While the bridge was originally named Posingford Bridge, the book was renamed Poohsticks Bridge in 1979. The listing explains, “Christopher Robin played on [the bridge] as a child in the 1920’s with his father, the author A.A. Milne, inventing the game of Pooh sticks which provided the inspiration for the subsequent books.” The 114-year-old bridge is expected to sell for as much as £60,000 (about $81,000).

NYC Public Libraries Are Ending Late Fees Altogether

As of today, NYC Public Libraries are waiving late fees and canceling millions of dollars of outstanding fines for overdue or lost books. The New York Public Library President Anthony Marx said late fines “are an antiquated, ineffective way to encourage patrons to return their books… For those who can afford the fines, they are barely an incentive. For those who can’t afford the fines — disproportionately low-income New Yorkers — they become a real barrier to access that we can no longer accept.”

Noname Opens the Radical Hood Library

Noname Book Club has opened up the Radical Hood Library to serve as a community for readers of color. Noname started a book club in the summer of 2019 as a way to read and support books by people of color, with a focus on liberation. Now, with the opening of the Radical Hood Library, the book club has physical headquarters. Noname Book Club tweeted, “We are so excited to finally open our Radical Hood Library! This is a black led organization that was created to service black/brown folks and the RSVP prioritization will reflect that…There will be music, free food, and more! Please bring a new or used book. See you there!!!”

HBO Releases Game of Thrones Prequel House of the Dragon Trailer

HBO is finally giving us our first teaser trailer for its upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. The series is slated to release in 2022.