Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Y’all, the week leading up to the holidays this year has been LONG and tiring. I am ready for a few days off and some holiday food.
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that bookish special someone in your life this holiday season? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! Here at TBR, we pair our customers with a professional book nerd (aka bibliologist) who just gets them. They fill out a survey and then sit back and relax as we pick books just for them. We’ve got three levels — recs-only, paperback, and hardcover — and you can gift a full year or one time, so there are options for every budget! Get all the details at mybtro.com/gift.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
The Internet Archive seeks a reversal in its book scanning lawsuit.
The Top 10 library stories of 2023.
“Due to a contract dispute between SirsiDynix, a provider Montana libraries have used for over 20 years, and a third party vendor — libraries nationwide are left without an app that provides access to online catalogues.”
Cool Library Updates
These are the top checkouts from the New York Public Library, Timberland Regional Library, Charleston County Public Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, Boston Public Library, San Francisco Public Library, L.A. Public Library.
Worth Reading
When libraries like Gaza’s are destroyed, what’s lost is far more than books.
New Yorkers love their libraries. So why are they always on the chopping block?
Book Adaptations in the News
Author Wiliam Collier has accused director Adam McKay of plagiarizing Collier’s novel Stanley’s Comet in the script for Don’t Look Up.
Amy Adams is starring in and executive producing the series adaptation of Graham Moore’s The Holdout.
Alexander Skarsgård is starring in the Murderbot miniseries on Apple+.
Children of Blood and Bone has a director.
Good Omens has been renewed for a third and final season.
The first trailer for Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben has dropped.
Censorship News
PEN America released a new study showing that book bans lead to more book bans.
When do parents trust their children with materials at the library? Also, most parents want school libraries for their children — but with restrictions.
Banned booktables are a frequent sight at many bookstores. But are they helping the authors who need it most?
Computer book bans and other insights from a year investigating prison censorship.
Publishers Weekly’s People of the Year are Texas booksellers Valerie Koehler and Charley Rejsek, who joined in a federal lawsuit against HB 900.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley has introduced a federal book banning bill.
The State Board of Education in Texas approved guidelines for school library rules, particularly that school libraries “must have policies to prohibit the possession or purchase of books determined to be ‘sexually explicit.’”
A new parent group pushes back on Texas book bans.
The new library board in Corpus Christi (TX) fielded comments from the public about restricting kids’ access to certain books.
The Lake Travis ISD (TX) is considering a new policy that would make it easier to ban books.
A Florida sex scandal shakes Moms for Liberty’s influence.
Lauren Groff is opening a new bookstore in Florida that will focus on Florida literary history and books currently banned in the state.
A new group in Massachusetts is shipping banned books to Florida.
Someone complained about Gender Queer being in a Great Barrington classroom (MA). Then the police showed up.
Almond Public Library (NY) will vote later this month on whether to keep Grandpa’s Pride on the shelf.
Clyde-Savannah Board of Education (NY) may have to wait months for the five challenged books they elected to retain to actually be put back on shelves.
The director of the Northern Cambria Public Library (PA) resigned after several members of the board took it upon themselves to remove issues of Out magazine without following any sort of library policy.
Frederick County Public Schools (MD) reviewed 31 challenged books — Triangles will be banned, two more books will be restricted to high school libraries, and the other titles will remain in the district libraries as-is.
Franklin County Public Schools (VA) have implemented a new policy that informs parents/guardians by email every time their child checks out a book from the library. It’s an opt-out policy as well, not opt-in.
The New Hanover (NC) school board ends its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.
“The board, and others across the region, have been hearing complaints about books from speakers during public comments for several months. Since those complaints have come in, Burke County Public Schools [NC] has placed all books already categorized as 14+ content on a checkout suspension until the books can be reviewed for age appropriateness.” Yeah. This is a great policy. /s
Marietta City Schools (GA) have voted to remove 23 books with “sexual, inappropriate content.”
“The Autauga County Commission [AL] has appointed four members to the Prattville library board in the last two weeks, leaving some residents critical that the commission has ‘stacked the board.’ “Stacked the board” in this case means that three of the new board members are affiliated with Moms for Liberty and/or Clean Up Alabama.
The Etowah County (AL) Republican Party passed a resolution urging the Alabama Public Library Service to withdraw from ALA.
“A former Arkansas lawmaker who has proposed suspending funding to libraries suing the state over restrictions on materials was confirmed by the Senate Monday to a spot on the state library board.”
Tennessee has launched a new banned books hotline, but this time, it’s a hotline that students can call and request copies of banned books.
The Wilson County Board of Education (TN) is looking at who can and cannot challenge books in the school system.
Fighting book bans in Kentucky schools and beyond.
The De Pere School Board (WI) updated their book policy so that books can be challenged/reviewed on an annual basis. The policy was previously at three years, and the recommendation was to increase it to five years.
One parent got 444 books (!!!) removed from Elkhorn Area School District (WI).
“A letter sent on behalf of Muslim families in St. Louis Park [MN] threatens legal action unless parents are notified and allow their children to opt out of classroom discussions about sexuality and LGBTQ+ topics.”
The largest teacher’s union in Iowa is teaming up with Penguin Random House to challenge the new state censorship law.
Ottumwa Community School District (IA) has removed 30 books that it believes are in violation of state legislation, but it won’t disclose the book titles.
Saydel Community School District (IA) has removed 21 books for review under the new state censorship law.
The Williston High School library (ND) will not be banning any of the 25 challenged books, although some of them will come with parental alerts if a student checks them out.
A letter to the editor about supposedly “inappropriate” children’s books at the Tillamook County Library district (OR).
The Seaside Public Library (OR) has received its first book challenges in over a decade. The two challenged books are And Tango Makes Three and When Aiden Became A Brother. And the kicker is that the person who submitted the challenges is a city councilor.
Books & Authors in the News
Notable literary deaths in 2023.
A Lord of the Rings fanfiction or fanfic writer has been sued by the Tolkien estate for publishing their own sequel.
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
Book trends to watch for in 2024.
The best-selling romance books of all time.
The highest-rated celebrity memoirs, according to readers.
Award News
The Golden Globe nominees have been announced.
The award-winning books of 2023.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year is…
How does the reality of bookselling match up to how bookselling is depicted in fiction?
Is the book world turning against Goodreads?
Reading print improves comprehension more than reading digital text according to a recent study.
On the Riot
2024 YA book adaptations to get excited for.
Is that a sleepy snuggly Doodles sitting next to me? I think it is!
Have a great holiday if you celebrate, or a great December weekend if you don’t celebrate! Peace out!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.