America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country

Growing up, the library was not just Amanda Oliver’s favorite place but also her “first beloved destination, first embodied center… it was absolutely sacred.” However, soon after Oliver began her career as a librarian at a Title I school and then in the D.C. public library system, she witnessed how systemic racism, income inequality, the […] The post America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-05 12:00:00 UTC ]

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7 Books That Prove You’re Not the Only Weirdo

Apologies, but I have to begin my introduction to this list of books by briefly mentioning my own book; shout your aggrievance about this to the heavens if you must. Writing my book, which is a hybrid of memoir and reporting about my dog, was difficult for me at times, because I’m not used to... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-11 12:00:43 UTC ]
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The Skillset Podcast #9: Ilona Kisch on Public Library 2030

It’s largely accepted as a truism that libraries connect and work together—interlibrary loan, consortia, union catalogs. However, working together and connecting is not a simple task. Add in different histories, cultures, languages, political systems and you begin to get a sense of what... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Most Popular Under-The-Radar Books in U.S. Libraries: July–September 2020

Take a peek at the most popular under-the-radar books in public libraries across the United States for the 2020 third quarter. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-12-09 11:33:00 UTC ]
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Announcing the Winner of Electric Lit’s Book Cover of the Year Tournament

This week, readers on Electric Literature’s Twitter and Instagram voted to narrow a field of 32 beautiful book covers down to their favorite of the year. Some of the margins were razor-thin—in particular, both Sin Eater vs. The Exhibition of Persephone Q in round one and Animal Wife vs. Follow... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-07 12:00:36 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing in Talks to Offer E-books to Public Libraries

The potential deal would be a breakthrough moment in the library e-book market as Amazon currently does not make its digital content available to libraries. It would also be a major coup for the Digital Public Library of America's upstart e-book platform and its SimplyE library reading app. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Boys Will Be Boys, Girls Have to Cover Up

In Fariha Róisín’s debut novel Like a Bird, protagonist Taylia Chatterjee lives a privileged life on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her sister Alyssa. Alyssa often receives preferential treatment from their liberal, overbearing parents—a white Jewish mom, a Hindu Bengali dad. Taylia is... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Help Us Pick the Best Book Cover of 2020

This hasn’t been an easy year for sustained, careful reading. But you know what doesn’t take any attention at all? Judging a book by its cover! That’s why we’re doing our first ever “best book cover of the year” tournament—and we want you to weigh in. Vote for your favorites on Electric... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-30 12:00:30 UTC ]
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Why Are Chicago Public Libraries Still Open Amid Soaring COVID Rates?

Demand an explanation for why Chicago Public Libraries are open to in-person services while COVID positivity rates soar above 15%. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-11-27 15:17:51 UTC ]
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11 New Books by Native American Writers

This year has been a dumpster fire and we mean that literally. But the shining bright spot in the literary world is an abundance of great new books by Indigenous writers being published in 2020. Since it’s National Native American Heritage Month, we’re focusing on books coming out of the U.S.... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Libraries of My Life

My library is a response to the void of my parents’ house: there are traces of all the public libraries I’ve visited since childhood. Continue reading at The Paris Review

[ The Paris Review | 2020-11-25 15:50:04 UTC ]
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Zeyn Joukhadar’s ‘The Thirty Names of Night’ is a poetic portrait of a trans man’s search for a rare bird — and his own identity

Part ghost story, part mystery, “The Thirty Names of Night” is also an exposé on systemic racism and an honest account of the LGBTQ and refugee experience. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-23 11:57:29 UTC ]
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A Definitive Ranking of Roald Dahl Film Adaptations

Roald Dahl holds a special place in my childhood. I still have vivid memories of reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda in school (we even read his rather unsavory memoir Boy; his accounts of boarding school bullying haunt me to this day!) and of watching the delightful early ’90s... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-20 12:00:50 UTC ]
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Stories Happen in the Space Between How We Feel and What We Say

Short stories are a complex form, one that author and professor Danielle Evans continues to show herself adept in. The ever-shifting opportunities of short fiction are evident in Evans’s work, from her debut collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self to her latest, The Office of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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“Hillbilly Elegy” Is the Last Thing America Needs in 2020

My first novel was released within six months of Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance’s memoir of Appalachian roots and a youth spent in a Rust Belt community with a dearth of jobs and resources. Vance’s book came out just before the 2016 election; mine was released just after. Donald Trump’s victory had... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-17 12:01:45 UTC ]
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Will Dutch library ban on 'Black Pete' books spell end for 'racist' festive tradition?

The portrayal of Santa’s Moor servant ‘Zwarte Piet’ is widely seen as offensive. Protesters applaud the decision to remove the character from children’s books Public libraries across the Netherlands are removing from the shelves children’s books depicting a black-faced Zwarte Piet, a side-kick... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-15 10:10:52 UTC ]
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7 Literary Translators You Need to Know

Imagine bookstores, libraries and life really, without Anne Frank, The Little Prince, the Quran, and Murakami. This is what a world without literary translators would look like—our literary travels would be devoid of global textures and much, much less rich. Through the work of translators,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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What Do We Owe Our Comunity in a Time of Crisis?

In her first novel published in 14 years, author Julia Alvarez explores grief, isolation, and sisterhood. Afterlife follows Antonia, a writer and retiring English professor, who has just lost her husband Sam. As she reimagines what her life will be without her husband, Antonia also struggles... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-02 12:00:33 UTC ]
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The Skillset Podcast #3: Politics and Libraries with EveryLibrary's John Chrastka

With the election days away, this is the perfect time to remember that public libraries exist in a political as well as a civic space. In this episode, hosts David Lankes and Nicole Cooke talk to John Chrastka, head of EveryLibrary, the country’s only political action committee for libraries,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Panorama Project Names New Project Lead, Announces Free Webinar

The Panorama Project, the OverDrive-funded cross-industry initiative devoted to “data-informed insights on public libraries’ role in the publishing ecosystem” has announced the appointment of Daniel Albohn as the new Project Lead, replacing Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, who has taken a full-time... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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20 Small Press Books from 2020 You Might Have Missed

There’s no denying that this is a rough—if not catastrophic—year for many businesses, from mom-and-pop-run local eateries to huge corporations like Macy’s. But as the Washington Post noted, a national array of bookstores and readerly good-will has helped Bookshop.org raise millions for indie... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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