No Book Left Behind, by Alice-Catherine Carls Essay [email protected] Mon, 10/09/2023 - 15:35 Photo by Alexander Grey / UnsplashWelcome news to those of us in the “Flyover Zone”: our reading habits are healthy and well served. The Jackson Madison County Public Library in Jackson, Tennessee, is one such example. Possessing 115,799 physical items and over one million electronic books, it is one of the larger West Tennessee libraries, and it purports to encourage communicating information, developing technology literacy, and connecting people. It has a total physical circulation of 216,807 and 71,885 patrons (Madison County has a little over 100,000 residents). Digital circulation has gone up since Covid and stands today at 143,709. The library has a northern branch, a Tennessee Room archive, and five “Little Free Libraries” across the city of Jackson. Its 2022 budget was $217,447 for digital and print materials, with $95,159 for print books and $111,115 for digital, $11,137 of which went to cassettes and DVDs that are still popular among patrons with less advanced technology. Dinah Harris, the library director since 2000, states that print books are slow to disappear and remain a vital part of the library. The use of electronic resources has only gone up by 15 percent since Covid and is plateauing at 40 percent. Printed books have a long and happy life in the flyover zone. Libraries, whether located in the flyover zone or not,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-09 20:35:50 UTC ]
The first time I sliced open a box of books in my new bookshop, I breathed in deeply. The pulpy starch of the paper caught in the back of my throat, while the faint chemical sting of the new ink burned high in my nostrils. I imagined a world where this smell was a constant […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 08:53:39 UTC ]
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The Internet is abuzz over a forthcoming nonfiction book, a 544-page memoir (including 40 full-color photographs) slated to be published by Flatiron on July 9th. Why? Because The Internet thinks it was probably written by Taylor Swift. It all started when the owner of indie bookshop Good... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 16:47:07 UTC ]
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A 57-year-old “self-styled poet” (aren’t they all?) has spent $116,000 of his own money to build a bookstore in a mountaintop village. Oh, and it’s shaped like the number 7 and contains 7,000 books. No, this is not a parable. As Jiang Libo told the South China Morning Post: Before my bookshop... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 15:04:22 UTC ]
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Forty years ago, my not-yet-gentrified neighborhood in Brooklyn had one bookstore, Mostly Books. When the owner retired, it became a video store (RIP Cousins). Then it was derelict, then it was councilman’s office, and now it’s (obviously) a real estate office. But in all those years, a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 15:00:19 UTC ]
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According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, these 15 firms could be poised for a stock market rally. Ever since ChatGPT’s release, Americans have been wrestling with the idea of generative artificial intelligence automating our existence. Large language models are trained on... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-05-08 14:36:00 UTC ]
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Guess who made it out of committee? On Wednesday, the Illinois state legislature passed House Bill 2789, which would ensure libraries or schools that remove books from their shelves do so with the knowledge they shall ~shelve~ the state grant money they would otherwise have received. Governor... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-05 12:07:16 UTC ]
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Voters in Michigan overwhelmingly support their local libraries and oppose book bans; Illinois passes a groundbreaking bill to support the freedom to read; ALA announces its Banned Books Week 2023 theme, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The owner and operator of the Mysterious Bookshop in Lower Manhattan, the oldest bookstore in the U.S. specializing in mysteries and thrillers, said his duties running Mysterious Press don’t leave him with enough time to interact with customers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Illinois Senate has passed HB 2789, a bill whose terms dictate that state funding from libraries that remove books will be withheld. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-05-04 16:31:45 UTC ]
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Respect and support to Wasilla, Alaska’s Black Birch Books, who’re getting a lot of online flack for announcing a drag story time in June. But despite a slew of negative, and sometimes threatening, comments and reviews, Black Birch owner Taylor Jordan is going on with the show. As she told... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-04 15:21:17 UTC ]
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Not long after its drag queen story hours attracted protests, Riverside's Cellar Door Bookstore got evicted. But at this oasis of inclusion, the show will go on Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-04 13:00:17 UTC ]
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Share the Joy of Giving—and Receiving—Books as Gifts, by The Editors of WLT News and Events [email protected] Mon, 05/01/2023 - 15:39 Isobelle Ouzman, Peace for Ukraine (2022; detail), miniature plain paper journal, ink, color pencils, art knife,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-05-01 20:39:57 UTC ]
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Your library and bookstore hauls will be looking good in these new bookish tote bags. - Kelly Jensen Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-05-01 10:31:00 UTC ]
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What started last year with a group trying to get a few children's sexual education books pulled from the shelves of a southern Manitoba library has now turned into accusations that its staff are pedophiles and a campaign to defund it, the... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-05-01 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Detention of publisher Li Yanhe in China for ‘endangering national security’ has sent chills through island’s literary communityIn a bookstore near one of Taipei’s leading universities, Zeng Da-fu and his wife work quietly into the evening. Zeng has run this store for decades, tucked in a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-29 02:00:23 UTC ]
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Despite suffering a significant blow this week in its attempt to take over Activision Blizzard, Microsoft still believes it can get the job done. The company has signed a 10-year agreement with Spain-based cloud gaming provider Nware to make PC games it builds in-house available to stream on... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-28 17:25:18 UTC ]
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If the more than 100 bills in state legislatures aiming to ban books fail, lawmakers want to cut library budgets — which could mean cuts to resources for America's most vulnerable. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2023-04-28 09:45:11 UTC ]
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Among the week's headlines: a challenging year for libraries recapped in the ALA's 2023 State of America's Libraries report; amid criticism, the College Board will change its AP African American studies course again; the Seattle Public Library will join Brooklyn Public Library in making banned... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“I have only the vaguest understanding of what TikTok is,” Patchett insists. And yet she and her bookstore, Parnassus Books, have become microcelebrities on the app thanks to the shop's savvy marketing manager, Sarah Arnold. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This world isn't designed for anyone under 18. Teen spaces in libraries don't just promote literacy: they give teenagers a voice. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-27 10:30:00 UTC ]
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