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 ]
Hug an author today! Fifty-four percent of debut authors responding to Bookseller survey said the process had a negative impact on their mental health—equally likely to feel bummed out whether they pubbed with a Big Four or an indie publisher. One, quoted anonymously in The Bookseller’s report,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 15:32:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Today, the American Library Association has published its annual list of the Most Challenged Books—those most often targeted for banning in schools and public libraries. As you may already know if you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention, book banning efforts are in high gear right... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-24 14:24:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Some of the best moments of my life have been spent in libraries, first as a patron, later as a librarian, and I have witnessed firsthand how hard the past few decades have been on libraries. As America has continued to dismantle its social safety net, libraries have been forced to pivot from... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-04-21 11:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Boston Public Library is the latest in a string of public libraries to plan to incorporate affordable housing into its buildings. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-19 18:13:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this
With all the challenges that the book publishing industry currently faces, what will the future bookstore look like? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-19 10:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The publishing party for my first book was held in the bookstore I used to work at. My book was piled on the table. People with flowers, people with cups of wine, people who didn’t understand Icelandic all filled the store. I felt like it was my birthday. Ten days earlier, I’d been awarded the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-19 08:52:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this
OverDrive Max, which enables libraries to buy bundles of up to 100 loans for specific titles for concurrent use based on library users’ demands and with no expiration dates, has more than 400,000 titles available in the program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The bookseller announced new benefits and discount perks in an effort to "revitalize" its membership ranks and unveiled an alternative free B&N Rewards loyalty program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I first read Carl Sagan’s Contact and Cosmos in high school, when I was working at a bookstore that let us borrow any book we had at least two copies of on the shelves. I loved them then and was excited to revisit these books in the course of my research for The Possibility of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-18 08:54:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this
We talk with Annie Carl, founder of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., a community bookstore that focuses on genre titles and children’s and YA. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Libraries are increasingly being targeted by local and state legislators and protestors trying to ban books and block LGBTQ content. How is that affecting the people who work in them? Scratch nearly any kind of story—political, social, economic, cultural, and so on—and you’ll find a labor... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-04-14 03:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Censorship is surging thanks to an organised rightwing minority targeting books on LGBTQ and Black characters and issues“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door,” warns a character in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s dystopian vision of an America where books are considered so dangerous they... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-13 17:21:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Celebrities including Julia Roberts, Julianna Margulies, and Selma Blair are urging people to take part in the #LetAmericaRead campaign. April is National School Library Month but, unfortunately, some of the books in school libraries have never been under greater threat in parts of America than... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-04-11 12:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Regulators around world are cracking down on content being hoovered up by ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion and othersCutting-edge artificial intelligence systems can help you escape a parking fine, write an academic essay, or fool you into believing Pope Francis is a fashionista. But the virtual... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-10 09:10:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After the death last year of children’s author Shirley Hughes, her son took hundreds of her books, including the award-winning Dogger, to libraries in Ukraine, where reading is helping to heal the children traumatised by warThe National Library of Ukraine for Children in Kyiv, a city at war for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-09 07:00:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Some of them posed for photos – and before they knew it they had become the face of skin lightening, bad boyfriends, penis disorders and Canadian immigration. What’s it like when your image goes around the world?Stock images are everywhere, and you probably rarely notice them: on billboards and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-08 09:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The 2023 Texas Library Association Annual Conference, set for April 19-22 in Austin, comes at a crucial moment for the state’s librarians. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In December 2022, author Chelsea Banning had 37 people RSVP “yes” to her book event. On the day, only two showed up. In March 2023, Jamar Perry showed up to his 7 p.m. book event to find the bookstore empty, and figured he would give it another 40 minutes. Still, no one came. This week, […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-05 11:57:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Anyone who stares at a screen all day probably doesn’t want to do so when they unwind with a book. But the convenience of getting a new read instantaneously and carrying a full bookcase in your pocket is pretty appealing. Ereaders combine the best of paper and computers, and they’re capable of... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-04-04 13:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Gloucester-based bookseller bought by the retail giant in 2011 will shut at the end of AprilThe online shop Book Depository is due to close at the end of April, vendors and publishing partners have been told. This comes after the bookseller’s parent company Amazon announced it had decided to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-04 11:07:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this