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 ]
Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish citizen, ran a publishing house that appeared to anger the Communist Party Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-25 06:02:16 UTC ]
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Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai has been jailed for 10 years by a Chinese court for “illegally providing intelligence overseas”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 22:55:21 UTC ]
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The door of Los Angeles’ newest bookstore is propped open on a quiet section of Hollywood Boulevard, the front window displaying books on a handmade wooden bookshelf. Inside the front room, you’ll find more books and merchandise below a neon light thought bubble and a sign that reads, “I still... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-21 15:00:52 UTC ]
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How a career in libraries is paying dividends for PW columnist Sari Feldman in her new role—grandmother. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher Eva Bonnier and author David Lagercrantz are among the signatories of an open letter calling for the release of Gui Minhai, a bookseller imprisoned in China. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-20 16:34:50 UTC ]
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A humorous behind-the-scenes look at bookseller prep for an author school visit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-19 13:00:00 UTC ]
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When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]
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As a girl, the author of “Wild” and “Tiny Beautiful Things” spent hours studying Scholastic book club catalogs. But “my family was too poor to pay for the books,” she says. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-18 15:29:22 UTC ]
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Libraries across Southern California are aiming to serve the immigrant readers of rapidly changing cities by purchasing books in a variety of languages. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-02-17 13:00:04 UTC ]
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Bradford Council has reversed planned £1.05m cuts to its libraries but says some services could still be moved to other buildings in a bid to make them financially viable. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-16 18:54:07 UTC ]
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As we all know, there is only one Valentine and it is every book. Luckily, Harrison Ford talking about how great libraries are is an acceptable human Valentine proxy for all books. Why—besides the fact that you can’t spell”Harrison Ford, you irascible Jedi” without “Library”—is Ford making PSAs... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-14 14:17:02 UTC ]
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Do some good and help these classrooms build inclusive libraries by donating or spreading the word about their projects. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-14 11:41:33 UTC ]
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Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore sales, which struggled for most of the year, ended 2019 with a weak December and finished the year with a 5.7% sales drop compared to 2018, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As a girl, the author of “Wild” and “Tiny Beautiful Things” spent hours studying Scholastic book club catalogs. But “my family was too poor to pay for the books,” she says. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-13 10:00:03 UTC ]
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OPINION: Does seeing ad spend and number of advertisements really tell us that much? Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2020-02-07 16:00:00 UTC ]
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From the fog of a so-far-extremely-cursed 2020, do you even remember 2019 anymore? The albino panda? 30 to 50 feral hogs? The US women’s national soccer team at the World Cup? What else even happened? Roxane Gay is here to remind us with this recap, which also lists her favorite books of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-06 16:40:23 UTC ]
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The bookseller planned to promote classic novels with covers featuring people of color for Black History Month. Critics accused it of “literary blackface.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-05 23:31:49 UTC ]
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From about 1890 to 1940, a half century of ultra-cheap editions of Jane Austen’s novels aimed explicitly at educating the working poor. Because these ill-printed and shabby versions of her stories never made it into the scholarly libraries that safeguard “important” editions, the hardscrabble... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-04 09:49:29 UTC ]
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Walk into a contemporary bookstore and self-help manuals are likely to be among the first books you’ll see. In my local Barnes & Noble, a “self-improvement” section is featured in the vestibule, luring customers before they even open the store’s main doors. Inside the store, the boundary... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 09:49:07 UTC ]
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