It’s no surprise that people read a lot when stuck at home. But novels are more than a way to kill timeIt’s no surprise that keen readers have looked to books for historical analogues or literary insights into the coronavirus outbreak. Sales of the English translation of Albert Camus’s 1947 novel La Peste (The Plague) are reported to have risen by around 1,000% in recent weeks. Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year, Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s Peculiar Ground have also all seen their mentions rise. So have other volumes with contagious disease or dystopian themes, presumably because readers hope they might shed some light on our unprecedented global situation.Of course there is more time for things like reading when we are stuck at home, unable to socialise or go to museums and concerts – or to borrow books, since libraries are shut. But it is notable that fiction sales, along with home-learning titles, experienced the greatest boost as the UK’s lockdown began, because this indicates that it is not facts that people are after, but stories. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-04-19 17:25:44 UTC ]
I’ll be the first to acknowledge Amazon and I make rather strange bedfellows. Raised on local libraries and used bookstores, I’ve long been a loyal customer to many of the indie bookshops cornered by the world’s largest online retailer, prizing them as community centers and places to find a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-08 09:49:14 UTC ]
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The Build America’s Libraries Act was introduced in the House of Representatives this week by Reps. Andy Levin (D-MI) and Don Young (R-AK) and would provide $5 billion to address decades of needed repairs, updates, as well as the construction of modern library facilities in underserved and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-03-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Taking a look at libraries offering services to seniors during the pandemic, with programs for memory care, vaccine roll-out, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-03-03 11:33:00 UTC ]
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"What do libraries do?" You may be surprised by these seven basic services your public library offers for free, including job search help. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-03-01 11:30:00 UTC ]
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The Library Campaign has warned that hundreds of libraries may close not only for the pandemic, but permanently. With councils under financial strain and Walsall’s council leader even asking, “Do we need [them]?”, the future of libraries needs protecting. Libraries are an indispensable service... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-01 00:31:07 UTC ]
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Can you think of a single feel-good news story from the past five years that isn’t, at its core, an indictment of the society in which we live? Here at Lit Hub, one of our most-read stories last year was “Big-hearted strangers turn Little Free Libraries into Little Free Pantries.” While I don’t... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-23 16:10:35 UTC ]
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If you're planning some bookish trips for the future, don't miss adding these gorgeous libraries to visit post-pandemic to the list. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-22 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Long considered a tool to encourage patrons to return materials on time, in the past few years hundreds of public libraries have decided late fees do more harm than good by keeping away low-income and disadvantaged readers. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2021-02-21 09:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Library in Paris sits in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Its collection of 100,000 books is spread over three stories. Members from 60 countries can work at long tables or whisper at the coffee machine. As the programs manager, I oversaw the ALP’s weekly Evening with an Author... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-19 09:48:59 UTC ]
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Cast aside your assumptions about academic libraries. You'd be surprised what absolute gems of nerdery you can find in a college library. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-08 11:30:00 UTC ]
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A great idea! Marshall University students in Bret Masters’s building technology class are currently building bookshelves to install Little Free Libraries in Yeager and Huntington Tri-State Airports. The idea for the project was originated by Kelli Johnson, associate librarian at Marshall, when... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-02 18:12:16 UTC ]
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Get to know the work and services of libraries for the visually impaired and print disabled people around the world. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-29 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Among the group's priorities will be to advocate for “less restrictive" e-book licenses and new digital licenses that would allow libraries to "own" digital works with the same associated rights as print materials. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling is. John le Carré isn’t. Albert Camus and F. Scott Fitzgerald are. George Orwell might or might not be. I’m talking about registered trade marks. Authors make copyright works, and their agents’ job is to maximise revenues from those intangibles. End of story, right? Kind of. A... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-26 12:24:33 UTC ]
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Short of becoming a time machine for well-meaning Gen X slackers, I cannot imagine a grander afterlife for the humble phone booth than to be reincarnated as a cosy wee library. One day you’re a rusted urinal, all-but invisible to the cellphone-clasping masses trundling past, and the next you’ve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 17:54:55 UTC ]
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A school librarian talks about how he teaches students to think critically about fake news on the internet. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-25 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Throughout our history, we've see that when we come together in civil, honest conversations based on facts and science, history and truth, we find commonality. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s been a bad year for libraries and those who love them. Despite some interesting tech innovations (we could have been cleaning our books with UV rays this whole time!), many temporarily reopened libraries are closing again due to surging COVID numbers and COVID exposures, and many other... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-11 18:26:49 UTC ]
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Explore libraries that have unusual collections, exist in strange places, or use novel modes of transportation to deliver books to readers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-11 11:30:00 UTC ]
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If you, like me, could really use some nice library-oriented news right about now, you’re in luck. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the impossibility of going to physical libraries for much of the year, readers borrowed record numbers of ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines from public... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-07 15:34:02 UTC ]
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