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President Barack Obama calls libraries “citadels of knowledge and empathy”

I Love Libraries Staff on June 29, 2021

f you love libraries (and we’re assuming you do because that’s the name of this website!), you are in great company.

This week, former President Barack Obama spoke to the American Library Association about his recent book A Promised Land. He also had a few things to say about libraries and librarians. Spoiler alert: he’s a fan.

Here’s what he had to say: “I do believe that libraries are citadels of knowledge and empathy, and they’ve been extraordinarily important in my life. And I want to thank all the librarians out there, whether you’re in a small town, big city, you opening up the world for our children, giving them access to possibilities that they might not otherwise have, creating safe spaces where reading is cool, you mean a lot to not just those individuals who benefit from your work, but you mean a lot to our democracy and our country. We appreciate you. Keep it up.”

Check out the video:

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Looking for great LGBTQIA+ books to read this summer?

I Love Libraries Staff on June 21, 2021

June is Pride Month, and it is also Rainbow Book Month™, a nationwide celebration of the authors and writings that reflect the lives and experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, genderqueer, queer, intersex, agender, and asexual community.

If you are looking for some LGBTQIA+ literature to celebrate, look no further than the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table. These awards include the Barbara Gittings Literature Award, the Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, and the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award. Collectively, they honor books of exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.

Check these out at your local library this summer!

Barbara Gittings Literature Award

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar (Atria Books)

Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award

Queer Games Avant-Garde: How LGBTQ Game Makers are Reimagining the Medium of Video Games by Bonnie Ruberg (they/them) (Duke University Press)

Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award

We Are Little Feminists: Families designed by Lindsey Blakely, written by Archaa Shrivastav  (Little Feminist)

Stonewall Honor Books in Literature

  • The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, (Riverhead Books)
  • Memorial by Bryan Washington, (Riverhead Books)
  • More Than Organs by Kay Ulanday Barrett, (Sibling Rivalry Press)
  • Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz, (Graywolf Press)

Stonewall Honor Books in Literature Shortlist

  • Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson, (Liveright Publishing Corporation)
  • Plain Bad Heroines: A Novel by Emily M. Danforth & Sara Lautman, ( William Morrow and Company)
  • The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue, (Little, Brown and Company)
  • The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya, ( ECW Press)
  • Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko, (HarperVia)

Stonewall Honor Books in Non-Fiction

  • My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland, (Tin House Books)
  • The Fixed Stars: A Memoir by Molly Wizenberg, (Abrams Press, an imprint of ABRAMS)
  • Paper Bullets by Jeffrey H. Jackson, (Algonquin Books, a division of Workman Publishing)
  • XOXY: A Memoir by Kimberly M. Zieselman, (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)

Stonewall Honor Books in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

  • Beetle & The Hollowbones, illustrated and written by Aliza Layne (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division)
  • Darius the Great Deserves Better, written by Adib Khorram (Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • Felix Ever After written by Kacen Callender (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
  • You Should See Me in a Crown, written by Leah Johnson (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.)

This Is the Way to Check Out Books

I Love Libraries Staff on June 18, 2021

Picture being 5 years old and getting your first library card. Now imagine that card – a key that unlocks the secrets of the entire galaxy – had an image of the universe’s cutest Jedi Master. That’s right – your first library card featured none other than Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, aka The Child.

For a young boy in Tyler, Texas, this was no fantasy. As the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported, 5-year-old Ace Smith and 4-year-old Tripp Bowie were the first patrons at the Longview Public Library – and the nation – to get the out-of-this-word limited edition library cards.

The Child debuted as a READ® poster star in December 2020, and now the breakout star of The Mandalorian is pocket sized. When Ace and Tripp reach for their library cards, they’ll be greeted by the adorable green guy and the phrase READ: This is the Way.

Now Star Wars fans might see these cards touching down at their local libraries. The American Library Association is making them available to libraries throughout the country.

Want Grogu on your local library’s cards? Tell you librarian to request more information.  

Book Award Season Is in Full Swing for Librarians: Find Out How to WFH (Watch from Home)

I Love Libraries Staff on June 16, 2021

For those who don’t already know, many of the nation’s most prestigious honors for literature are administered by librarians-including the Newbery and Caldecott medals, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, and many others.

The winners of these coveted awards are announced in January, but it’s June when the real celebration happens. That’s when librarians get together, don their finest attire and attend gala ceremonies, many of them replete with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, or even a full banquet, to celebrate great literature and hear from the winning authors. The formal attire pictured in this 1974 Newbery-Caldecott banquet photo may no longer be the standard, but these important book award ceremonies are still the highlight of the year for many librarians.

Alas, due to the pandemic, gathering in person to celebrate the winning authors isn’t an option this year.  And while librarians, like everyone else, are excited to get back to meeting in person, virtual award ceremonies have the added benefit of allowing everyone, including you, to participate.

So, book nerds take note. Here’s a list of upcoming book award ceremonies you can watch from home. Formal attire not required.

Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Literature Award

The Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature honors and recognizes individual works about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.

Date and time: Friday, June 18, 2021, 1:00 PM CT
Following the ceremony at 2:00 PM CT, there will be a live chat session with several authors and they will answer questions from the audience.  During the live chat, you can submit questions via APALA’s Youtube Channel. More information is available on the APALA website.

How to watch: APALA YouTube Channel

Who’s accepting:

  • Adult Fiction Award: C Pam Zhang for How Much of These Hills is Gold: A Novel
  • Adult Non-Fiction: Erika Lee for America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States
  • Youth Literature: Andrew Fukuda for This Light Between Us
  • Children’s Literature: Tae Keller for When You Trap a Tiger
  • Picture Book: Julie Leung (writer) and Chris Sasaki (illustrator) for Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

 

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, established in 2012, recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year and serve as a guide to help adults select quality reading material. They are the first single-book awards for adult books given by the American Library Association and reflect the expert judgment and insight of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. The winners (one for fiction, one for nonfiction) receive a $5,000 cash award. The awards are sponsored by Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

 

Date and time: Thursday, June 24, 3:00 PM CT

How to watch: Register for the free Zoom session
This free, one-hour celebration is sponsored by NoveList and hosted by Booklist and RUSA.

Who’s speaking: At the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence virtual gala, you’ll hear acceptance speeches from Carnegie Fiction winner James McBride, for Deacon King Kong, and Carnegie Nonfiction winner Rebecca Giggs, for Fathoms: The World in the Whale.

The keynote speaker will be novelist and journalist Thrity Umrigar, the best-selling author of, among others, The Weight of Heaven, The World We Found, The Story Hour, Everybody’s Son, and The Secrets Between Us.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards

 

csk-2021.jpg

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are sponsored by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange (EMIERT), a round table of the American Library Association.

 

Date and time: Sunday June 27, from 10:00 – 11:00 AM CT

How to watch: American Library Association YouTube Channel

Who’s speaking: Jacqueline Woodson will accept the 2021 Coretta Scott King Author Award for Before the Ever After, and Frank Morrison will accept the 2021 CSK Illustrator Award for R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul.

You’ll also hear from Tracy Deonn, winner of the 2021 John Steptoe Award for New Talent, Dorothy Guthrie, winner of the Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, and many others.

Join the conversation on Twitter by using #CSK52 and #BookAwardsCelebration.

Pura Belpré Award 25th Anniversary Celebración

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. The award is co-sponsored by REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, the Association for Library Service to Children, the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Date and time: June 27, from 1:00 – 2:30 PM CT

How to watch: American Library Association YouTube Channel

Who’s speaking:  Hear from recipients of the 2021 Pura Belpré Award, past recipients, and the award’s founders at this ceremony:

  • Raúl Gonzalez, winner of the 2021 Youth Illustrator Medal for “¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat”
  • Ernesto Cisneros, winner of the Children’s Narrative Medal for “Efrén Divided”
  • Yamile Saied Méndez, winner of the Young Adult Narrative Medal for “Furia”

Schneider Family Book Awards Celebration

The Schneider Family Book Awards serve as a guide for librarians, parents, and educators searching for the very best titles that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

Date and Time: Sunday, June 27, 1:30 p.m. CT

How to watch: Free Zoom event but registration is required before June 26, 2021.

Who’s accepting: Younger Children winners author Jordan Scott and illustrator Sydney Smith for I Talk Like a River, Middle Grades winner author Ann Clare LeZotte for Show Me a Sign, and Teen Award winner I.W. Gregorio,  for This is My Brain in Love. Honorees will also provide remarks.

Newbery/Caldecott – Legacy Banquet

The Newbery and the Caldecott Medals are considered the two most prestigious awards for children’s literature in the United States. The Newbery Medal, awarded annually since 1922, honors the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The Caldecott Medal, awarded annually since 1938, is presented to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Children’s Literature Legacy Award (formerly the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award) honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences. The Newbery, Caldecott, and Children’s Literacy Legacy Awards are sponsored and administered by the Association for Library Service to Children.

Date and time: Sunday, June 27, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM CT

How to watch: American Library Association YouTube Channel

Who’s speaking: Tae Keller will accept the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, and Michaela Goade will accept the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom. You’ll also hear from Mildred D. Taylor, winner of the 2021 Children’s Literature Legacy Award. Her numerous works include Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and All the Days Past, All the Days to Come. Newbery and Caldecott Honorees will also deliver brief messages.

ALSC Awards Ceremony

Often called the “Monday Morning Awards,” this ceremony highlights four of the Association for Library Service to Children’s awards which recognize four distinct types of children’s media. The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is presented to a publisher of an outstanding children’s book translated into English for U.S. publication. The Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award is presented to a producer that has created distinguished digital media for an early learning audience. The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is for beginning readers, and the Robert F. Sibert Medal is for informational books.

Date and time: Monday, June 28th from 10:00-11:00 AM CT

How to watch: American Library Association YouTube Channel

Who’s speaking: Over a dozen of notable children’s media creators; publishers, producers, editors, authors, and illustrators will appear in recognition of their work. David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka will deliver a joint acceptance speech for their Geisel Award for See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog. Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann will do the same for their Sibert Medal for Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera.

 

Photo from ALA Archive: A group at the 1974 Newbery-Caldecott banquet. From left to right: Priscilla Moulton (Newbery-Caldecott Selection Committee), Harve Zemach (Caldecott winner), Margot Zemach (Caldecott winner), Daniel Melcher, Paula Fox (Newbery winner), Richard Jackson (publisher), Bob Verrone, Barbara Rollock (Newbery-Caldecott Selection Committee, chair).

Libraries Continue Supporting Their Communities During the Pandemic

I Love Libraries Staff on June 9, 2021

Over the past few months, libraries have been hard at work providing key services to the populations they serve while maintaining social distancing. A recent survey from the American Library Association found several powerful examples of ways libraries have stepped up during the COVID-19 crisis.

The pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity in many areas, and some libraries have joined forces with other community partners to provide hunger relief. “Our community has serious food insecurity issues, and we have been involved in addressing that for the past several years. COVID-19 has made the situation even worse,” North Carolina’s High Point Public Library reported in the survey. The library hosts a weekly farmers market that has continued during the pandemic, and library staff have been hard at work making sure residents are aware that fresh groceries can be purchased using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) benefits.

Survey respondents from school and college/university libraries reported playing a key role in their institutions’ transition to distance learning, from supporting access to much-needed technology to digitizing course materials for remote use. “We checked out 143 laptops to students needing devices to do work online. This helped some students persist who may not have in this new learning environment,” reported Hawkeye Community College Library in Iowa.

Libraries of all kinds have also been hosting virtual storytimes, book clubs, and other programs to keep people informed and entertained while quarantining. Overall, libraries responding to the ALA survey reported increased engagement with their remote programming as well as greater use of virtual library cards. “We have been amazed by how far away our online storytimes have reached,” reported Mulvane Public Library in Kansas. “People message us with thanks from different continents!”

View the full Libraries Respond: COVID-19 Survey results to learn more.

Waiting in vain: The behind-the-scenes challenges that impact your ability to access ebooks and other digital content from your library

I Love Libraries Staff on May 30, 2021

The pandemic continues to fuel increased demand from library users for digital content like ebooks, digital magazines, and more. According to OverDrive, a leading provider of digital library content, in 2020, readers worldwide borrowed more than 430 million ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines, an increase of 33% compared with 2019 figures.

While patrons continue to discover and rely on digital content, libraries are engaged in a behind-the-scenes fight for fair pricing, multiple licensing models, and full access to digital content from publishers.

A recent position paper from the American Library Association, “The Need for Change: A Position Paper on E-Lending by the ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group (PDF),” calls for improved access, licensing models, pricing to serve readers and users of public, academic, and K-12 school libraries. The paper notes current and long-standing challenges in digital content lending and the issues that complicate acquisition of, user access to, and preservation of digital information.

We recently caught up with Michael Blackwell, Director, St. Mary’s County Library in Maryland and member of the ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group, to learn more about this hidden struggle:

What should library users know about how their libraries buy and share digital content like books, magazines, and films?

The most important thing to know is that libraries do not own most or nearly any of the digital content. Instead, we license it. Unlike with a print book, which we buy, own, and circulate, digital content circulation is still owned the publishers, who can set limits on the length of time we have the rights to share it or even say we cannot even have a license at all.

What are the challenges associated with the current model?

The challenges are many. Some of the smaller and medium sized publishers have favorable terms for libraries, but all of the Big 5 publishers, who put out some 95 percent of the best- selling titles, have restrictive licenses for ebooks. The licenses expire after a certain time or number of circulations. We must constantly relicense, often at relatively high prices.

With our ability to share the content only for one or two years, and at a price as much as five or six times what we pay for a print book, works by new authors or older titles that may not circulate heavily become a gamble to license. Will we get a reasonably return on our investment in them?

Some of the Big 5 still offer a perpetual license on audiobooks (which means we have no time limit on them) but at prices sometimes nearing $100, so that libraries are hard-pressed to get enough copies to meet demand. A pay-per-use option is offered, but it too can be cost-prohibitive. For example, President Obama’s most recent book A Promised Land costs libraries $9.50 per patron use -not a price libraries can sustain.

Still, this is better than the publishers who do not share content with libraries at all. The Digital Public Library of America announced a deal to share Amazon’s exclusive content on May 18 but Audible exclusives are still not available to libraries. Increasingly, media companies are moving to streaming video, and libraries cannot share this content digitally, having to rely on DVD versions, if those are even produced. In short, digital doesn’t offer us the “bang for the book” that we have in physical materials.

How does this impact readers?

It is nearly impossible to build a collection as deep and rich as what we offer in print, even as demand surges for digital in libraries, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Readers see less variety and have longer waits for the best-known content, especially as libraries are increasingly stretched by having to meet demand for digital while still providing print without notable increases in funding.

We also struggle to provide content from some of the smaller publishers that offer better deals because of the high cost of other digital content. In the long run, we may have to offer fewer of the most popular titles.

What are some examples of content readers cannot access through their libraries because of the lending models?

Titles can be inaccessible in two ways. Some content is simply not available digitally, at least in some formats.  For example, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime is available in libraries in ebook but not digital audiobook. Some titles, even classics such as Charlotte’s Web, are not available to libraries in any digital format. But titles can also be inaccessible because we are simply not sure they will get enough use to warrant licensing. For works of fiction by a new author or non-fiction work on an interesting subject that is getting no media build-up from its publisher, ebooks may not make sense. Print copies of those same title can be purchased inexpensively and promoted, but for a book that might only get six circulations at $60 for digital may mean collection developers won’t purchase it.

How can readers get involved in this issue?

Perhaps the best way is to become informed. Talk with your library, ask for their thoughts, and see if they have specific suggestions. Libraries sometimes join together on initiatives. For example, ALA launched the ebooksforall initiative when one publisher instituted particularly troublesome licensing, and we sought reader signatures on a petition. Maryland currently has a bill passed by the legislature and waiting its Governor’s signature that would require that publishers who license content to consumers also must license that content to libraries, ensuring that more titles would be available. Libraries in other states are considering action; if your state does, join libraries in advocating for such legislation.

Above all, use and support your library. We can’t do it without you! Become a library advocate today!

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month This May and Every Day

I Love Libraries Staff on May 14, 2021

Each May, we celebrate the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history and culture of the United States.

To mark the month, I Love Libraries rounded up recent articles from American Libraries that shine a light on the experience and art of the AAPI community.

Newsmaker: Gene Luen Yang

Honorary chair of National Library Week 2016 Gene Luen Yang talks graphic novels and libraries: “I’m kind of jealous of kids today because my local library now has a better and more diverse graphic novel section than my local comic bookstore does.”

minhaj hasan

Newsmaker: Hasan Minhaj

Comedian, actor, host, writer, and self-described “fake journalist” Hasan Minhaj talked about the parallels between his style of humor and modern libraries: “In a weird way, my experiences at the library are similar to what I’m trying to do with comedy. You’re in this information universe, and you don’t realize you’re learning because it’s so fun. Maybe it adds something of value to your life or adds a perspective that you didn’t consider before.”

George Takei

Newsmaker: George Takei and podcast

George Takei, best known for his role as Sulu in the 1960s cult-classic TV show Star Trek, has found even more fame later in life thanks to his prolific social media presence and activist work. His graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, details Takei’s childhood years spent in internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Newsmaker: Adrian Tomine

Cartoonist and illustrator Adrian Tomine reflects on the role of libraries in his family’s life: “Along with bookstores and coffee shops, they’ve been my escape, my hangout place outside the home. Both of my parents were university professors. A lot of my childhood was spent in campus libraries, roaming free. Discovering anything I wanted on my own-sitting there and diving deep into it. I’ve tried [to replicate that for my kids] because I feel like maybe now, even more than in a bookstore, a library is one of those places where you can let your children roam and browse and discover things that you might not have thought to put in their hands.”

Newsmaker: Kazuo Ishiguro

The beloved author is British, but his work and contributions resound with many here in the US, so Kazuo Ishiguro deserves a mention here, too. Ever wonder what it’s like to win a Nobel Prize? He can fill you in: “Things go completely crazy for a while. And the odd thing is, nobody warns you about it. You don’t know that your name is up for consideration, there’s no announcement of any short list. It just comes completely out of the blue. You’re having just a normal day and then suddenly you’ve turned into a Nobel Prize winner. All the press turn up, and camera crews turn up within half an hour, foreign bureaus and newspapers.”

Podcast interview with Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose confessional thriller The Sympathizer, is set in the years following the Vietnam War, talks about why he chose to tell his story as a spy novel and how he conceived his main character (“I thought of him like a bad James Bond”). He shares how growing up as a refugee in San José, California, influenced the book, and why, in researching his novel, he wanted to learn as much as he could about the making of the film Apocalypse Now.  In 2016 The Sympathizer won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Oh, and the wonderful illustration at the top of the page is a poster created by award-winning author and illustrator Dan Santat. Santat won the Caldecott Medal in 2015 for his children’s book The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. He partnered with author Minh Lê in 2018 to illustrate Drawn Together, which received APALA’s Asian/ Pacific American Award for Literature. Santat and Lê joined forces again in 2020 with Lift, which takes readers on an adventure through entire realms of possibilities with the push of a button.Buy the poster for your Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrations.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library and information professionals worldwide.

Celebrating Take Action for Libraries Day

I Love Libraries Staff on March 25, 2021

A partnership with the American Library Association, United for Libraries, and Booklist

In honor of National Library Week and Take Action for Libraries Day, esteemed journalist Dan Rather joined Booklist‘s Donna Seaman for a live conversation about his recent book, What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. Rather also reflected on the value of libraries in today’s society and shared how everyone can help support these important institutions.

About Dan Rather

With a storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. Rather joined CBS News in 1962. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1981 he assumed the position of Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News-a post he held for twenty-four years. His reporting across the network helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as an innovative news magazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries.

Upon leaving CBS, Rather returned to the in-depth reporting he always loved, creating the Emmy Award winning Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. Now, building upon that foundation, he is president and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels.

About the Book

At a moment of crisis over our national identity, venerated journalist Dan Rather has emerged as a voice of reason and integrity, reflecting on-and writing passionately about-what it means to be an American. Now, with this collection of original essays, he reminds us of the principles upon which the United States was founded. Looking at the freedoms that define us, from the vote to the press; the values that have transformed us, from empathy to inclusion to service; the institutions that sustain us, such as public education; and the traits that helped form our young country, such as the audacity to take on daunting challenges in science and medicine, Rather brings to bear his decades of experience on the frontlines of the world’s biggest stories. As a living witness to historical change, he offers up an intimate view of history, tracing where we have been in order to help us chart a way forward and heal our bitter divisions.

With a fundamental sense of hope, What Unites Us is the book to inspire conversation and listening, and to remind us all how we are, finally, one.

Check out this free excerpt from What Unites Us, used by permission of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (all rights reserved). Plus, download this discussion guide with questions for your book club or library.

10 Must-Listen Audiobooks for Teens

I Love Libraries Staff on March 23, 2021

Audiobooks are a great way to fit reading into your daily routine, adding literary flair to your chores, workouts, car rides, and more. For teenagers looking for great reads they can listen to on the go, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has released their 2021 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list.

Selected titles feature powerful stories paired with compelling audio narration. YALSA’s picks come from a diverse range of authors and genres, and selections include audiobooks ranging from just 118 minutes to almost 19 hours.

Here are YALSA’s top 10 audiobook picks for teens:

Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas, read by Avi Roque

Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo, read by Melania-Luisa Marte and Elizabeth Acevedo

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Book 1, by Holly Jackson, read by Bailey Carr, Melissa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, and Amanda Thickpenny

Kent State, by Deborah Wiles, read by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries

Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party, by Allan Wolf, read by Bahni Turpin, Whitney Dykhouse, Teri Schnaubelt, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Lauren Ezzo, Eric G. Dove, Ramón de Ocampo, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, read by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee, read by Scott Keiji Takeda, Dan Woren, Ryan Potter, Ali Fumiko, Sophie Oda, Andrew Kishino, Christopher Naoki Lee, Grace Rolek, Erika Aishii, Brittany Ishibashi, Kurt Sanchez Kanazawam, and Terry Kitagawa

When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, read by Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Robin Miles, Ifrah Mansour, Bahni Turpin, Hakeemshady Mohamed, Sadeeq Ali, Dominic Hoffman, Christine Avila, JD Jackson, and more

For the full list of 81 titles, visit the YALSA website.

R.E.M.’s Mike Mills Supports Literacy and Libraries

I Love Libraries Staff on December 9, 2020

Mike Mills of the legendary rock band, R.E.M. wants you to know that libraries provide a place for people of all backgrounds to to discover their creative talents and nurture their creative abilities.

R.E.M. has a long history of supporting libraries and literacy. Thirty years ago, they posed for the American Library Association (ALA)’s READ campaign, and the resulting poster became an instant collector’s item. Now, book lovers and music fans can enjoy the iconic image as a jigsaw puzzle, with all sales supporting literacy efforts.

Thank you, Mike Mills and R.E.M.!

The video, with and without captioning, is available for download

Please help us spread the word about the R.E.M. Jigsaw Puzzle and the value of libraries by posting to your website, social media, and more!

Sample social media posts:

  • R.E.M.’s Mike Mills explains how you can support libraries and the missing piece of the puzzle is YOU! Purchase the R.E.M. puzzle & support ALA: https://store.remhq.com
  • The iconic R.E.M. (@remhq)  READ® poster is becoming a puzzle to support literacy and U.S. libraries! Proceeds of the puzzle sale will benefit @ALAlibrary and @BFK_Athens. Order yours today: https://store.remhq.com
  • Shiny happy people, support literacy and U.S. libraries. https://bit.ly/372Kw80 #LibrariesTransform
  • Support literacy and libraries with this R.E.M. puzzle based on the iconic READ poster. Learn more on how libraries support their communities & purchase today: https://store.remhq.com

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