We love videogames here at I Love Libraries—especially the first generation of home videogaming systems and their games. Unfortunately, many of these systems and their games have become difficult to find, much less in working order. Thankfully, libraries, institutions, and archivists have stepped in to archive and preserve this essential element of gaming and pop culture history.
The New York Public Library (NYPL) has announced its Best Books of 2025, a list of 225 titles curated by NYPL staff. More than 80 librarians work on the lists each year, reading thousands of titles to develop each list. They look for literary excellence and originality, as well as titles they believe will appeal to patrons.
Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz is a storyteller, author, and curandera who presents frequently around the country on traditional healing practices, culinary medicine, folk herbalism, and Native American food sovereignty. We sat down with her to discuss her picture book for kids, “Nana Lupita and the Magic Sopita,” her work as a curandera, book bans, and her love of libraries.
In episode 26, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with award-winning author and illustrator Grace Lin. She joins the show to discuss her new book (and her first novel in nine years), “The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon” and its influences, her work as an illustrator, her podcasts, book bans, and of course, how she libraries.
During Banned Books Week this year, longtime supporter of libraries Cards Against Humanity offered presales of its new, special edition product, Cards Against Humanity Explains the Joke, and 100% of the net proceeds from the preorder will be donated to the American Library Association.
Hennepin County (Minn.) Library (HCL) has released a new library card to honor the iconic musician Prince, who lived in Chanhassen, Minnesota, until his death in 2016. The new card corresponds with the opening of the new Prince musical, “Purple Rain.”
In a special Halloween episode of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Jerry Drake, author of “Hazel Was a Good Girl: Solving the Murder that Inspired Twin Peaks.”
Libraries in the U.S. are full of ghosts, from the famed Grey Lady who haunts Evansville (Ind.) Public Library and the spectral nun who appears in the library of Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California, to the plethora of spirits who inhabit Peoria (Ill.) Public Library and George and Helen Mahon Public Library in Lubbock, Texas. Let’s explore them and more from the safety of home.
Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This report includes news from Utah, California, Texas, and a victory in the fight to get books returned to schools on U.S. military bases.
Penguin Random House and Online Ceramics are donating 100% of the net proceeds from the sales of select items to ALA to help in the fight against book bans and to help librarians across the country.
Proud Sponsor of the ALA Public Supporter Program
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