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These Baby Yoda Tees Are Perfect for Book Lovers

Phil Morehart on February 23, 2021

Last fall, the American Library Association (ALA) debuted a new READ® poster featuring The Mandalorian breakout character The Child, also known as Baby Yoda and Grogu; the first run of the poster sold out almost immediately. Thanks to a collaboration between ALA and Out of Print, the instantly-iconic design is now available as a t-shirt.

The tee makes a perfect gift for the book-loving Star Wars fan in your life. It’s available in a unisex crewneck style as well as a relaxed fit women’s cut, plus kids’ sizes for the little ones.

This isn’t the first time ALA and Out of Print have teamed up to create bookish Star Wars merch. They’ve released a host of other clothing and accessories featuring Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and more, from tote bags and socks to notebooks and mugs.

When you shop the collection proceeds from your purchase help support ALA’s work keeping our nation’s libraries strong. Efforts include advocating for library funding, fighting censorship, diversifying the library workforce, and providing disaster relief to libraries in need.

Ready to own your very own Baby Yoda t-shirt? Visit the Out of Print website to shop now.

These Animated Librarians Have Big Hearts and Big Heads

Burkely Hermann on February 4, 2021

Animated series such as Hilda, Cleopatra in Space, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power have portrayed libraries in a positive light; Too Loud, a 16-episode, two-season animated comedy web series on YouTube, is another great example of libraries in animation. Created by Nico Colaleo, the series focuses on two clumsy and loud volunteers at the Chestertown Public Library somewhere in the Western United States: Sara (voiced by Kelsey Abbott) and Jeffrey (voiced by Colaleo), with abnormally large heads, have fun even while they do their jobs. The show has already garnered a wiki, fan art, and a loyal group of fans. While the show is geared toward children, viewers of all ages can enjoy its message about the value of libraries.

In the first two episodes of season one, the so-called “loud mouth librarians,” Sara, and her brother, Jeffrey, help patrons: Sara uses her huge cranium to find a book on an obscure topic, while Jeffrey licks a library card to discern whether a book is overdue. Both explain the personal importance of helping library patrons, saying it brightens their day. In the second episode, both work together to save the library from being shut down by the town’s mayor. In later episodes, they meet friends in the library, with Jeffrey using the size of head to give a sci-fi author an idea for a new book, breaking his writer’s block, and a new librarian named Sarah is introduced.

Although the library is not shown as many times in the second season, the show emphasizes the library’s value to the community over and over again. In the third episode of the season, Sara is overwhelmed with her library duties and joins a group of “bad girls.” But when they approach the library and prepare to egg it, she remembers the positive memories and experiences she had there and tells the girls to leave. Afterward, Jeffrey and the head librarian, Mrs. Mildred Abbott, thank Sara for her hard work, saying they appreciate her efforts. In the fifth episode of the season, on the 100th anniversary of the library, Mildred’s twin and the chancellor of the libraries, Muriel, declares that the library will be sold off so the area can become a parking lot, all due to a long-standing grudge against her sister. The usual patrons are horrified by this, as are Jeffrey and Sara. Just in time, they help bring the two sisters together, and they reconcile, saving the library from destruction.

Other episodes highlight the importance of libraries and proper organization. In one episode in particular, the story centers on the Jeffrey and Sara picking up overdue library books and punishing those responsible is emphasized.  They convince a skeptical Sarah, a fellow librarian, to help them break into someone’s house to get an overdue book, but in truth Jeffrey had the book the whole time, for over eight years, and had forgotten to re-shelve it. After the person’s house collapses when they grab the book, all three of them learn that being punitive with those who have overdue books is not worth it.

The same can be said for an episode where Jeffrey and Sara travel deep into the library’s stacks to search for their friend, Molly, and find their long-lost cousin, Steven, who had been stranded there. In this abandoned part of the library, which has not been touched since the 1980s, there is even a VHS rental section!

Due to their role in the library, Sara and Jeffrey, along with their new colleague Sarah, are valued by those in the community. For example, in one episode, after Sara and Jeffrey get head reduction surgery, they have trouble doing their jobs, and ordinary patrons miss the usual banter of Sara and Jeffrey. It turns out this is a nightmare and both vow to never change the size of their “big, glorious heads” for anyone.

Still from the animated web series Too Loud

Even Mildred, the head librarian, bucks librarian stereotypes in several ways. At first, viewers may see the older white woman with glasses as dotty and clueless. For instance, she buys a burned sign for $100 dollars to eat in one episode, and is unsure how to answer reference calls from patrons. However, she has institutional knowledge dating back to the founding of the library, which her father built and founded. She helps Jeffrey, Sara, and Sarah with their duties from time to time and values their work at the library. Since the series is focused on Jeffrey and Sara and those who interact with them, she does not appear as much, but she adds an interesting dimension to the series.

While showrunner Nico Colaleo has proposed ideas for a third season, the season has been on an extended hiatus since November 2019-but viewers are still discovering the show and enjoying its depiction of libraries to this day. Even as the library’s size and layout differs from episode to episode, Colaleo has shared designs of the library on his Twitter account, including new angles of the library and the rainy day version of the library’s exterior, and a poster of a pop star promoting literacy displayed in one of the episodes. Hopefully, the series will be renewed, as having a show centered around libraries, like this one, would be a boon for representation of libraries and librarians in animation.

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Stephen Colbert is Confounded by this Library Potato Mystery

Phil Morehart on January 22, 2021

A starchy enigma has been bedeviling staff at the Wayland Free Public Library in Massachusetts: over the past two weeks, potatoes have been inexplicably appearing on the library’s front lawn. This unexplained occurrence has managed to attract national attention, garnering a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“This is the kind of news I hope to spend more time thinking about in 2021,” Colbert shared before unpacking the mystery. He goes on to speculate about whether the “taters of chaos” are “responding to some sort of primal potato call to assemble for the great potato uprising” or if Bigfoot may somehow be involved.

Wayland residents have been sharing their own theories on Facebook, positing everything from “TikTok shenangians” to “a game of hot potato gone awry.”

For now, library staff remain vexed. “One doesn’t even know what to think!” assistant director Andy Moore told WHDH. “One doesn’t randomly encounter tubers on the lawn.”

Check out the Late Show clip below:

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Ethan Hawke Shares Why You Should Support Your Library

Phil Morehart on January 13, 2021

In a new PSA video for the American Library Association, actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke explains why it’s so important to support our nation’s libraries.

“I’m here to talk to you about libraries, one of the most beautiful institutions that mankind has ever created,” he shares. “[Libraries are] a place where people from all backgrounds can join and be submerged in the ideas of the generations before us and the generations that are present right now.”

“If you can, please give to your local public library,” Hawke urges in the clip. “It is desperately needed.”

Check out the full video:

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The Mysterious Librarian in Netflix’s “Hilda” Finally Gets a Name

Burkely Hermann on January 8, 2021

by Burkely Hermann

On December 14, 2020, the second season of Hilda, the beloved British-Canadian animation, premiered on Netflix. The show’s first season introduced one of the most intriguing librarian characters in recent TV memory, and this newest batch of episodes brings even more screen time to the fan-favorite role. Hilda continues to show the value of libraries and librarians, remaining one of the best animated depictions of the profession, alongside all-ages shows Cleopatra in Space and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

In the new season of Hilda, the characters spend longer in their city’s public library than in the previous season, and the value of libraries is again emphasized. In the third episode of this season, protagonists Hilda and Frida look for the librarian, who isn’t at the information desk, and comment on how she has been supportive in the past. They enter the hidden special collections room, find a book slip, and travel through secret rooms before coming upon a hallway. They see the librarian chanting and follow her through a magic passageway she created. Once inside, they enter the Witches Tower, its walls covered with shelves of books. The librarian comes before three witches who govern the tower; they tell her that she must return a book missing from the library for almost 30 years. She says that the person who borrowed the book is responsible for it and the witches threaten to cast her into a void if she cannot locate the lost item.

Just in time, Frida and Hilda come out of hiding to help the librarian. Later, they all enter a labyrinth to reach the person who borrowed the book. Along the way, the librarian talks about the value of witchcraft, saying it is about knowledge and “knowing the true shape of things” than about powers and spells. The same could be said about librarianship, which is about sorting books, organization, recognizing what is within collections, and addressing the needs of patrons.

The librarian eventually admits to the protagonists, and the old woman who borrowed the book, why she had not tried to locate the missing book until now: she was embarrassed that she could not use the right spell to find it. After their return before the witches, a magical mishap inadvertently opens the void of no return, trapping the librarian, Hilda, and Frida. With Hilda and Frida’s assistance, the librarian is finally able to cast the correct spell, restoring the book to its library shelf at last. In the end, the episode shows the value of libraries, proper organization, and knowledge itself. The episode also reveals the librarian’s name for the first time: Kaisa, possibly an homage to the character’s voice actor, Kaisa Hammarlund.

Still from the animated Netflix show Hilda featuring a secret room in a library

The next episode that the librarian appears in is markedly different. It begins with Hilda accidentally releasing a group of magical “tide mice” which take over the headquarters of a local company and give one man good fortune. As we learned in season one, tide mice initially bring people fantastic luck but then eventually claim their souls. Meanwhile, Hilda and her friends David and Frida, read books in the local library, as part of Frida’s quest to improve her witchcraft abilities through research. The three witches who inhabit the hidden chambers of the library confront the group and accuse Hilda of releasing the tide mice.

Later that night, the protagonists, and Hilda’s animal companion, sneak into the library on a mission to fix the tide mice problem. Kaisa catches them but decides to help them with their quest. She joins them, leading to sequence reminiscent of Ghostbusters, as each of them attempt to eliminate the tide mice in the office building, who are attracted to people’s greed. In one particularly delightful moment, she uses her magic powers to ride a vacuum cleaner like a skateboard. Coincidentally, Ghostbusters begins with a famous scene in the New York Public Library, which is regarded as one of the best library scenes in film. The enchantment of the tide mice is reversed, and the day is saved just in time. In the end, Kaisa goes beyond her normal responsibilities to aid her patrons, making clear the importance of librarians and libraries.

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“Shrek,” “The Joy Luck Club,” and 23 Other Movies Join the National Film Registry

I Love Libraries Admin on December 29, 2020

The Library of Congress’s National Film Registry preserves hundreds of culturally important works from our nation’s cinematic history-and this month, 25 titles from the past century have been added to the prestigious list.

Movies were selected for their culture, aesthetic, or historic significance, and range from blockbusters and Oscar winners to art films and documentaries. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected this year’s films with input from the National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress specialists, and thousands of nominations from the general public.

This year’s selections come from a diverse cohort of filmmakers: in a new record for the registry, 10 out of 25 films were directed by women, and seven were made by directors of color.

“The National Film Registry is an important record of American history, culture, and creativity, captured through one of the great American artforms, our cinematic experience,” Hayden shared in a press release. “With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of color have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles.”

Check out the full list of this year’s selections:

Suspense (1913)

Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

Bread (1918)

The Battle of the Century (1927)

With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Outrage (1950)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Lilies of the Field (1963)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)

Wattstax (1973)

Grease (1978)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Losing Ground (1982)

Illusions (1982)

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)

Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

The Ground (1993-2001)

Shrek (2001)

Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)

The Hurt Locker (2008)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Freedom Riders (2010)

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Why the Rock Icons from R.E.M. Love Libraries

I Love Libraries Admin on December 9, 2020

In a new PSA video, legendary multi-instrumentalist Mike Mills shares why he and his R.E.M. bandmates have always supported libraries.

“We love literacy,” he explains in the video. “Libraries provide free access to music, movies, and books.”

“Libraries provide a place for people of all backgrounds to discover their creative talents and nurture those creative abilities,” Mills continues.

R.E.M. fans can help spread the library love by purchasing this limited-edition jigsaw puzzle, which features artwork from the 1990 READ poster they created with the American Library Association. Proceeds from the puzzles support ALA’s advocacy for libraries as well as Books for Keeps, a Georgia-based grassroots literacy organization.

Check out Mike Mills’ PSA video below:

Turn History into Hip-Hop with the Library of Congress

Phil Morehart on November 30, 2020

The Library of Congress is home to a vast collection of archival audio and video recordings-and now, thanks to the innovative Citizen DJ project, musicians of all skill levels can remix this extensive historical material into unique beats and songs.

After debuting as a demo in May, Citizen DJ is now fully launched and available to the public. The project website features an intuitive interface for combining video and audio samples: you can cue, solo, and mute tracks just with a click of a mouse.

In addition to an enormous library of archival music clips from a variety of genres, you can also sample from radio interviews, movie dialogue, political speeches, advertisements, oral histories, and more. Every audio clip on the site is free to use and distribute (even commercially), so the creative possibilities are truly endless.

Citizen DJ is brainchild of Library of Congress 2020 Innovator in Residence Brian Foo, who brought the project to life with help from LC Labs. A long-time fan of hip-hop, Foo calls the genre “an artform and culture that weaves together references, quotations, and history into something brand new and culturally significant in its own right.” Citizen DJ celebrates rap’s rich history of sampling, allowing creators to dive deep into the Library of Congress collections and recontextualize their findings into contemporary music.

Viral Sensation Curbside Larry Talks Libraries and Informercials

Phil Morehart on November 4, 2020

This summer, a promotional video for Texas’s Harris County Public Library (HCPL) took the internet by storm, thanks to an instantly legendary character named Curbside Larry. In the clip, Larry dons a cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses to sing the praises of HCPL’s new curbside pick-up services, all with the energy and bravado of a used-car pitchman. In the dark days of the pandemic, Larry’s infectious enthusiasm brought joy to people far beyond Harris County, scoring nearly 50,000 views on YouTube and mentions in Texas Monthly and Southern Living.

In real life, Curbside Larry is actually John Schaffer, a program production specialist for HCPL’s Barbara Bush Branch Library. He recently spoke with I Love Libraries about his rise to internet fame and how his library is continuing to serve their community during COVID-19.

What’s Curbside Larry’s origin story? How did you get into character?  

I have always had a soft spot those local, late night, cheap television commercials. When searching for a good way to get the message out about curbside service, it just seemed like it might be a funny choice to try and channel those guys to get out the information that we were open for curbside service.  

Your name, obviously, is John—how did you decide on “Larry” for your alter ego’s name?  

I wish there was a better story to this, but I just started saying “Curbside Larry” while I was writing the commercial in my head.  I suppose it could have just as easily been Curbside Joe or Curbside Marvin, but for whatever the reason—“Larry” was the first name that I thought of and fortunately it works!  

Did you have any idea it was going to go viral? What’s it been like appearing on the local news and getting interviewed by Southern Living?  

Some of my co-workers claim to have known that it was going to be this successful, but I was just hoping to reach a few thousand views on our Facebook page. The interviews and TV appearances have been a lot of fun, although surreal might be a better word. I’m as interested in why Curbside Larry has struck a nerve with the public as everyone else, so it’s always interesting to hear from other people what their thoughts are on the sudden success. And of course, I love my library system so it’s always fun to have it as the topic of any conversation!  

What are your typical job duties when you aren’t playing Curbside Larry?

I’m very fortunate that my role at HCPL allows me to work in a variety of areas on a lot of different types of projects. As a Program Production Specialist, I’m responsible for the development and implementation of programs designed to promote library services and goals. This can translate into wide range of projects. For example, I recently worked with the County Judge’s Office to create videos promoting drive-through voting, helped the Texas Library Association promote membership to their organization, and worked with Gulf Coast Reads to promote this year’s book selection—and that was just in the last few weeks! I do have a background in the performance arts so it just feels natural to draw on that experience whenever it seems appropriate. 

There’s a persistent stereotype about libraries and their staff being extremely quiet and serious—do you think that’s part of why people are so delighted by the Curbside Larry character?  

That’s a great point, and yes—I do think people were surprised to see a library employee making so much noise! Sure, there are a few library employees that might fit the normal stereotype, but in my experience most librarians are very funny, educated, and extremely creative in trying to find ways to better serve their community.  

How have Harris County Public Library and the Barbara Bush Branch been doing during the pandemic in general

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into finding new ways to serve the public safely and blend curbside with online programs and services. The success of our first online summer reading program is a testament to the creativity of everyone on the Harris County team. We’re continuing to find new ways to provide services. One example that comes to mind is “Curbside Printing”: now our patrons can have printing services available so that they can print and pick up their materials without ever entering the building. 

Is there anything else you’d like the public to know about Curbside Larry or your library more generally? 

HCPL is continually looking to expand the products and services that we can provide our patrons. This will come in all forms, but I definitely think you will see an increase in our online programing. Since we have been able to successfully pivot during the pandemic shutdown, I think we are only going to gain momentum and speed in regards to new and innovative services from our library system. Of course, as long there is a need promote those programs or services, Curbside Larry is ready with his hat and glasses!

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Get This R.E.M. Puzzle for the Shiny Happy People in Your Life

Phil Morehart on October 21, 2020

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

On the poster, musicians Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe show off copies of their favorite books, including titles by Flannery O’Connor, Oscar Wilde, and Bruno Schulz.

“We were always excited to hear from friends and fans that the poster was hanging in their public library, community center, local bookstore, or in a classroom where their children attended school,” R.E.M. said in a press release.

The 1000-piece puzzle comes as more of us are spending time at home to mitigate risk of coronavirus transmission-and perhaps spinning 1987 R.E.M. album Document and contemplating if we really do “feel fine” as we face the uncertainty of life in a pandemic.

The timely gift is available for pre-order from the R.E.M. online store now and will be warmly welcomed by the rock and reading fans in your life. Products are expected to ship in plenty of time for the winter holidays.

Proceeds from the sale of the puzzle will support ALA’s advocacy and outreach efforts as well as Books for Keeps, a Georgia-based grassroots literacy organization.

“ALA is thrilled with R.E.M.’s continued support of libraries and literacy,” said ALA President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. “The proceeds they’re donating to us will help support ALA’s mission, including providing youth with reading materials that transform lives and minds.”

Pre-order the jigsaw puzzle now from R.E.M.’s website, and visit the ALA Store to check out the latest celebrity READ posters.