library

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Harvard's Gruesomely Infamous Book Has an Update

University announces it has removed binding made of human skin from 19th-century tome

(Newser) - If you've ever spent a rainy day browsing through Harvard's "Ask a Librarian" FAQ, you may have stumbled upon one particularly gruesome query : "What is the status of the book bound in human skin at Harvard?" After a decade of debate and controversy, that status now...

Library Comes Up With Purrfect Way to Forgive Lost Books

Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts is granting amnesty if you bring in cat pics

(Newser) - A Massachusetts library has implemented a temporary—and arguably purrfect—forgiveness program for those who've lost or damaged materials they've borrowed. The New York Times reports on the "March Meowness" initiative currently happening at the Worcester Public Library: For this month only, borrowers whose library cards have...

Author's Kids Book Flagged for a 'Laughable' Reason

Picture book placed on review list for Alabama library due to writer Mary-Louise Gay's last name

(Newser) - Marie-Louise Gay's children's books often pop up on various recommended lists, like "books to watch for" and books that "inspire a love of reading." At one Alabama library, however, one of the award-winning Canadian author and illustrator's picture books was placed on a list...

Lawmaker's Wife Accused of Targeting Little Free Libraries

She said she has been buying Bibles, 'swapping out' content

(Newser) - After a Facebook post from the wife of a Republican state lawmaker in Arkansas, conservatives in the state were accused of seeking to censor Little Free Libraries as well as school libraries and public libraries. "I have been swapping out books in little free libraries for awhile. I have...

Library Book Is Back, Nearly 120 Years Late

Treatise on electricity is safely back in the hands of New Bedford library in Massachusetts

(Newser) - Stories about long-lost library books being returned years after the due date aren't so uncommon. But rarely does the gap exceed a century. The New York Times reports that the New Bedford Free Public Library in Massachusetts has received one of its books last checked out in 1904 or...

'One of Most Sex-Ridden Books Around' Returned to School Shelves

Utah's Davis School District reverses decision

(Newser) - Bibles will return to the shelves in a northern Utah school district that provoked an outcry after it banned them from middle and elementary schools last month, the AP reports. Officials from the Davis School District said at a board meeting Tuesday that the district had determined the sacred text...

Library on Surprise Return: 'Do We Have a Story for You'

Book overdue for 44 years, $20 check turns up in the mail at Deschutes Public Library in Oregon

(Newser) - Life moves fast, so you may not be aware that Saturday is the last day of Return Borrowed Books Week . One library in Oregon has some news to share on that topic. "Do we have a story for you," reads a Wednesday Facebook post from the Deschutes Public...

Library Officer Is Killed During Safety Training

Retired police officer in DC was showing her and others how to use extendable batons

(Newser) - A retired police lieutenant enlisted to teach library officers how to use extendable batons shot and killed one of his pupils in Washington, DC, on Thursday, according to police. Jesse Porter, 58, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Maurica Manyan, 25, of Indian Head, Md., a...

New York Public Library Has a Massive Giveaway

A half-million books can be picked up for free at any of the 92 branches over the summer

(Newser) - The New York Public Library really wants to help people build their home libraries, and to accomplish that, it is giving away a half-million books this summer. The books, which are also meant to help young people stay engaged with reading over the summer, can be picked up at any...

NY Public Library to US: Get Your Banned Books Here

Program makes 4 titles banned in other jurisdictions free to download

(Newser) - The New York Public Library is pushing back against book bans elsewhere in the country by making banned books available to all—with no New York library card needed. The Books for All initiative will allow readers over 13 anywhere in the country to access four books that have been...

8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made Comic Book Onto Library Shelf
8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made
Comic Book Onto Library Shelf
in case you missed it

8-Year-Old Sneaks Self-Made Comic Book Onto Library Shelf

Now there's a waiting list for Dillon Helbig's graphic novel in Boise, Idaho

(Newser) - Who needs a literary agent? Not this 8-year-old author from Boise, Idaho, who just self-published and promoted his comic book in a most unique way. Turns out Dillon Helbig snuck a copy of his DIY comic, The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis—by "Dillon His Self"—onto...

America's Biggest Library System Scraps All Late Fees

All prior New York Public Library fines have been erased

(Newser) - Late fees are now a thing of the past at the nation's largest public library system. The New York Public Library system says late fees have been eliminated forever and all prior fines, including the replacement cost for lost items, have been cleared from the accounts of library card...

Book Is Back in Library After 50 Years

Woman sends $20 toward the fine

(Newser) - A book checked out a half-century ago has been anonymously returned to a library in northeastern Pennsylvania, officials said. The 1967 copy of Coins You Can Collect by Burton Hobson arrived last month at the Plymouth Public Library in Luzerne County along with a $20 bill, the AP reports. An...

Man to Library: Here's That Dylan Album I Borrowed in 1973

He donated $175 plus one of his own albums to Cleveland-area library

(Newser) - After nearly five decades of blowin' in the wind, a double Bob Dylan album finally has a direction home: A man living in San Francisco has mailed the vinyl back to an Ohio library 48 years after it was supposed to be returned. Howard Simon recently sent the album along...

A Library Voiced Its Support for BLM. A Sheriff Pounced

Dan Coverley has backtracked since telling Nevada library not to call 911

(Newser) - A Nevada library recently posted a proposed statement on diversity and inclusion, and it didn't sit well with the county sheriff. The Douglas County Public Library "denounces all acts of violence, racism, and disregard for human rights. We support #Black Lives Matter," the library wrote in the...

More Americans Are Going to Libraries Than to Movies

Per a Gallup poll that bookworms will love

(Newser) - Next time you're concerned about the state of the world today, consider this: More Americans are going to the library than to the movies. That heartwarming stat is brought to you courtesy of a Gallup poll looking at nine common leisure activities, LitHub reports. Here's the average of...

Centuries-Old Manuscript Has a Surprising Author

Queen Elizabeth I's messy handwriting was the big giveaway, historian says

(Newser) - In what the Daily Express is calling a "royal bombshell," a centuries-old manuscript recently unearthed in a UK library turns out to have been penned by someone rather unexpected. The 42-page text, a translation of a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, has taken up residence at London'...

'Darn Smart' Idea Helped Save Reagan Library

Goats ate vegetation around library, fending off flames

(Newser) - As a new wildfire started up in California's hillsides this week, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library became a target—and officials are now patting themselves on the back for a "darn smart" idea that may have helped save it. CNN reports that the Easy Fire kicked up on...

A Major Library System Makes a Big Move

Chicago Public Library is ditching late fees

(Newser) - The Chicago Public Library system no longer issues late fees, making it the largest public library system in the country to toss overdue fines. In a move aiming to make access to libraries more equitable, the city is also dumping any currently outstanding late penalties. "Like too many Chicagoans,...

Man Finds Out Late Fee for Book He Took Out in 1966

Luckily, Harry Krame, 65, won't have to pay for tome he borrowed from library in 1965

(Newser) - If you have school-age children, remind them often to check their rooms (and all around the rest of the house) for overdue library books—otherwise, a half-century might fly by before you know it, and they could get socked with a $2,000 late fee. Harry Krame of Fair Lawn,...

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