libraries

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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...

Book Borrowed in 1919 Finally Returns to Library

'Famous Composers Vol. 1' had already cheated destruction once

(Newser) - If the St. Paul Public Library was that way, somebody would be facing a major penalty for returning a book 103 years late, the city's mayor joked. "At the 1919 rate of a penny per day, that would have been a $36k fine," tweeted Melvin Carter, whose...

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...

Obama's Dissent to Book Ban Hits TikTok

Former president says censorship of opposing viewpoints is 'profoundly misguided'

(Newser) - Fighting back against efforts to ban books from schools and public libraries, the American Library Association has found a prominent supporter in former President Obama. In an open letter to the nation's librarians, Obama denounces attempts to censor "some of the books that shaped my life—and...

'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...

Illinois Libraries That Ban Books Won't Get Funding

'First of its kind' law has been signed

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans, the AP reports. Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state...

Arkansas Suit Fights Law That Could Jail Librarians

Legislation calls for violating constitutional rights, libraries and publishers argue

(Newser) - Public libraries and book publishers have joined forces to fight a new Arkansas law that they see not only as an attempt to limit constitutional rights by severely restricting access to material, but as a threat to librarians themselves. The coalition filed a federal lawsuit Friday to prevent Act 372...

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...

Idaho Librarian Resigns Over 'Atmosphere of Extremism'

Among other things, Kimber Glidden was accused of 'grooming children for pedophiles'

(Newser) - “Nothing in my background could have prepared me for the political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics, and threatening behavior currently being employed in the community,” librarian Kimber Glidden wrote in a statement announcing her resignation Aug. 16, per NBC News . Troubles began in March—a...

Darwin's Stolen Notebooks Turn Up in a Gift Bag

'Happy Easter' reads a note signed by 'X'

(Newser) - Charles Darwin’s notebooks, thought to have been stolen from Cambridge University's library nearly 22 years ago, have turned up in a bright pink gift bag with a note reading "Happy Easter." The package was discovered March 9 outside the librarian's office in a public area...

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
Feb 5, 2022 6:30 AM CST

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...

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...

Books Are Vanishing in Hong Kong Libraries

Authorities are 'one step away from ... actual book banning,' says activist Joshua Wong

(Newser) - Now unavailable in Hong Kong libraries: books by leading democracy activists. At least nine titles by authors like Joshua Wong and Tanya Chan are disappearing from city libraries only days after China passed a severe national security law , the South China Morning Post reports. The agency in charge of Hong...

Texas Governor on Reopening: 'It's Time to Set a New Course'

Stay-at-home orders are expiring, and some states, like Texas, are beginning incremental reopenings

(Newser) - Friday's the day for Texas. That's the day after its stay-at-home order expires, and when Gov. Greg Abbott says venues such as restaurants, movie theaters, malls, museums, retail stores, and libraries may reopen, though at 25% of their usual capacity, report the Texas Tribune and Dallas Morning News...

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...

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,...

Patron Surprises Library With 84-Year-Old Find

His mom took out a book in 1934 and never returned it

(Newser) - If you've been on the waiting list to take Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology out of the Shreve Memorial Library, you're now in luck. That's because a copy that's been missing for 84 years from the library in Shreveport, La., has finally been returned, the...

For $80 a Night, Bibliophiles Can Sleep at This Library

With all the Gladstone Library's 250K books

(Newser) - Book lovers rejoice: There exists in this world a library that welcomes visitors hoping to stay the night. Gladstone's Library , located about 200 miles northwest of London in the quaint village of Hawarden in Wales, is named after former British Prime Minister William Gladstone, who was himself a bibliophile...

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