If anybody would like to archive their UK general election 2024 campaigning leaflets, I can send you a stamp addressed envelope to post them to the library here .
As I walked into the polling booth with my ballot in hand, my phone pinged. It was a message from the library to say that the book I reserved is ready for me now. It struck me that I held two great pillars of civilised society in my hand in that moment.
What's next in America's book ban battle? The book ban ban. Minnesota's Gov. Tim Walz has signed into law a measure prohibiting the removal of “a book or other material based solely on its viewpoint or the messages, ideas, or opinions it conveys.” The law allows books to be challenged, but mandates that trained and licensed librarians be part of the review. Minnesota's librarians and educators told CNN they welcome legal criteria for how to address book challenges, since some are worried about losing their jobs if they order books that prove controversial.
The Seattle Public Library was hit with a ransomware attack. A library that has offered youth across the country access to its digital holdings with a special library card. Curious. Sickening. It's still open for physical books, using paper forms for borrowing. Bring your library cards or at least the number! @bookstodon @books #books#libraries#ransomware https://shelftalkblog.wordpress.com/today/
Anyone else read adult books in like middle school? And instead of adults freaking out, they encouraged it? I read horror "early" & everyone from teachers to neighbors were thrilled to recommend more, plenty with sexual content, worried more if the gore/terror would be too much.
My heart aches for the children who will no longer have access to their local library because some arrogant assholes decided to be offended by books with new ideas and different perspectives.
Today in Labor History May 15, 1917: The Library Employees’ Union was founded in New York City. It was the first union of public library workers in the United States. One of their main goals was to elevate the low status of women library workers and their miserable salaries. Maud Malone (1873-1951) was a founding member of the union. She was also a militant suffragist and an infamous heckler at presidential campaign speeches.
"The pile beside my bed never shrinks; at the bottom of the stack are books I've been planning to crack open for months. My shelves remain full of lingering aspirations," writes the Walrus's Michelle Cyca. She looks at the problem of unread books, and the difficulty in offloading our libraries. What do you do with your unwanted books?
Israel had destroyed literally all universities in Gaza and damaged over 400 schools. Lest we forget also Israel's deliberate targeting of university professors and academics.
Public libraries must remain public cultura infrastructure if they're to fulfill their mission at all, let alone survive.
Worth noting how little it costs to keep them functioning compared to what cities everywhere pay cops--who, lest we forget, have no constitutional obligation to save, serve, or protect the public; to know the laws they're "applying", or not to commit crimes themselves.
Via @tuphlos, I just found out that Oklahoma's Supreme Court bocked the right wing state from banning books from public schools and penalizing schools who refused to comply with the fascists.
what the fuck do we do. theyve destroyed communication in gaza. they keep bombing. we don't even know how bad it is. if it was that bad when the world was watching. Jesus.
A broad coalition of human rights organizations is calling for a Congressional investigation into Big Tech and Publishing’s overreaching control of the content, reader data, and existence of digital books. Join in and contact your representatives now!