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On September 21, during Banned Books Week, Chicago Public Library (CPL) announced itself a sanctuary for endangered stories, establishing Book Sanctuaries across 77 neighborhoods and 81 library branches. Book Sanctuaries are designed to expand local access to banned and challenged books, and CPL has a free downloadable toolkit for individuals and groups looking to establish their own sanctuaries, whether in physical or digital spaces. By creating a Book Sanctuary, people “are providing unwavering support and protection for the freedom to read,” according to a statement from CPL, and are committing to collecting and protecting endangered books; making endangered books broadly accessible; hosting book talks and events to generate conversation, including storytimes focused on diverse characters and stories; or educating others on the history of book banning and burning.
Chicago Public Library, September 21
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Phil Morehart writes: “In their bestselling young adult memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2020), author and activist George M. Johnson tells the story of their life growing up Black and queer in the United States, while also addressing topics like racism, gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, and sexual abuse. Johnson is serving as honorary chair of this year’s Banned Books Week, and they spoke with American Libraries about their book, why it’s being challenged, and how it can serve as a call to action.”
AL Online, Sept. 21
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Joanna Margaret writes: “ Over the past few years, the aesthetic known as Dark Academia, often associated with The Secret History, has become one of the hottest and most pervasive trends on social media, a veritable subculture featuring storied institutions of higher learning, autumn leaves, Gothic architecture, dark décor, and tweed jackets. If you, too, are interested in learning more about this fascinating trend, here are 6 novels that capture the essence of the genre.
CrimeReads, September 15
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Ruth Wong writes: “Last October, I attended a Wikipedia editing party themed around homelessness. At this event, I realized that by contributing to Wikipedia, I could contribute to how history is written. One month in, someone noticed my edits. The other editor said that my sources were too biased. That’s fair: I dove into this topic and found that my original edit was incorrect. But the other editor also tried to delete my user page, claiming that I was using it for self-promotion, which was totally uncalled for.”
Diff, September 17
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Chronicling America, the searchable online database of historic American newspapers, will soon include digitized newspapers from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds Chronicling America, recently awarded its first grant award to a National Digital Newspaper Program partner for the state of New Hampshire, its final state, ensuring access to significant newspapers from the entire United States. Established in 2005 and maintained online at the Library of Congress, Chronicling America offers free online access to 19.9 million pages of newspapers.
Library of Congress, September 13
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Nitish Pahwa and Emma Wallenbrock write: “In March 2020, as bookstores and libraries joined other businesses in closing their doors, the Internet Archive tried a virtual solution. It had long offered an Open Library, which contains scanned books that can be checked out online by users one at a time. In response to the pandemic, it temporarily lifted limits on the number of scanned copies available for checkout.” The National Emergency Library ended in under three months, but a lawsuit alleging “willful mass copyright infringement” is ongoing and recently escalated.
Slate, September 12
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Kathy Johnson Bowles writes: “So many times, I’ve heard the lament from colleagues “I don’t know how you do it. I could never ask anyone for money.” After every similar expression of exasperated longing (with a thinly veiled piteous sniff for the Oliver-esque position of a development executive), I return with, “I don’t ask for money; I ask people to share our vision and make an investment.” Through the guidance of mentors, working with successful fundraisers and securing numerous gifts, I’ve developed a philosophy that anchors the process of asking for money. Here are a few concepts I’ve found helpful.
Inside Higher Ed, September 13
