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Some older Kindle e-readers will soon no longer be able to connect to the internet to download new books, Amazon said in a statement last week. First- and second-generation Kindles did not come with Wi-Fi functions included, using mobile internet only. But the slower technology used at the time—2G and 3G internet—is being discontinued in some places, particularly the United States.
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Some parents in the Upper Saint Clair (Pa.) School District want the book Just Mercy to be changed to optional reading, not required reading, for students in the district. They spoke at a school board meeting, thanking the district for tabling its vote on the curriculum for further review. One parent said the book teaches critical race theory, which is that racism is embedded in the US legal system and policies. The book follows the wrongfully convicted and their fight for freedom.
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Aurelien Breeden writes: “When the French government launched a smartphone app that gives 300 euros to every 18-year-old in the country for cultural purchases like books and music, or exhibition and performance tickets, most young people’s impulse wasn’t to buy Proust’s greatest works or to line up and see Molière. Instead, France’s teenagers flocked to manga.”
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Tasia Bass writes: “Generations of parents have told their children fairy tales—stories imparting moral lessons that are easier to remember when a princess or evil ogre is involved. The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and other folklorists dedicated their lives to collecting these tales. Some of these stories became common household names, like Snow White and Cinderella. But there are many weird, quirky, and sometimes incredibly dark stories you may not know. Here are 11 of the lesser-known ones.”
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During the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in June, ALA Council unanimously adopted a new ninth principle on racial and social justice to the Association’s Code of Ethics. This new professional guideline illustrates ALA’s continued commitment to providing library professionals with resources that promote equity within library service and librarianship. The ninth principle reads: “We affirm the inherent dignity and rights of every person. We work to recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases; to confront inequity and oppression; to enhance diversity and inclusion; and to advance racial and social justice in our libraries, communities, profession, and associations through awareness, advocacy, education, collaboration, services, and allocation of resources and spaces.”
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Latifah Muhammad writes: “LeVar Burton’s dream of hosting Jeopardy! has been a decade in the making, and it finally came true on July 26 with Burton kicking off his run as guest host of the long-running quiz show. Besides helping millions of kids fall in love with reading, Burton has written several books of his own, narrated books for other authors, hosted public book readings via the LeVar Burton Reads podcast, and recently launched a book club. Here is a roundup of some of the books that Burton has recommended.”
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Looking for online newspapers and their archives? Ancestry’s Newspapers.com archive includes searchable articles from more than 21,000 newspapers dating back to the 1700s. A similar service exists in the UK at the British Newspaper Archive, which allows you to search archived British newspapers for free but only allows registered users to read digitized content. The NewspaperArchive provides a similar subscription service, allowing you to search newspapers from around the world. The Newspaper Map provides direct links to thousands of newspapers currently operating all around the world.
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Richard Byrne writes: “Creating multimedia projects like videos, podcasts, and audio slideshows is a great way for students to develop a variety of skills. Finding images that meet that criteria is easy. Finding audio that fits that criteria is a bit of a challenge for some. That’s why I’ve put together a new video that highlights my three go-to places to find free audio that students can use in their multimedia projects.”
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Christianna Silva writes: “I read a lot, and I love the low pressure engagement of a virtual book club. I was bad at attending book clubs in real life before the pandemic, because my book club friends and I all have very busy schedules, so finding a time for us all to meet up was difficult. Scheduling online hangouts is easier because you can do them from anywhere—at your family’s house, with your partner, or even from your own bed. But it’s not just the scheduling—there are four main reasons book clubs are ruined by an IRL meetup, and why I’ll be staying home.”
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Terra Dankowski writes: “As a woman who is mixed race, has experienced elite schools and generational poverty, and has been thin and fat at different times in her life, Savala Nolan has long felt that she occupies in-between spaces in society. The lawyer, speaker, and writer (whose work has appeared in Bust, Time, and Vogue) explores this liminal territory in her debut collection, Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body (Simon & Schuster, July), touching topics such as dating, motherhood, and police brutality. American Libraries spoke with Nolan, executive director of the Thelton E. Henderson School of Social Justice at Berkeley (Calif.) Law, about identity, representation, and how libraries can help each of us find our story.”
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Terra Dankowski writes: “When Tenzin Kalsang, children’s librarian at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library’s Williamsburg branch, started an online series of bilingual storytimes in April 2020, the native Tibetan speaker couldn’t have predicted she’d become an overnight sensation. After all, BPL wasn’t new to hosting programs in Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and other languages—nor was the system unfamiliar with virtual storytimes, which typically attract 100–300 people. But her program garnered tens of thousands of viewers, from patrons in her neighborhood to students attending a Tibetan school in Australia to monks living in Nepal.”
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A sign addressing systemic racism was recently removed from the Whitefish Bay (Wisc.) Public Library grounds following vocal criticism from some in the community—including former Milwaukee Bucks player Steve Novak. The sign, which was placed in a rock garden display outside the library by anti-bias organization Bay Bridge Wisconsin, read: “Whitefish Bay will be a welcoming community that recognizes systemic racism, and actively works to address and dismantle it. How will you be a bridge in helping to repair and build a more equitable community?”
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