While Texas continues to be a leading state in the number of book bans reported each year, a recent challenge at the Montgomery County Memorial Library has been reversed. The Texas Freedom to Read Project reported that a children’s book, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag)—an account of American colonization and Native traditions described from an Indigenous perspective—was challenged in September and subsequently moved out of the juvenile nonfiction area to the fiction collection.
As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in work, creative pursuits, and the generation of online misinformation, public libraries have a major new role to play in digital literacy.
Election Day 2024 held mixed results for libraries on the ballot across the country. EveryLibrary identified and tracked 79 library measures on local and statewide ballots about funding, buildings, and governance. Of those, 55 were for long-term operating revenue, 10 for building projects, seven for annual budgets, one was a defunding measure, two concerned library governance, and four were statewide issues.
Rachel Cusk’s Parade wins the Goldsmiths Prize, Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo by Craig L. Symonds wins the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize, and Mara Faye Lethem’s translation of Irene Solà’s Catalan novel When I Sing, Mountains Dance wins the Lewis Galantière Award. The Booker Prize shortlist is announced, and Vulture adds to their list of the best books of 2024 so far. EveryLibrary warns that U.S. election results will mean more uncertainty for libraries. Plus new title bestsellers.
Suad Aldarra is awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. LJ kicks off its countdown to the reveal of the best books of 2024. People shares best books for Native American Heritage Month. DK acquires UK-based digital publisher Canelo. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage, the top holds title of the week. Plus, interviews arrive with Peter Ames Carlin, Jody Hobbs Hesler, and Jenna Tang.
Shortlists for the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize and the Voss Literary Prize are announced. Simon & Schuster will distribute ACC Art Books. Politico writes about how Jon Grinspan’s 2021 book, The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought To Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915, has become a cult favorite among members of Congress. Martha Stewart’s 100th cookbook arrives this week, along with a new Netflix documentary on her life; Eater looks at Stewart’s other 99 cookbooks. Plus, USA Today highlights Salma Hayek’s new series adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate.
The successful renovation of a historic structure for contemporary use is a vivid example of how libraries respond to rapidly evolving community conditions. This year, a variety of approaches create modern facilities that honor history.
As libraries expand into community hubs serving multiple purposes, they have introduced playfulness into their designs to encourage exploration, discovery, and above all, wonder.
Libraries continue to emerge from the pandemic, with spaces designed to promote social interaction along with quiet study—places that work for everyone.
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