LISNews: Librarian News

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BANNED BOOKS WEEK September 25 - October 2, 2010.

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009.

Post your plans & or activities in a comment below please.

Nancy Pearl requests her listeners assistance on her most recent edition of NPR Pearl's Picks "Under the Radar"...

"I only recently realized that many of the works of fiction that I most enjoy are those that push genre boundaries. I especially like fiction that is mostly realistic, but every once in a while zigs confidently into fantasy. We tend to call such works "magical realism" when they're written by South American or Indian or Latin American writers — think Jorge Luis Borges' short stories, Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, or Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. But in fact, these great works are being written by authors of all countries. Since the books themselves can be mainstream fiction, mysteries, Westerns or fantasy (or any mixture thereof), I'd love to come up with a one- or two- or possibly three-word label for such works that captures their essence (something other than "unclassifiable"), but so far I've drawn a blank. Anyone care to help? Have at it — I'll give you some examples of books that fit what I have in mind — Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker, Under Heaven or The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke — and you find the best descriptor. Okay? You can send me your suggestions at nancy@nancypearl.com."

Lori Reed, creator with Heather Braum of the website Save Libraries is preparing background for a news story on which library systems are facing cuts. We could use your assistance and make the biggest impact and the loudest entreaties to budgetary decision-makers with a near complete list of libraries facing cuts.

Apart from the states of New York and New Jersey, San Jose CA, Boston, MA Charlotte NC and Jacksonville, FL...please let us know what other state, city or regional systems may have to be cut back or cut out by adding your comment below.