Erin, NOPL Brewerton Branch Manager, rounds up the latest and greatest news connected to libraries!
The National Book Foundation has released the longlist of contenders for the National Book Award (NBA) in the Fiction category for 2024. As I type, the library system has copies of 8 of the 10 titles. I predict (using mundane means only) that before this article goes to publish, all will be available. If we were to judge by the number of requests for the book, James by Percival Everett would win, with a whopping 84 requests (at the time of writing). The runners-up are All Fours by Miranda July and Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner, both with 38 requests (but for how long?). Fayetteville Free Library was the only library at the time of the announcement to own a copy of Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda. Hats off to their foresight (magical or otherwise)! NPR has released its list of fiction and non-fiction titles to look forward to in the fall. Can you spot which title is on both lists?
The list of potential NBA winners is diverse. The New York Times published a piece titled “The Black List Helped Reshape Hollywood. Can It Change Publishing?” which showcases a possible mechanism for even greater numbers of diverse writers to be found and published, namely the Black List, compiled by Franklin Leonard for the past 20 years. As the article explains, the Black List is “an annual survey of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays.” Many of the screenplays have been optioned and turned into blockbuster films. The article suggests that this could be the same for fiction writers who now have the option to add their manuscripts to the List. (OCPL patrons can access New York Times articles with their library card at this link to Gale NYT.) I am interested to see how this foray into fiction for the Black List evolves and I am hopeful that new talent will be revealed!
Speaking of publishers taking a hint, Wired reports that the Internet Archive (IA) has lost on appeal of a major copyright case. You can also find coverage of this ruling here. The court found that the National Emergency Library (NEL) project lead by IA violated copyright law. As Wired states, the NEL allowed people mandated to quarantine at home due to pandemic restrictions access to the books they needed for school, work, research, and entertainment. IA was hoping that a “fair use” interpretation of the IA’s activities would overturn the ruling. The article shares that, “James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and internet law at Cornell University, says the verdict is “not terribly surprising” in the context of how courts have recently interpreted fair use.” I use the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine tool weekly to do research in both personal and professional contexts and I appreciate the work that the IA does. However, the law is the law.
As banning books is becoming the law in at least one state, as AP reported last month, Little Free Library stewards are pushing back. MSN reports that the Little Free Library organization has created a map for users to find banned books–books removed from circulation from schools, libraries, or stores due to community, state, or national response. “Banned books are welcome in Little Free Library book-sharing boxes,” said the organization’s executive director, Greig Metzger,” according to the article.
Little Free Libraries (LFLs) are small structures that individuals or groups install on their front lawns or other accessible outdoor spots to provide a location for free community book exchange. Neighbors and visitors can take a book or leave a book, promoting literacy and neighborhood connections through shared reading resources. (Perhaps in a decade or two your humanoid house robot will have a subroutine to refill your LFL so you can keep reading without interruptions!) The LFL organization maintains a world map of little free library locations online. NOPL maintains two LFLs in local community parks as part of our outreach and literacy efforts and there are an estimated 11 LFLs in our local communities run by your neighbors and friends. We applaud their work!
