Libraries

Book censorship in school libraries continues to rise. A Texas school district pulled 41 titles from the shelves, including the Bible, to put them under further review. Missouri passed a bill that makes any text with "visual depictions" of "graphic material" illegal to have available in schools. This has caused the removal of many graphic novels.  Read more

In a move that has alarmed library supporters, a new law in Kentucky will give politicians control over local library boards in the state. According to a report in the Lexington Herald Leader, SB 167-which came back from the dead last week with a dramatic veto override-will empower local politicians to "appoint whomever they want to library boards and block major library spending."  Read more

This year, my detective Vera Stanhope turns 21. She first appeared in 1999 in a book called The Crow Trap, which was conceived while I walked miles round the Northumberland countryside with my husband, Tim. He had suffered a major psychotic episode and been hospitalised. Though he'd been allowed home, he was still very poorly and very restless. Walking was the best remedy. It was autumn.  Read more

Two great champions of reading for pleasure return to remind us that it really is an important thing to do - and that libraries create literate citizens

Words by Neil Gaiman and illustrations by Chris Riddell

Hemingway wrote in cafes, nursing a marc, and later at a stand-up desk surrounded by polydactyl cats. Melville used an upstairs study in Pittsfield with a view of Mt. Greylock, which in winter looks very much like a white whale. Virginia Woolf had a room of her own and Edith Wharton was said to write in bed.  Read more