September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! Check out these books that feature libraries or have characters who work in libraries. Bonus: movies with a library scene!
What You Wish For by Katherine Center: School librarian, Samantha, loves her job and brings passion to everything she does. New principal, Duncan, lives for rules and regulations, but Samantha knows he hasn’t always been that way. As the school spirals into chaos, Sam and Duncan begin to find who they really are and take a chance on each other. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book), Libby (audio), and Hoopla (audio)
Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes: Alice Wright expects life in Kentucky to be different than her stifling life in England was. When she feels the same claustrophobia that she did before, she jumps at the chance to begin delivering books as a part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s traveling library. This is a story of friendship, love and what can happen when you go out of your comfort zone. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book) and Libby (audio)
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng: Bird lives with his father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a library. After years of economic instability and violence, authorities are relocating children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries are forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, a Chinese American poet who left the family years ago. After receiving a cryptic letter, Bird begins journeys through the ranks of an underground network of librarians to New York City where change is coming. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book) and Libby (audio/e-book)
The Library Book by Susan Orlean: Starting with the story of the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986 that burned for over seven hours and ruined four hundred thousand books.. Take a journey through the stacks and explore the institutions that provide more than just books for their patrons, and why libraries remain an essential part of the country. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book) and Libby (audio/e-book)
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims: Margo works at a small town public library where her colleagues and patrons know her congeniality and charm. No one suspects that she is actually leaving a trail of countless premature deaths in her wake. Not until Patricia joins the library staff and quickly notices Margo’s sinister edge. When a patron dies in the library bathroom, Patricia begins digging into Margo’s mysterious past. Available on Boundless (e-book) and Libby (audio)
If you don’t already have a library card, sign up for one this month and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Triple Dipple’s gift certificate. And, show your library card at participating businesses for special deals during September!
By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week (Sep 22-28) draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. Celebrate Banned Books Week by reading a book from the Top 100 Most Challenged Books list of the past 10 years.
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: In 1970s Afghanistan, twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his friend Hassan promises to help him. Neither of the boys can foresee what would happen to Hassan that afternoon. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find redemption. Reasons for challenges: LGBTQ+ content, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book/graphic novel), Libby (e-book), and Hoopla (movie)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Told through Scout’s eyes, and following, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus as they deal with the arrest and trial of Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping a white woman. Atticus takes on the case despite the community’s threats and his low chances of winning, and Scout observes the trial unfold with childlike curiosity. Reasons for challenges: depiction of violence, offensive language, and racism. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book), Libby (audio/e-book), and Hoopla (audio/e-book/movie)
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: Growing up in Lorain, Ohio, as a young black girl, Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue like the blond-haired, blue-eyed children in America. In 1941, her life changes, but in a much more devastating way than she was praying for. Reasons for challenges: depiction of rape, incest, claims to be sexually explicit, EDI content. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book) and Libby (e-book)
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult: Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens–until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town’s residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. Reasons for challenges: sexual references, offensive language, violence. Available on Boundless (e-book) and Libby (e-book)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: When sober, Jeannette’s father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to prosperity in New York. Reasons for challenges: depictions of violence, sexuality, alcoholism, and profanity. Available on Boundless (audio/e-book) and Libby (audio)