The Sharjah Book Authority’s 23rd cycle of its Library Literature Prizes was part of a forum featuring discussion of libraries’ challenges.
PEN: US School-Year Book Bannings Jump 33 Percent Over Last Year
The surge in book bannings has affected at least 1,207 authors, 268 illustrators, and 14 translators, per PEN America’s new report.
Italy: Publishers Call for Pandemic-Era Library Funds to Continue
Italy’s publishers are joined by their bookselling and library colleagues in an effort to make COVID-era library funding perpetual.
Open Access: MIT Press to Expand its ‘Direct to Open’ Model
With its ‘Direct to Open’ model now in its second year, MIT Press is opening 82 works this year and is working with 322 libraries.
PRH Rolls Out Banned Books Resources: ‘Let Kids Read’
Penguin Random House’s new ‘banned books resources site’ is a consumer-facing compendium of connections, assists, and ideas.
Open Access: 100 Big Ten Titles on Gender and Sexuality
The first curation of free-to-read open-access titles from the Big Ten Open Books project features 100 works on sexuality and gender.
A US Court Temporarily Blocks a Library and Bookstore Law
A part of Arkansas’ Act 372 would make it a crime for booksellers and librarians to give minors certain state-disapproved books.
Free Expression: French and US Industries’ New Challenges
Parallel to a Texas law aimed at bookstores, the French government seeks to limit sales of a YA novel, Manu Causse’s Bien trop petit.
ALA: Book Bannings in the USA Broke All Records in 2022
A 38-percent jump, year-over-year: A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship in the United States in 2022, ALA reports.
UK: Manchester University Press Enters Distribution Deal with Germany’s De Gruyter
Scholarly presses: Manchester University Press agrees to have its lists and ‘ManchesterHive’ digitally distributed by De Gruyter.