You Oughta Be at the Library This Autumn!

September and October are exciting months in the library community! September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. It's a great opportunity to register for a card unlike any other, one that gives you access to a wealth of resources (many of them accessible from home)! I also think it's a great opportunity to learn about what the library has to offer. We try to promote our databases and programs, but I'm still surprised at the number of people who don't know that we offer homework help, foreign language instruction, online book clubs, downloadable e-books, downloadable music, anime movie nights, and more!

And don't forget about Banned Books Week, September 30th-October 6th. It's a celebration of literature that has been challenged over the years, and a collective statement on the importance of free access to information. We should all be able to read what we want, and we should allow others to do the same! Different perspectives on things encourage conversation and make the world a more interesting place. Need some help selecting the perfect title? We've got you covered!

And finally, October 14th-20th is Teen Read Week. Get caught with a great book and check to see what your library has going on. We librarians love to celebrate literature wherever we can, however we can. There's guaranteed to be something cool happening in your area. And don't forget: your opinion counts. Have a great idea for a program? Let your favorite librarian know!

Many librarians also have awesome things planned for Halloween, so as you get geared up for the 31st, keep the library in mind. We've also made an effort to collect great books and movies that will be sure to make your blood run cold!

Happy autumn, and we'll see you at the library!

Lauren Myracle Responds to Being Most-Banned Author

If you want to make a book popular, ban it. Some of the greatest classics have been highly criticized over the years. And why do we love them? We love them because they're bold, daring, innovative. They challenge the way things are done. They drag our secrets out into the light. They make us uncomfortable. They change us. We are made better by our exposure to them!

According to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, Lauren Myracle's TTYL is this year's most challenged book. Myracle confesses to crying when she received the news. She assumed that there were forces out there that wanted her to go away for her gratuitous openness. The feeling slowly faded as she noted that OIC's e-mail had congratulated her. Being banned was an honor. Still, she admits to feeling sad about being banned. Sad for the close-minded adults who would keep truth from their children, sad for caretakers who, in an attempt to protect their children, keep them from knowing the world and growing.

I invite you to read Myracle's response and form your own opinion of her work and the outcries of those so opposed to it.

What are your thoughts?