Links to Click: January 19, 2024
The Rise of #CleanTok, Reading Instruction, Anti-Book Ban Wins, and more.
It might feel like it’s been longer, but this year is only just wrapping up its third week. Nothing has been normal or routine yet in my neck of the woods. Between getting over a foot of snow last week followed by a deep freeze–I write this to you now, when it is 16 degrees and that feels like the tropics!–and dozens of other weird things, I do not yet feel like my feet are beneath me.
That’d also explain the silence here. Getting time to sit and write has been limited outside of work. I got back into my weekly dance class, too, after several weeks away and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. We’re doing jazz this season and even though I enjoyed ballet, jazz is my jam.
I’ve got a big pile of links of my work over the last few weeks, as well as a wide range of other stuff worth checking out.
My Work Recently
Libraries
Maybe one of the pieces I am most proud of ever working on is this toolkit and resource guide for library workers and advocates about trauma in the library. It kind of began as a class paper, which then led to meeting the folks behind Urban Libraries Unite, which led to collaborating a bit on a project like this. Please share with anyone for whom it might be helpful.
A rash of bomb threats hits Minnesota public libraries.
Book Banning and Censorship
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most (if not the most!) conservative higher courts in the country, suggests that the Texas READER Act is unconstitutional. This is a huge victory.
Anti-book ban legislation has been introduced in Massachusetts and New Mexico this season.
What librarian and anti-censorship advocate Amanda Jones has been up to (including her forthcoming book on the state of book bans in America).
Escambia County Schools in Florida “temporarily” removed 1600 some books recently, including several dictionaries, the Guinness Book of World Records, and more. Related: the lawsuit against the district can continue forth.
Why public libraries need to look at what’s happening in the schools related to book banning and prepare.
Books
All of the hardcover YA books hitting shelves this winter.
And all of the YA paperback releases this winter.
The books which hit the public domain this year.
On the All The Backlist podcast, I talked about two excellent adult memoirs written in unique and compelling ways.
What I’ve Consumed Lately
I did not listen to the “Sold A Story” limited run podcast when it came out in 2022 but did this week. It’s a fascinating and frustrating look at why/how reading curriculums have been failing to teach kids how to read.
This piece doesn’t tell anything revolutionary, but it is put together so well and ties a ton of threads together: Why America hates its children.
What’s with TikTok’s LED lights obsession? I’ve seen TikToks recently of those who bought into the trend deciding they’re no longer cool.
Speaking of TikTok, this piece on CleanTok is *fascinating*.
I do not know why this fascinated me so much, but it did: is there honey in Vicks NyQuil Severe with Honey?
For my pals who need the support/proof: ADHD medication prescriptions jumped significantly over the last few years. Most likely to be diagnosed? Adult women. That has been in the research, and though the focus here is on meds, it’s nice to see this mainstream acknowledgement.
That’s all for now. I’ve got a long form post I plan to send out this weekend, but that’ll be dependent on the week going to plan.
Stay warm and stay well, y’all.