With most of the nation’s major library systems closing and a wave of independent booksellers closing to the public, at least, we checked in with Barnes & Noble to see how they are approaching the situation. “We have reduced store hours in all of our stores, and are prepared to close stores promptly along with guidance from local and national officials,” a spokesperson told PL. “We have also enhanced cleaning in all of our stores, and have alerted all employees who are not feeling well, or need to care for family members, to stay home.” As physical outlets for obtaining […]
Archives for March 2020
Status Reports: Bookstore Closings, Support Efforts
Along with the significant shutdown of the nation’s public libraries, independent booksellers are joining the call for social distancing and closing on a temporary basis, at least to the public, with many stores continuing to process shipments and/or make deliveries. Powell’s Books is among the most prominent to close so far, at least through the end of March, shuttering all five retail locations while continuing to operate online. New York area stores announcing closures include Astoria Bookshop, Three Lives & Company, Inquiring Minds (New Paltz), and Words Bookstore (Maplewood, NJ). Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI was among the first […]
Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Tops April Library Reads
Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is the top pick for April’s Library Reads. Also on the list are Veronica Roth’s The Chosen Ones and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Book of Longings, both excerpted and available for download in our Buzz Books Spring/Summers 2020. The rest of the list: A Bad Day for Sunshine, by Darynda Jones The Book of Lost Friends, by Lisa Wingate Girl Gone Viral, by Alisha Rai The Happy Ever After Playlist, by Abby Jimenez He Started It, by Samantha Downing Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier You Deserve Each Other, by Sarah Hogle
Educational Publishers Offer Free Resources for Home Learning
With schools closing around the world — including system-wide closures in 33 states in the US and Washington, DC — and districts racing to develop remote learning programs, educational publishers, booksellers, and nonprofits are helping families and educators with free offerings. Scholastic has curated a Learn at Home resource for families, teachers, and administrators. The “free digital learning hub” is “designed to support virtual learning plans” and has four offerings: preK and kindergarten; grades 1 and 2; grades 3 to 5; and grades 6+. It provides “approximately three hours of learning opportunities per day, for up to four weeks of instruction,” […]
Briefs: A New Wilkerson Book, Elliott Bay Unionizes, and More
People Liz Van Doren has been promoted to vp, executive editorial director at Highlights for Children. Forthcoming Isabel Wilkerson‘s next book, CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENT, will be published by Random House on August 20. Her first book since the 2010 Pulitzer-winning The Warmth of Other Suns, it’s about “the human impulse to create hierarchies runs across societies and cultures.” Bookselling Workers at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle have unionized, creating the newly formed Book Workers Union, which has been recognized by management. They write in their mission statement, “We organize because our people are what make Elliott […]
Public Library Systems Close Across the Country
As the nation scrambles to implement social distancing and control the spread of COVID-19, major library systems around the country have announced plans to close. And in the few large population centers where libraries are still remaining open, there is controversy. Among the 20 most populous cities in America, only the Chicago and Boston public libraries had yet to announce temporary closures by Monday morning. In Boston that led to an online petition asking the city to close the libraries and make the employees whole. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio had publicly resisted library closures. When the New […]