The Northlake Public Library in Illinois hopes to raise funds on IndieGoGo to erect a 9 foot tall statue of the Hulk. They also hope to add a variety of digital tools to the library, including a 3D printer.

We’ve embedded the introduction video above–what do you think? The library needs to raise $30,000 to meet their goals. Here’s more from the Indiegogo campaign:

Just as Dr. Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk, we want our library community members to make their own personal transformations through books, programs, and awesome new equipment. This larger-than-life literary character will become a giant green beacon of light to highlight our graphic novel collection, our creation station…not to mention the library’s sense of humor and whimsy. The project will show off the fun side of the library and get the community talking. The HULK will force patrons to look at the library in a whole new way … We also want to promote digital literacy and provide patrons with a spot where they can create their own comics, art, movies and experiment with digital design and photo editing. We want to provide patrons with a glimpse into the future with cutting edge technology like 3D printers.

As a violent and frightening news story unfolds in Boston, many parents struggle to explain this difficult time to their children. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has this advice for families:

Media coverage can produce increased fears and anxiety in children. The more time children spend watching coverage of the tragic events, the more likely they are to have negative reactions. Graphic images and news stories of chaos, injury, and death is especially upsetting to children. Very young children may not understand that the coverage and repetition of images of the events is a replay. They may think the event is continuing to happen or is happening again.

We have built a list of books and resources to help parents and caregivers discuss these traumatic events with children, grade schoolers and young adults.

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The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. We’ve linked to free samples of all the books on the list–follow the links below to read these controversial books yourself.

The list was part of the ALA’s 2013 State of America’s Libraries Report. During the past year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 464 reports of challenged books. Here’s more from the report:

In California, a school committee voted to remove the Stephen King novella “Different Seasons” from Rocklin High School library shelves. The lone dissenter on that committee was 17-year-old student Amanda Wong, who continued to fight the ban and spoke against the decision at a later school board meeting. After hearing Wong’s concerns that the removal “opens a door to censoring other materials,” the district superintendent overturned the committee’s decision and returned the book to the Rocklin High School library’s collection.

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For the next year, Simon & Schuster will test a pilot eBook program with the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library.  Here’s more from the release:

The participating libraries can acquire any Simon & Schuster ebook title at any time during the pilot’s one-year term, with each title usable for one year from the date of purchase.  Each library can offer an unlimited number of checkouts during the one-year term for which it has purchased a copy; each copy may only be checked out by one user at a time.   All of Simon & Schuster’s frontlist and backlist titles that are available as ebooks are eligible for the program, with new titles being made available simultaneous with their publication.

In an interesting twist on the traditional model, patrons can buy books through the library online and the library will receive a portion of the sale. The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library programs will start April 30th and the Queens Library program launches in May.

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Americans still love libraries. Don’t let anybody change your mind.

To show support for local libraries, CityTownInfo created an infographic showing why libraries are more important than ever in our digital world. We’ve embedded the complete illustration below. Here’s more from the post:

Eighty-one percent of American adults use the Internet and almost as many people agree that free computer and internet access (including Wi-Fi) are very important services that libraries offer. In fact, 62 percent of libraries are the sole provider of computers and Wi-Fi for free in their community. Libraries also offer technology assistance, help with social services applications, tutoring and advice for job-seeking patrons. Over the past decade, public libraries have been increasing in number, but the growth hasn’t kept up with the population. Between 2000 and 2009, public libraries increased by 1.7 percent, but the national population increased by 11.7 percent.

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A Chicago Public Library patron wrote a book about his relationship and proposed in the library last weekend. As you can see by lovely photograph embedded above, she said yes.

Where in the library would you get engaged? Here’s more about the library marriage proposal, the most romantic use of the stacks we’ve ever seen.

Jason and Molly both love books and libraries. So Jason decided the library was the perfect place to pop the question… after he wrote a story about how they met, had it illustrated and bound into a book, and then placed on the shelves in the Thomas Hughes Children’s Library. He and Molly “found” the book on Saturday and we are happy to report she said YES! Congratulations to you both – we wish you a long, happy, and book-filled life together!

Photo courtesy of Aparna Paul Jain Photography

The New York Public Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers has picked 15 writers and journalists as its annual fellows.

Selected from a pool of 313 applicants, this is the 15th class of fellows for the center. These writers will get a stipend, a private office in the Cullman Center and support from the library staff.

With a diverse array of people originally from Nigeria, Turkey, England, Argentina, and Serbia, the class of 2013 includes: The fiction writers Tea Obreht, Rajesh Parameswaran, Paul La Farge, and Uwem Akpan. The historians Linda Colley and Anthony Grafton. The journalists Arthur Lubow, Elizabeth Rubin, Elif Batuman, and David Grann.

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Do you remember your first library card? My first card was printed deep blue cardboard and the librarian typed my name on a typewriter at the Lyons Township District Library in Michigan.

The Chicago Public Library invited patrons to send photographs of their first library card, starting with that super cute picture of two young patrons. Check it out:

Isabel & Jasmine got their first library cards last week! Congratulations to you both! Send us photos of your first library cards (to firstcards@chipublib.org) and we will give a shout out to your kids here!

(Via Scott Sandalow)

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 opinion that “ first sale doctrine” applies to books purchased overseas.

The court decided that Supap Kirtsaeng did not violate copyright when he purchased textbooks overseas to sell to friends and families in the United States. Textbook publisher Wiley had sued Kirtsaeng for reselling these books.

You can read the complete Supreme Court decision at this PDF link. First sale doctrine applies to the sale of copyrighted goods, letting the buyer’s copy be “resold or otherwise redistributed without the copyright owner’s authorization.”

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Author and New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean inked a deal for The Library Book.

The book will explore the power of libraries and her “quest to solve a crime that has gone unsolved since it was carried out in 1986: who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately destroying 400,000 books?” If you want to read more about this sad story, the LAPL posted a complete account of the fire.

InkWell Management agent Richard Pine negotiated the deal with Jonathan Karp and Jofie Ferrari-Adler at Simon & Schuster.

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