Wednesday, October 7, 2009

I cannot take credit for this

I wish I could take credit for this super cool Banned Books Week display, but I came upon this display at the Oldham County Public Library in LaGrange, KY. (And yes, I know Banned Books Week was last week, but keep this in your file for next year OR bring it out at a random time to help those books that are awesome but just won't circ without some help.)

I didn't have my camera with me at the library, but picture a large bookshelf full of these:



Yup, they had taken books that had been challenged or banned and their teen advisory group wrapped them in paper so you couldn't tell what book was in there. They have the bar code and a genre written on the outside (like "Teen Fiction" or "Children's Realistic Fiction" or "Adult Sci-Fi"). The result was really eye-catching and symbolic. They posted a sign on the display urging patrons to check out a wrapped book to celebrate our freedom to read.

Of course, I checked one out.

Here I am unwrapping:



What a fun thing! Like a present! And maybe the book inside is not one you're interested in, but maybe it is something you never would have picked up and now you'll give it a try!

I think I know what it is:



And it's...



The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler! I have read this one already and I love it. If I wasn't up to my neck in Cybils reading, I'd totally reread it.

Good job, Oldham County Public Library! It's things like this that make it worth the trek to visit this small, but very nice (and new!) library. And I am totally stealing this idea, BTW.