Checking Out Libraries by Mary Dutta

My local library branch is closed for a year for renovations. It’s a temporary situation, but losing that access has me thinking about all the wonderful time I’ve spent in libraries over the years.

I grew up in a town with a Carnegie library. It was a red brick building built in 1904, with a Civil War-era cannon out front. That library played a crucial role in making me the avid reader I remain. I remember the summer reading programs and the gradual graduation from the children’s room in the basement to the adult shelves upstairs. I still know my library card number: 206F.

My college and graduate school years in New York City had me doing a lot of research at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. That’s the one with the famous lions, Patience and Fortitude, flanking the steps. In those days, paper call slips whooshed through pneumatic tubes to the vast stacks, and the requested books would be delivered to the stately and stunning main reading room.  

I passed my love of libraries on to my kids. First in Boston and then in Virginia, our local libraries played a prominent role in their growing up. They proudly signed up for their first library cards, participated in their own summer reading programs, and loaded up at the annual book sales.

Here in Alabama, I take advantage of all my county system has to offer. One branch holds the biggest selection of travel books. Another has a peaceful forest setting. A third has the best friends-of-the-library bookstore. While my closest option is closed, there are still plenty of welcoming spaces available for a book lover like me.

I was a reader long before I was a writer, and I owe much of that identity to the libraries that shaped me. They have changed over time, in more ways than one. My hometown library quadrupled in size after I left, and the NYPL finally retired its pneumatic system in favor of an all-electronic one about ten years ago. I know my local branch will be a bit different when it reopens next summer, but it will always be a home for me.

How important are libraries in your own life?

It's in the Bag by Mary Dutta

The sign in front of the local library branch lured me with a siren song I can never resist--the library book sale. Specifically, the bag sale, where for one price (in this case, $7.00) customers can fill a paper grocery bag with as many books as it can hold and they can carry. As a lover of both books and bargains, and with the convenient excuse of supporting the library, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I headed for the mysteries, of course, but others targeted their own favorite categories. Romance. History. Science Fiction. Gardening. There was something for every reader. My other weakness at any library sale is the cookbooks, a section that provides not just culinary guidance but cultural history. One can track dietary trends through the titles that people have donated--Atkins, South Beach, low-fat, gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto. I also love flipping through those spiral-bound recipe collections sold as fundraisers by churches, schools, and women’s groups. And where I live, you can always find complete sets of Southern Living Annual Recipes, dating all the way back to 1979.

Such regional preferences are a given at a sale stocked primarily by local donations, but some authors are popular no matter where you live. At the sale I attended, an overflow room had been set up just to accommodate the many, many copies of works by the likes of James Patterson and Stephen King. It was like the cool kids all hanging out together in the cafeteria, with no room at the table for mid-list authors.

The only other section that competed in popularity with those mega-bestsellers was the children’s books. Parents and kids animatedly searched for treasures and loaded up their overflowing bags. For all the news stories about kids addicted to their screens, in my neck of the woods the local library sale is keeping the love of reading alive for another generation.

I didn’t pick up any kids’ books myself, but did manage to squeeze one last title into my paper bag: The Writer’s Complete Crime Reference Book. Finding it felt like my library supports my endeavors, just as I support theirs. And while this season’s bag sale is over, I know I will succumb when I hear that siren song again. Because my library and I share a commitment to a rewarding and mutually beneficial form of recycling : keeping books out of landfills and in readers’ hands.

Are you a sucker for a library book sale? What do you fill your bag with there?

Library Tales

by Paula Gail Benson

I was delighted to read on Facebook that a panel entitled “What Librarians Would Like Authors and Readers to Know About Libraries” will be held on Sunday at Bouchercon 2023 in San Diego. Sarah Bresniker (Past President of Capitol Crimes Chapter of Sisters in Crime) is the moderator and Robert Lopresti (Past President of Short Mystery Fiction Society) along with Leslie Blatt, John Graham, and Michal Strutin are the author/librarians on the panel.

University of South Carolina School of Law Library

From my time working as reference librarian in a law school library, I remember two incidents I could contribute to the discussion. First, not all libraries contain all books and periodicals. Once, a member of the public called the law library asking about a new law mentioned in McCall’s magazine. When I told her I didn’t have enough information to search for the law, she asked why I couldn’t just look up the article in the latest issue. She was puzzled that the law library didn’t subscribe to McCall’s. Today, with the Internet, I might have found the article online, but at the time I would have had to call a public library and ask a librarian to help me.

Second, librarians’ duties involve more than collecting books and assisting in research and may include crowd dispersal. One hot summer day, a disturbance occurred on the law library’s top floor where graduates were studying for the bar examination. When I investigated, I found people clustered around the windows facing a neighboring hotel where a couple were having a sexual encounter on the roof. Thankfully, the hotel manager arrived, confronted the couple, and they left. The graduates returned to their studies.

Photo from "The Lights of Zetar"
midnitereviews

If people wanted to talk about future libraries or how they have been portrayed in fiction, I would mention two episodes from Star Trek, the Original Series. “The Lights of Zetar” (Season 3, Episode 18), co-written by children’s entertainer and Lamb Chop puppeteer Shari Lewis, had the Enterprise journeying to Memory Alpha, a planetoid library research center. Unfortunately, because it was open for all to use and had no protective barriers, the researchers and resources available on Memory Alpha were destroyed by a group of creatures who were thought to be a giant space storm. “All Our Yesterdays” (Season 3, Episode 23) featured a historical library where time periods were preserved on disks and the planet’s inhabitants could escape its destruction by traveling into the past.

Photo from "All Our Yesterdays"
midnitereviews

Star Trek, the Animated Series, had an exchange between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Kirk commented that there were times when he thought he should have been a librarian. Spock replied while that would have been no less challenging, it would be a lot less dangerous.

I’m wondering if the librarian authors I know would have agreed with Mr. Spock. While not all have written about librarian sleuths (for example, WWK blogging partner Shari Randall/Meri Allen), some like Amanda Flowers, Dean James, and Miriam Grace Monfredo have librarian protagonists. In addition, there is a long list of authors who have centered their series around libraries and librarians, including Lillian Jackson Braun, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Debbie DeLouise, Eva Gates, Victoria Gilbert, Edwin Hill, M.E. Hilliard, Charlaine Harris, Ceecee James, Con Lehane, Marilyn Levinson/Allison Brook (another WWK blogging partner), Jenn McKinlay, Jess Lourey, Elizabeth Peters, Dorothy St. James, Ian Sansom, and Marty Wingate.

Are there other library incidents, mystery series, or resources that you would contribute to the discussion?

clipground.com

How to Connect with Your Local Public Library

I've invited two guests today, Susan Hammerman and Cari Dubiel. Both have served with me as Sisters in Crime’s National Library Liaison and they have a wealth of information and advice to share with authors eager to connect with libraries. Susan interviewed Cari and got her helpful tips on how published and aspiring authors can connect with their local libraries, get their books added to local library collections, and pitch great topics for public programs. Cari is a published author and the Assistant Director of Twinsburg Public Library in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Susan is a published short-story writer, former rare books librarian, and coordinator of SINC's We Love Libraries program.

Thank you for joining us! xo Shari

 

Published authors want to get their books on library shelves and in the hands of library patrons. What should they do to get their novels added to a library’s collection?

A writer should come in and ask for the name of the person who handles collection development for the library. Making a personal connection with the collection development librarian will really help you. Tell them about your book, where it falls, and a little about yourself. If you’re not comfortable starting the conversation in person, you could begin by sending an email to introduce yourself.

 

Which Libraries Should Published Authors Target?

Your local public libraries, where your books will be popular and circulate. It’s better to contact the libraries around you—near where you live or where you’re from, where there’s an obvious connection to you or your book.

 

 What about a broader approach? Should authors reach out to as many libraries as possible through cold calling, mass email, or bulk mailing?

I probably won’t buy a book based on a blind mailing, a cold call, or an email that went to every library in the country. There is nothing about it that would hook me in. I have to spend a lot of my budget on bestsellers. In order for me to be interested in a backlist title, I have to have a personal or direct connection to the book or the author. I have limited money to work with, but if I see a title set in or around Twinsburg or from a local author, I usually buy it. There’s an author who grew up in Twinsburg, who now lives in Georgia. His reaching out to me to tell me about his book made sense. He has a real connection to our library.

 

 A local public library can’t purchase every published book. What should authors, especially indie and self-published authors, do to confirm their books fall within the scope of a library’s collection?

Read your library’s collection policy to make sure your novel fits. The collection policy describes what the library purchases. The policy should be posted on the library’s website. If it isn’t posted on the website, explain to the librarian that you’re an author, and ask for a printed copy of it.

 

 What else can published authors do to connect with their local library?

Think about what you can do for the library, like offering to lead a public program for them.

 

 What are some ideas for public programs that authors could suggest?

Think of broader topics that are tied to your book and would have public appeal. An author who writes a cozy series about garage sales asked me for ideas, and I suggested she have a program on how to get the best deals at garage sales. Everyone would come to that. My books have codes and cryptography. I could have a program where I talk about the history of cryptography and ciphers.

 

You had to research something when you were writing your book. Think about whether you could turn that research into a public program. Ask your local public librarians. Find out what’s popular.

 

 What about writing-related topics?

Those programs are really popular. Patrons like hearing about an author’s writing journey. I also had success with a program where the author talked about the difference between traditional and indie publishing.

 

 What about authors trying to get their local libraries to host their book signings?

Unless you’re famous, a library probably isn’t going to host a book signing for your book. Solo book signings usually do not do well. You could do all the PR in the world, and unless you have a huge investment in it and a big network of your own, you’re not going to get people to attend it. If the library is willing to do it for you, then you need to make sure people show up.

 

Not all libraries have them, but if your library has an author fair (Twinsburg does, and it’s very popular), then try to get included in that instead.

 

Should aspiring authors try to connect with their local librarians or is it better to wait until they have published books?

You should try to get to know your local librarians—but in an authentic, genuine way. Ask the librarians about themselves. Get to know them. You could ask them for recommendations for comp titles for your manuscript, which would allow you to describe your work, or ask for recommendations for books on writing craft. Another option is to attend public programs you’re interested in. Also, if your local library has a writers’ group, go to it, and share your successes.

Interested in more insider information about libraries and bookstores? Sign up for the Sisters in Crime We Love Newsletters. You don't have to be a member of Sisters in Crime to receive it. Here's the link: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/WLLWLBNewsletters 

 

 

Susan Hammerman, a former rare book librarian, is the Library Liaison and coordinator of the We Love Libraries program. Susan writes crime and neo-noir short stories. Her stories have appeared in Suspense Magazine, Mystery Magazine, Dark City Mystery Magazine, Blood and Bourbon, Retreats From Oblivion, and the Stories (Within) anthology. Website and Twitter

 

Cari Dubiel is the Assistant Director at Twinsburg Public Library in Ohio. She was the Library Liaison for the National SinC board from 2012-2017 and remains active in the Northeast Ohio chapter (NEOSinC). Her short stories appear in several anthologies, the most recent being Family (Writing Bloc, 2022). Cari is represented by Lynnette Novak of the Seymour Agency. Cari offers an exclusive work for her fans and followers, HOW TO REMEMBER, an award winner from the Mystery Writers of America (Midwest Chapter) and Library Journal. Get a free copy at caridubiel.com.

 

Website: https://www.caridubiel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caridubielauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caridubiel

 

Readers, have you visited your local library lately?

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Many Ways to Love Books? by Molly MacRae

I love everything about books. Reading them, of course. That goes without saying doesn’t it? Reading them to myself, to the grandchildren in a box, with a fox, on a train, in the rain. I also love selling books. Back in the 90s I managed an independent bookstore. I loved that job. Customers in bookshops are, for the most part, happy to be there because they love books, too. Then there’s lending books. I just retired after eighteen years in the children’s department of the public library. Eighteen years of connecting children with books and hearing them squeal, belly-laugh, and shout with joy when they found the books they were looking for—and one little girl who said, with hushed reverence, “Charlotte’s Web is my absolute favorite book in the whole world.”

What else do I love about books? Making them! Okay, so far I’ve only made a few simple, folded books (and a really cool box that looks like a book). I follow several handmade book artists online, though, and boy do I have visions of beautiful handmade books dancing in my head and plans to make them (after I finish writing the book due in mid-April). 

cover of a very simple zhen xian bao
(Chinese thread book)

first two folded boxes in zhen xian bao revealed

all three boxes in zhen xian bao open
(more elaborate zhen xian bao will
have a dozen or more folded boxes inside)

 

really cool box that looks like a book

And yes, I love writing books, too. Or, as some writers more accurately put it, I love having written books. The actual writing can be like pulling my brains out of my head with crochet hooks.

Now let me add one more thing I love about books—eating them. Or again, to be more accurate, making books meant to be eaten for the annual International Edible Book Festival.

Have you ever been to an Edible Book Festival? They’re held all over the world on or around April 1st to celebrate the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (born April 1, 1755). Brillat-Savarin was a French gastronome famous for his witty meditation on food, Physiologie du gout. The festivals are loads of fun. People come up with the most amazing creations. Some edible books are culinary wonders. Others are done strictly for the laughs (or groans). The books are judged in a variety of categories. Last year’s categories at the University of Illinois festival were:

• Best Depiction of a Classic
• Best Visual Presentation
• Most Appetizing
• Funniest/Punniest
• Best Entry Based on a Book for Children or Teens
• Best Collaborative Creation
• People’s Choice

After the winners are announced, attendees are invited to eat the books.

I entered the University of Illinois contest way back in 2008 and 2009. My “The Chard in the Scone” won 2nd place for Literary Merit in 2008, but “Rum Plus Stilton” got nothing in 2009. Bummer.

The Chard in the Scone
(It was a really lovely chili cheese scone.
If you'd like the scone recipe, let me know.)

I haven’t entered since, figuring I’ve probably peaked. But I’ve been toying with a couple of ideas lately, so maybe I’ll reconsider. What do you think of “Little Hummus in the Big Woods” or “Mastering the Artichoke of French Cooking”?

You can find pictures of entries from past festivals by Googling, and you can read more about the whys and wherefores of the International Edible Book Festival on Wikipedia. Most festivals this year will be virtual. But that’s cool, because now you can enter a festival that’s nowhere near where you live (and, if you make a book that’s truly appetizing, you can eat it yourself). There’s a short list of festivals at Book Riot.

If you were to create an edible book, would you try for the artistic/literary experience or are you more apt to go for the humorous/loony?

Molly MacRae writes the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.

 

 

PLA Diary

by Shari Randall

The common pronunciation of the Public Library Association’s acronym is P-L-A, very close to the word “play.” I attended the PLA Conference in Nashville last week and if you like books, libraries, and authors, the conference is a playground of ideas.

Sisters in Crime Cari Dubiel, VM Burns, and me

The speakers - Tracy Abrams, Samantha Bee, Soledad O’Brien, Haben Girma, Erik Larson, Dr. Bettina Love, Ann Patchett -- were inspiring, informative, and intriguing. The field trips (tours of the Nashville Public Library, Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium), scores of panels, and book buzz presentations served up ideas as enticing and filling as the brisket at Martin’s BBQ. Panels ranged from serious subjects like serving patrons with dementia, information literacy, and the dark web, to making recycled book flowers and how to have a library cat.

Then there were the unofficial events…bull riding at Old Smoky, art crawls, hockey meet ups. Some in the Nashville media were taken aback by the fun loving nature of the conference attendees, but anyone who knows librarians wasn’t surprised. Librarians are a fun-loving bunch.

Free ARCS and author signings were everywhere. The eight thousand five hundred librarians were enticed into the Exhibit Hall by giveaways of tote bags printed with “Audio books are not cheating” and “My weekend is all booked,” free espresso, Plinko for prizes, and milk and cookies.

Ravenclaws rule!

Book stacks everywhere

Alana White with librarians from Kenya

One exhibit featured a program that makes it look like you’ve stepped into the world of Harry Potter. Depending on one’s Hogwarts “house,” a visitor to the booth can step into a simulation of a scene from the HP universe. Through computer magic, Ravenclaws like me were able to visit the Hogwarts library.

Because PLA was in Nashville, country music filled the air and country stars – or their lookalikes -- were everywhere. Conferencegoers could have their pics taken with “Dolly” and “Johnny.” The Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Old Opry, and Music Row were all steps away.

I organized the Sisters in Crime booth and was pleased to meet so many volunteers from not only the local Tennessee chapters but also authors who traveled from around the country to help spread the word about SINC. The best part was all the ideas exchanged and connections made. 

The day after I returned home I heard the awful news about the Nashville tornadoes. From what I saw of the people of Nashville, I know they’ll pull together to make whole the city they love. I was proud to know that PLA was one of the first organizations to reach out to the city to offer help. If you’d like to help, here’s a link: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/how-to-help-victims-of-the-middle-tennessee-tornado

What’s your favorite conference? Why do you love it?

Loving Your Library Is Not Enough

By Shari Randall

In all the years I worked in a public library, there was only one time a patron became angry with me.

A few minutes before closing, a man hurried into the branch. He needed materials to prepare for a test. Because English wasn’t his first language, it took a few minutes to figure out what he needed but soon we were in the stacks and I handed him the books he requested.

“Where do I pay?” he said.

“It’s free, all you need is a library card.” Usually this line was met with happy surprise.

Not this guy. His face reddened. “No, it can’t be. You’re joking with me.”

I shook my head. “Let me show you where you apply for a library card.”

“No, I have money! No credit card!” he shouted.

After some conversation, he understood. As I helped him get his card, the man apologized profusely.

“In my country,” he said, “there are no libraries, just bookstores. Only rich people have books.”

His words have stuck with me because he opened my eyes. There are places where only rich people have books.

I never thought it would be my country.

Currently in Washington, there are proposals to eliminate agencies that provide federal funding to libraries all across America. Despite its tiny budget, the Institute of Museum and Library Services is on the chopping block. ILMS funds grants to libraries and museums of all kinds - rural libraries, tribal libraries, suburban libraries, inner city libraries, school libraries. If you know anything about libraries, you know they do everything on a shoestring. Now even the shoestring will be gone.

Someone explained to me that it’s easy to eliminate agencies with small budgets because if the budget is small that program must not be very important.

When I look at my home budget, I notice that one of the smallest outlays is for water.

from Karen Jensen, School Library Journal

Many years ago, news icon Walter Cronkite said, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”

Many in the ignorant nation think libraries are non-essential. Everyone has a smart phone, right? The “let them eat cake” people say, “just Google it.”

Tell that to a librarian who sees thousands of kids without books of their own, homeless teens doing their homework on a library computer, small business owners researching tax strategies, students struggling to discern real news from fake, and immigrants trying to get a better job by checking out test prep materials that you can’t get on the internet.

If you love your libraries and want to help, check out this easy to use site from the American Library Association. On Twitter you can follow #saveIMLS.

Are you a library lover?

Snakes in the Library

In addition to presenting story times, answering Google-proof research questions, and practicing the dangerous art of readers advisory, during the summer the children’s librarian also adds hosting programs to the to-do list. When school gets out, libraries crank into high gear with shows and programs to entice families to visit and, perhaps, decide to get a library card and check out some books.

Photo by Reptiles Alive

Programs I’ve hosted have ranged from opera, theater, and mythology to Twilight and basketball. I’ve mixed potions, folded origami, and blown stuff up. This past week the wheel of fate spun and I was assigned the Reptiles Alive! show. Lucky me! I like reptiles as much as I like spiders and dishonest politicians and their lovesick spouses.

However, Fate was in a good mood and gave me one of the most talented and charismatic performers I’ve seen in years.

Caroline and B. A.

Before a capacity crowd of eager kids and somewhat less than eager parents, Caroline, the owner of Reptiles Alive, took charge. The petite blonde combined the knowledge of a scientist, the patter of a Borscht belt comedian, and the excitement of a ten year old on a dirt bike into one dynamic package. Plus, she understood her audience. “Once I held up a lizard and it peed on my head,” she shared, to delighted shrieks from the crowd.

Caroline introduced us to a parade of scaly creatures, many of which seemed less than thrilled about being pulled from their comfy, soundproofed boxes.

“Now, this is B. A.” She held up an American alligator, twenty pounds of writhing, pissed off muscle. “B.A. stands for Bad Attitude,” she said as she coolly held the thrashing creature. B.A. was found in a hotel bathtub, abandoned by a pet owner who had somehow not realized that illegal baby alligators grow into illegal adult alligators. Now B. A. has an hour commute and must perform for young shrieking humans. My heart thawed (very slightly) toward the miniature Godzilla, once unwanted and unloved, who looked like he’d happily stomp all of us on his way back to Florida.

Oohs and aahs greeted Sunflower, a ten-foot-long albino boa constrictor, and a respectful hush fell at the appearance of the grande dame, Janis, a spectacularly large and old leopard tortoise.

Many performers must reach to work a bit of library love into their acts. Not Caroline.

“You know how I got into reptiles?” she asked the crowd.

“You picked them up outside?”

“You went to the zoo?”

“You saw one on TV?”

“Nope, my love of reptiles started at the library!” Caroline explained that her grandfather took her to the library when she was two. There she stumbled upon a book on snakes and an animal show superstar was born. Caroline’s eyes glowed. “I read everything about snakes, then frogs, and lizards. Then I studied. And I kept learning, taking out more and more books from the library. If you want to learn more about reptiles, or anything really, go to the library and get a book!”

Caroline was making friends with the library lady in the back of the room.

Caroline continued, telling the crowd why the Internet is not the best place for information about animals and animal care, especially for misunderstood creatures like reptiles. She said that the Internet is full of websites that are misleading. Many people post opinions or urban legends about reptiles that spread misinformation that makes people fear these creatures.

“A librarian can help you find information that is reliable,” Caroline said, cementing her place as my favorite summer performer of 2014.

Have you ever had a dreaded event turn into an unexpected pleasure?

Changing Lives Through Literature

Can a paperback copy of Russell Banks’ The Sweet Hereafter do what jail cannot – change an offender’s life for the better?

Readers know that books can take us to other worlds, provide entertainment, information, insight, solace. Now there is evidence that literature can also transform the lives of people in the justice system.

The Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL) program was created in 1991 by UMass-Dartmouth professor Robert Waxler and his friend, Bob Kane, a judge. Kane was fed up with a “turnstile” justice system that saw the same people commit the same crimes as soon as they walked out the jail door. Waxler was determined to test his belief in the power of literature to reach places inside the minds and hearts of offenders where real change could take place. New studies support Waxler’s hypothesis, showing that among other things, reading helps develop empathy, and that increased empathy can lead to changes in behavior.

The original CLTL program included eight men who had 145 convictions, many of them felony convictions. Waxler wanted to test his program with “tough guys” who would prove that he hadn’t stacked the deck with more highly educated, less dangerous participants. At the end of the program, the tough guys’ recidivism rate was only 19 percent, compared to 45 percent for the general prison population. The results were impressive, but Waxler said that the statistics were not what interested him. He knew the program was working when one young drug dealer told him of his excitement at reading Jack London’s Sea Wolf, and how his newfound love of books led him to start reading to his three-year-old daughter.

How does CLTL work? Offenders serve part of their sentence by meeting in small groups to discuss books such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X or Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. These and the other books chosen for the program have characters that face serious choices and issues. The most unique part of CLTL is the participation of members of the legal and law enforcement communities. Participants could find themselves talking about Langston Hughes’ poems with a judge or a probation officer, and a college professor facilitator. By sitting around a table, listening to each other, participants feel valued for their ideas, not judged for their crimes. Participants see each other as human beings, not as statistics or faceless uniforms.

CLTL programs are in place in 14 states and have been adopted in the UK. One longitudinal study of 600 CLTL participants in Massachusetts showed a 60 percent drop in recidivism for those who completed the program and a 16 percent drop for those who did not. In cases where participants reoffended, there was a significant drop in the number and severity of the type of crime committed. These are better results than many more expensive programs, and the program has been particularly effective for juvenile offenders.

With U. S. Bureau of Justice statistics stating that prisoners cost U. S. taxpayers more than $70 billion  and the New York Times reporting that 1 in 100 Americans are currently or have been in the criminal justice system, we need ideas and programs like CLTL.

Compare $70 billion to the cost of a box of paperback books, a facilitator, and an hour a week around a table in a library.

As the CLTL webpage states, literature has the power to transform. Yet, one article I read stated that CLTL has been a “hard sell” to government officials, who doubt the effectiveness of a literature based program.

You have to wonder. Why would states prefer to spend billions on jails instead of buying a few boxes of books?

Is there a book that changed your life?