LibraryThing: State of the Thing - February

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the February State of the Thing! In this issue we invite members to participate in our 2024 Valentine Treasure Hunt, interview author Kristin Hannah, highlight our List of the Month, shine a spotlight on our TinyCat Library of the Month, and give a shout out to all of our wonderful helpers. We also serve up lots and lots of book world news, all of our regular columns, and 3,432 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter, [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram, and [librarythingofficial](librarythingofficial) on Threads for news and updates. 2024 Valentine Treasure Hunt [HuntBirds]Valentine's Day has come again, and we are pleased to announce the return of our romantic [Valentine Treasure Hunt](, running from February 14th through the 29th! Come search through our website, reading and solving the fourteen clues, and finding the pages on LibraryThing that match your solutions. When you find each right page, you’ll see a banner at the top of your screen announcing that you’ve found a heart. Everyone who finds at least two hearts receives a [profile badge](, while those who find all fourteen will be entered into a drawing for a LibraryThing [prize](. You have until Thursday February 29th at 11.59 pm Eastern Time to find all the hearts hidden around the site and gather them all together into one big collection. Come brag about your collection of hearts (and get hints) on [Talk](. Author Interview: Kristin Hannah LibraryThing is pleased to sit down this month with bestselling author [Kristin Hannah](, who has had twenty-four novels published from 1991 through 2021. Trained as a lawyer, she practiced law in Seattle for a time before devoting herself to writing full time. Her best-selling book, [The Nightingale]( (2015) has sold more than 4.5 million copies globally, and has been translated into 45 languages, while her 2008 [Firefly Lane]( was adapted in a popular 2021 Netflix series of the same name. Hannah’s twenty-fifth novel, [The Women](, which chronicles the lives of women coming of age during the 1960s, is due out from Macmillan in mid February. See an excerpt below, and the full interview [here](. Q. Your new book follows the story of a young woman who joins the Army Nurse Corps, and follows her brother to Vietnam. How did the story first come to you? Did it start with the character of Frankie, or was it the idea of a woman living through these events that came first? Kristin. This is actually a book I have wanted to write for more than twenty years. I grew up during the Vietnam era, and even though I was in elementary school, the war cast a huge shadow across my life. A very close girlfriend’s father was a pilot who served and was shot down and was Missing In Action. In those days, we wore silver prisoner of war bracelets that commemorated a missing serviceman. The idea was to wear the bracelet until he came home. Well, my friend’s father never did come home and I wore that bracelet for years, and was reminded of him and his service and war each day. I was a young teenager when the war ended, and I remembered how the veterans were treated when they returned home after their service. It was a shameful time in America and that, too, cast a long shadow. For years, I wanted to write about the turbulence and chaos and division of the times, but it wasn’t until the pandemic, when I was on lockdown in Seattle, confined to my home essentially, and watching our nurses and doctors serving on the front lines of the pandemic, becoming exhausted amid the political division of the time that it all came together for me. That’s when I knew I was ready to write about the women who served in the war and were forgotten at home. Visit the blog to [read the whole conversation](. List of the Month Come join LibraryThing’s List of the Month project, as we create a new thematic book list each month. Like all of our [Lists](, the List of the Month draws upon the knowledge of the LibraryThing community, while also aiming to provoke discussion around each theme. See our [wiki page]( for a complete List of the Month list, and join us over in [our latest Talk thread](, where we announced our return to the Talk About LibraryThing group, for further discussion of the project. February List of the Month. The mind of the raven, the voyage of the turtle... the weeping of the elephant, and the spell of the tiger: there is so much to learn about the animals that share our planet! Our List of the Month this February is devoted to our [favorite non-fiction works about animals](. Head over to our list of [Favorite Animal Non-Fiction]( to add your top ten choices Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - December [Top Five Books of 2023]( - November [Great Films Based on Books]( - October [Witchy Fiction]( - September [Books We’d Want on a Desert Island]( - August [Books With the Most Memorable Titles]( Helpers What is LibraryThing without its members? LibraryThing has some of the best people around, helping to improve the site for themselves and for the larger community—making us the best bookish site out there. From dedicated helper groups like [Combiners!]( and [Spam Fighters!](, to the guidance provided by long-time members when newcomers have questions in [Talk About LibraryThing](, [Frequently Asked Questions]( or [Bug Collectors](, our members are always helping out. They add an enormous amount of valuable information to the site, filling out Common Knowledge fields on author and book work pages, adding cover images and author photographs, and improving features such as [Series](Nseries_controller), [Recommendations]( and [Awards](. Roll of Honor. Each month we call out some of the top contributors from the last month. So… special thanks this time go to [leselotte]( (work combiners and edition separators), [bismarckfairy]( (work combiners and series edits), [starbookworm]( (work combiners), [GwynethM]( (work combiners, work author edits, work relationships, and Common Knowledge contributors), [mitchellmom]( (edition separators and work author edits), [BarryBob]( (cover uploading), [mirva]( (cover uploading), [Ghost_Boy]( (work author edits and Common Knowledge contributors), [pjlambert]( (author combiners), [DuncanHill]( (author combiners, distinct authors and author “never”-ers), [Jazz1987]( (distinct authors and Common Knowledge contributors), [Brett-Woywood]( (author picture contributors and Common Knowledge contributors), [geophile]( (tag combiners and all helper voting), [bluedream]( (series edits), [labfs39]( (publisher series edits), [davidgn]( (Awards and Honors), [Carmen.et.Error]( (Awards and Honors), [Heather39]( (all helper voting), [itstheblob]( (rating recommendations), and [belpalichka]( (translation). The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - The sudden loss of a beloved member has been felt in the [2024 ROOT Challenge]( group, with her reading list being highlighted in [Memorial for Rosalita](, and fellow members committing to read titles from the list, in her honor. - A discussion of [Space Opera](, and of further reading suggestions in the sub-genre, is being undertaken by our [Science Fiction Fans](. - Members continue to highlight a [Bird of the Month]( each month, over in the [Birds, Birding & Books]( group. - The new [Quarterly January-June 2024]( reading project, devoted to the Prehistoric period, is underway in [Reading Through Time](. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [House of Flame and Shadow]( by [Sarah J. Maas]( - [The Women]( by [Kristin Hannah]( - [Bride]( by [Ali Hazelwood]( - [Random in Death]( by [J. D. Robb]( - [First Lie Wins]( by [Ashley Elston]( - [The Teacher]( by [Freida McFadden]( - [Come & Get It]( by [Kiley Reid]( - [The Fury]( by [Alex Michaelides]( - [Martyr!l]( by [Kaveh Akbar]( - [Holmes, Marple, and Poe]( by [James Patterson]( - [Missing Persons]( by [James Patterson]( - [The Ghost Orchid]( by [Jonathan Kellerman]( - [Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect]( by [Benjamin Stevenson]( - [Crosshairs]( by [James Patterson]( - [Gothikana]( by [RuNyx]( - [The Frozen River]( by [Ariel Lawhon]( - [Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum]( by [Antonia Hylton]( - [A Fragile Enchantment]( by [Allison Saft]( - [Big]( by [Vashti Harrison]( - [If Only I Had Told Her]( by [Laura Nowlin]( Free Books from Early Reviewers! Our Early Reviewers program pairs publishers and authors looking for reviews and book buzz with readers looking for their next great read. This month we’re pleased to feature [The Hebrew Teacher]( by [Maya Arad](, a collection of novellas translated by [Jessica Cohen]( and offered by [New Vessel Press](; [Flight of the Wild Swan]( by [Melissa Pritchard](, a novel of Florence Nightingale offered by [Bellevue Literary Press](; and our very first offerings from independent Canadian publisher, [Great Plains Press](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [The Road Before Us]( [The Swan Harp]( [The Hebrew Teacher]( [The Seafarer's Secret]( [Flight of the Wild Swan]( [The Poppy Field]( [Rebel Skies]( [The Aziola's Cry: A Novel of the Shelleys]( [Opposite Identicals]( [The Encyclopedia of Rootical Folklore: Plant Tales from Africa and the Diaspora]( [Emily Posts]( [Children of Tomorrow]( [Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations]( [The Bloodstained Key]( [A Dry Heat: Collected Stories]( [Father Forgiveness]( [So You Wanna Run a Country?]( [The First Murder]( [Stonechat: Poems]( [Alt Sagas]( Our February batch of Early Reviewers has 3,432 copies of 180 books. The deadline to request a book is February 26th, 6pm Eastern time. Did you win a book recently? When you receive your book, make sure you head over to your [Books You've Won]( page to mark it received. After you've read your book, add your review to LibraryThing. First, add the book to your LibraryThing catalog. Then click the pencil-shaped "edit" icon next to the book, or click "edit book" from the work page. Type your review into the Review box, and click "submit" to save it. Reviewing your books gives you a greater chance of winning books in the future, while neglecting to review lowers your odds. For more information, visit the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Book World News: In Memoriam Celebrated Native American author [N. Scott Momaday](, whose groundbreaking novel, [House Made of Dawn](, won the [Pulitzer Prize]( in 1969, [has died at 89](. A member of the Kiowa nation, Navarre Scotte Momaday earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1958, and a PhD in English Literature from Stanford University in 1963. His doctoral dissertation was on the poetry of [Frederick Goddard Tuckerman](, and his first published book was [The Complete Poems of Frederick Goddard Tuckerman](, which he edited, and for which wrote the introduction. His Pulitzer Prize-winning [House Made of Dawn]( is considered the first work of what would come to be called the Native American Renaissance, an upsurge of literary production in the Native American community beginning in the late 1960s. His follow-up work, [The Way to Rainy Mountain](, had strong folkloric underpinnings, and was illustrated by his father, the artist [Al Momaday](. Momaday also wrote poetry, releasing a number of collections beginning in the 1970s, and he published his memoir, [The Names](, in 1976. He had a long and distinguished career as an academic, with tenured positions at Stanford University, the University of Arizona, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara, in addition to visiting positions at a number of other universities, and he was the recipient of many honors and awards, in addition to the Pulitzer. These included the [National Medal of Arts]( in 2007, the [Ken Burns American Heritage Prize]( in 2019, and the [Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award]( of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, also in 2019. Other recent losses in the book world: - [Stanley Crawford](, American novelist, memoirist and farmer, [has died at 86](. - [Anne Edwards](, American celebrity biographer and novelist, [has died at 96](. - [Ross Gelbspan](, American journalist, writer and editor, [has died at 84](. - [Ellen Gilchrist](, American novelist, short story writer and poet, [has died at 88](. - [Jules Harlow](, American Conservative Jewish rabbi and liturgist, [has died at 92](. - [Nicholas J. Higham](, British mathematician, academic and writer, [has died at 62](. - [Tim Hilton](, British journalist, biographer and art critic, [has died at 82](. - [Ashihara Hinako](, Japanese manga artist and author, [has died at 50](. - [Brian Lumley](, British horror writer and military policeman, [has died at 86](. - [Christopher Moriarity](, Irish biologist and writer, [has died at 87](. - [Christopher Priest](, British novelist and science fiction writer, [has died at 80](. - [Lev Rubinstein](, Russian poet, essayist and political dissident, [has died at 76](. Freedom of Expression Controversy surrounding the selection of [Hugo Award]( winners this past year [has been in the news recently](, as a number of authors who should have been eligible to win were deliberately excluded from the voting process for political reasons. Leaked emails have revealed that leaders of Worldcon Intellectual Property (WIP), which manages the World Science Fiction Society overseeing the award, chose to remove a number of authors and books from contention, due to the fact that the 2023 convention was being held in Chengdu, China. These include [R.F. Kuang](, whose bestselling [Babel]( was considered a top contender; and [Xiran Jay Zhao](, whose [Iron Widow]( offers a science fiction retelling of the story of a female emperor. [Neil Gaiman]( and fan writer Paul Weimer were also excluded. [Resignations and censure]( at WIP have followed the public outcry. A detailed, unofficial report on the controversy by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford can be [found here](. Many basic questions about the exclusions remain unresolved, so this is unlikely to be the last word on the topic. In the U.S., in the meantime, it has been revealed that [Amazon was successfully pressured]( by the White House in March 2021 to suppress books which were critical of vaccines, or of the government’s response to the Covid pandemic. The information came to light through internal Amazon emails, subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee. The conflicts around library curation and book removals continue across the country, with state laws on both sides being proposed and/or implemented. [Colorado](, [Kansas]( and [Virginia]( are the latest states to propose bills to ban book bannings, while [Washington state]( has recently passed a bill making it more difficult to shut down libraries, and [Illinois]( has proposed a new bill to protect librarians and library workers from harassment. Proposed bills to ban book bans have led to controversy and opposition in [Oregon]( and [New Jersey](. In Utah a new bill requiring books to be removed statewide from school libraries, if three school districts deem them pornographic, [is close to passage](, and another bill [has been proposed](, to make teachers criminally liable if banned books are found in their classrooms. Similarly, [a new bill has passed the House]( in West Virginia, allowing for the prosecution of librarians who disseminate pornographic material. In Idaho, [a new bill has been proposed]( regarding the removal of pornographic books from libraries, with a slightly revised definition of pornography from the last proposed bill. In Alabama, the latest state to [remove itself from the American Library Association](, Attorney General Steve Marshall declared that [state library funding could be withheld from libraries]( which do not follow age-appropriate guidelines. On the other end of the spectrum, the New York Times reported on a Maine library and its director [who drew harsh criticism]( for refusing to remove [Abigail Shreier’s]( [Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters]( from the library. The book remains in circulation. Finally, one Valentina Gomez, a Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, drew widespread attention—and condemnation—for a video in which [she torched library books with a flamethrower](. She characterized the books as “grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children" and promised "when I'm in office, they will burn." Kathy Belge, the co-author of [Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens](, which is among the books Gomez burned, [responded]( "LGBTQ teens are vulnerable and antics like this only add to their risk of being targets of violence and self-hate." Author [Joyce Carol Oates]( [tweeted]( that the video had no purpose other than to "appeal to bigots." Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. The winners of the American Library Association’s [Youth Media Awards](—twenty different awards, many given out in multiple categories—[were announced in late January](. The winner of the [Newbery Medal](, recognizing “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children,” was [Dave Eggers]( for his [The Eyes and the Impossible](. [Newbery Honors]( were given to [M.T. Anderson]( for [Elf Dog and Owl Head](, [Erin Bow]( for [Simon Sort of Says](, [Nasugraq Rainey Hopson]( for [Eagle Drums](, [Pedro Martin]( for [Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir](, and [Daniel Nayeri]( for [The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams](. The winner of this year’s [Caldecott Medal](, given annually to “the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children,” was [Vashti Harrison]( for her [Big](. [Caldecott Honors]( were awarded to [Marla Frazee]( for [In Every Life](; [Hanna Cha]( for [The Truth About Dragons](, written by [Julie Leung](; [Jarrett Pumphrey]( and [Jerome Pumphrey]( for [There Was a Party for Langston](, written by [Jason Reynolds](; and [Molly Mendoza]( for [Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter](, written by [Aida Salazar](. The [Printz Award](, given to “a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature,” was awarded to [A. S. King]( for editing [The Collectors: Stories](. [Printz Honors]( were given to [Moa Backe Åstot]( for [Fire From the Sky]( , [Kenneth M. Cadow]( for [Gather](, [Shannon Gibney]( for [The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption](, and [Candice Iloh]( for [Salt the Water](. The [Coretta Scott King Awards](, which recognize outstanding African American children’s authors and illustrators, were given out in the Author category to [Ibi Zoboi]( for her [Nigeria Jones](, and in the Illustrator category to [Dare Coulter]( for [An American Story](, written by [Kwame Alexander](. [Coretta Scott King Honors]( in the Author category were given to Caldecott Medal-winner [Vashti Harrison]( for her [Big](; [Carole Boston Weatherford]( for [How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee](, illustrated by [Frank Morrison](; and [Carole Boston Weatherford]( again for [Kin: Rooted in Hope](, illustrated by [Jeffery Boston Weatherford](. Honors in the Illustrator category were awarded to Author honoree [Vashti Harrison]( for [Big](; [Jarrett Pumphrey]( and [Jerome Pumphrey]( for [There Was a Party for Langston](, written by [Jason Reynolds](; and [Shannon Wright]( for [Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes](, written by [Traci N. Todd](. The [Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award]( was given to [Jade Adia]( for [There Goes the Neighborhood](, and the [Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award]( was given to [Briana Mukodiri Uchendu]( for [We Could Fly](, written by [Rhiannon Giddens](. Celebrated children’s author [Christopher Paul Curtis](, was awarded the [Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement](. Many other [ALA Youth Media Awards]( were also announced, including the [Mildred L. Batchelder Award](, the [Pura Belpré Award](C3%A9-Award), the [American Indian Youth Literature Awards](, the [Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature](25252FPacific-American-Award-for-Literature), and the [Theodor Seuss Geisel Award](. Please see the [ALA announcement]( for the complete list of awards and winners. The [Sydney Taylor Book Award](, named in honor of groundbreaking Jewish American children’s author [Sydney Taylor](, is presented annually by the [Association of Jewish Libraries]( “to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.” This year’s winner in the Picture Book category was [Two New Years](, written by [Richard Ho]( and illustrated by [Lynn Scurfield](; in the Middle Grade category, the winner was [The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman]( by [Mari Lowe]( (who also won in this category last year); and the winner in the Young Adult category was [The Blood Years]( by [Elana K. Arnold](. [Honor Books]( were also chosen in each of the categories, and notable titles named. For a complete list of winners, honorees and notable books, please see this [AJL announcement](. In the world of adult letters, the [Association of Jewish Libraries]( has also [named the 2024 winners]( of the [Jewish Fiction Award](, with [James McBride]( taking the honors for his [The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store](. Honors went to [Elizabeth Graver]( for [Kantika]( and [Jennifer Rosner]( for [Once We Were Home](. The winners of the 73nd annual [National Jewish Book Awards](, given out by the [Jewish Book Council]( since 1950 in recognition of outstanding Jewish literature, [have been announced](. The winner of the Everett Fam­i­ly Foun­da­tion Book of the Year was [Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance]( by [Jeremy Eichler](, which also won the His­to­ry Ger­rard and Ella Berman Memo­r­i­al Award and the Holo­caust Award in Mem­o­ry of Ernest W. Michel. [The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store]( by [James McBride]( won both the J.J. Green­berg Memo­r­i­al Award for Fic­tion and the Mille Family Book Club Award. The winner of Gold­berg Prize for Debut Fic­tion was [Ruth Madievsky]( for her [All-Night Pharmacy](. The full list of winners can be found in [this announcement](. This year’s winners of the [Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards](, intended to honor literary achievement by Australian writers, [have been announced](. The winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature was [Grace Yee]( for her [Chinese Fish](, which also won in the Poetry category. The winner in the Nonfiction category was [Ellen van Neerven]( for [Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity](, while the winner in the Fiction category was [Melissa Lucashenko]( for [Edenglassie](. The winner in the Indigenous Writing category was [Daniel Browning]( for [Close to the Subject: Selected Works](, while the winner in the Young Adult category was [Lili Wilkinson]( for [A Hunger of Thorns](, and the winner in the Children’s category was [Remy Lai]( for [Ghost Book](. The complete list of winners can be found in [this announcement](. Also in Australia, [a number of authors were chosen]( as [Order of Australia]( recipients this past January, on Australia Day. Among those so honored were New Zealand children’s writer and illustrator [Pamela Allen](; folklorist, social historian and author [June Factor](; author and poet [Kate Llewellyn](; academic [Anna Haebich](; and r​​esearcher [Robert French](. King Charles’ second [New Years Honours]( list has recently been released, and the bookish honorees include novelist [Alexander McCall Smith](, memoirist and biographer [Jung Chang](, romance novelist [Jilly Cooper](, illustrator [Charles Mackesy](, novelist and co-founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction [Kate Mosse](, historian [Andrew Pettegree](, and president of [Libraries Connected](, Carol Stump. Poet [Mimi Khalvati](, in the meantime, has been awarded the [2023 King’s Gold Medal for Poetry](, the second such prize to be presented since the ascension of King Charles. The Poetry Medal Committee chair, Poet Laureate [Simon Armitage](, praised Khalvati as “a pioneering and adventurous voice in the mainstream of British poetry, bridging cultural and linguistic traditions between her native Iranian heritage and the country where she came to live. Endlessly imaginative and playful, her work weaves social and political concerns with personal history and private experience.” In the United States, the winners of the 2023 [Andrew Carnegie Medals](, given out by the [American Library Association]( in recognition of “the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year,” [have been named](. The winner in the Fiction category is [Amanda Peters]( for [The Berry Pickers](, while the winner in the Nonfiction category is [Roxanna Asgarian]( for [We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America](. In other award news, the [National Book Foundation]( has [recently announced]( that they are expanding the eligibility rules for winners of the [National Book Award](, with the honor now being open to those who are not U.S. citizens, but who make the states their primary, long-term home. Additional Award News This Month: Winners. [The Albertine Translation Prize]( | [The Golden Poppy Awards]( | [The Grammy Awards (including Best Audio Book)]( | [The Parliamentary Book Awards]( | [The Southern Book Prize]( Shortlists / Finalists. [The Athenaeum Literary Award]( | [The Audie Awards]( | [The Bread and Roses Award]( | [The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction]( | [The Ena Noël Award](C3%ABl-Award-Shortlist) | [The Gordon Burn Prize]( | [The Lionel Gelber Prize]( | [The National Book Critics Circle Awards]( | [The Oregon Book Awards]( | [The Philip K. Dick Award]( | [The Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize]( | [The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize]( | [The Winston Graham Historical Fiction Prize]( Other Book World News Library and Literary News The personal library of English naturalist and biologist [Charles Darwin](, which has been partially cataloged on the site as one of our [Legacy Libraries](, has recently [been revealed in its entirety]( for the first time. The project to track down the complete contents of the library was led by historian and academic [John van Wyhe](, himself the author of a number of books about Darwin, and reveals the famed man’s eclectic interests, and the wide variety of stories he followed and news sources he consulted. In other news, a cache of letters from [Charles Dickens’]( sister-in-law and housekeeper Georgina Hogarth [has recently been acquired]( by the Charles Dickens Museum. The letters offer insight into Dickens’ personal life, and into how he was viewed by Hogarth, who would go on to be instrumental in preserving his legacy. In happy news from the UK, the British Library has [begun to restore digital services]( after being the victim of a [cyber attack]( in late October which put all sorts of essential services on hold, including their catalog, website and online learning resources. In Australia [a new Children’s Laureate has been named]( for the 2024-25 year, with prolific author [Sally Rippen]( receiving the honor. The Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF) has said that Rippen is the country’s highest selling female author, and that she “writes stories with heart, and characters that resonate with children, parents and teachers alike.” In the US, Caldecott medalist [Sophie Blackall]( has been [named the inaugural spokesperson]( for Children’s Book Week, for which she also designed the poster. TinyCat [TinyCat]( is the online catalog for small libraries, created by LibraryThing. It turns your existing LibraryThing account into a simple, professional, web-based catalog. Follow [@TinyCat_Lib]( on Twitter and [tinycat_lib](tinycat_lib) on Threads for the latest TinyCat news, and be sure to check out [LibraryThing’s Youtube channel]( for a range of TinyCat tutorials. of the Month. TinyCat’s featured library this month is the [U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library (USCMRL)](, which has been with LibraryThing since 2018. Volunteer Reference/Research Librarian and Cavalry Journal Editor Samuel Young sat down with Kristi this past month to answer her questions about [the library]( and their work. Q. Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?: The U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library (USCMRL) is a key part of the U.S. Cavalry Association (USCA) (a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization). It serves as the repository of U.S. Cavalry archives, biographies, books, flags, histories, interviews, journals, manuals, manuscripts, microfilm, papers, periodicals, pictures, and other spoken, digital, and written materials. The USCMRL is totally a research and reference library. You can find the [full interview on our blog](. TinyCat Webinars. To learn more about TinyCat, join Kristi for a live demo Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Webinars are now on Zoom, so make sure to use our new [link to attend](. You can also check out our playlists of Tiny Tutorials on [LibraryThing's YouTube channel](, where Kristi walks you through various features of TinyCat in 30 seconds or less. If you'd like to schedule a webinar at another time or if you have other questions about TinyCat, you can reach Kristi at tinycat@librarything.com. Wait, That's It? That's all I have for the Thing this month! If you have any suggestions, or ideas for improving State of the Thing, please reach out to me at abigailadams@librarything.com. Past issues of State of the Thing are available in our [SOTT Archive](. Happy reading, Abigail PS: If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from future emails](.