Shelby County Public Library

10/14/2026

Remember those random librarian visits? Here’s what Stacey Kern of Clark-Pleasant Middle School said about her time at the library. Thanks again, Stacey!

10/13/2026

Popcorn time or binge-time? 'Verity' by Colleen Hoover and 'Carrie' by Stephen King are now available to watch. Don't forget, they were originally books. We're partial to books. We'd like to know- have you seen either of them yet? What's your opinion?

Both are riveting choices and perfect for the Halloween season.

10/12/2026

Join the coolest and scariest volunteer crew in Shelby County.
Volunteer for our haunted library festival this Saturday night – and have a ghoulishly fun time! 👻

We'll need help from 4 until 10 pm. Signup Today! Contact Donna Dennison at 317-398-7121. She'll fill you in on everything you need to know to be part of the spooky, fun event! 🎃

10/12/2026

In the news!

Families wait in line to enter last year’s Haunted Library. The Shelby County Public Library is preparing for this year’s Halloween festivities. An all-ages Haunted Library Festival will take place

10/12/2026

Halloween fun is in the works at the library this week. We're hosting our Haunted Library Festival; please bring the whole family. It's a busy week, but it's pretty chill, with time to color your Halloween on either Wednesday and Thursday evening. Visit our website or use our app to learn more about upcoming events.

10/10/2026

John Green from Indiana appears once more on this yearly list at position #8 with "Looking for Alaska".

Every year, ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The lists draw on confidential reports filed by library professionals and community members, as well as news stories published throughout the United States.

Because many book challenges go unreported to the ALA or aren't covered by the press, the ALA's compiled data represent only a snapshot of censorship attempts in libraries.

For the complete list, visit https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

10/09/2026

Ironic ban that made the news: Book about book bans banned by Florida school board.

“Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero in Amy Anne Ollinger. She's a true champion and testament to how doing a good thing is the first step in finding your own courage."—Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor winning author of The Underneath

In 2022, our own Shelby County Reads selections were books about reading. This was very popular in school library presentations that year. The upper elementary kids loved this one.

All selections:
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Do Not Bring Your Dragon to the Library by Julie Gassman
Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr

Reference:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/11/florida-book-bans-book-banned
https://www.myshelbylibrary.org/shelby-county-reads-6ff323b

10/09/2026

Occasionally we have a random librarian from another community visit our beautiful location. On Wednesday, Media Specialist Stacey Kern from Clark-Pleasant Middle School dropped by during fall break to check us out!

She is shown here with Dustin and Molly from youth services, taking a peek at our Teen Retro Room. She loved all the details and admired all the hard work it took to make this unique space. We all love the photo frame filled with staff from that department. Note: With a trip to Goodwill and some ingenuity, some magic can happen.

After the youth room Stacey toured the rest of the building. She loved the dome in our original Carnegie Library. She was impressed with our genealogy and history offerings.

She planned to take a walk downtown and then return and see what great reads she could find in our used bookstore!

Thanks, Stacey, for stopping by!

10/08/2026

The book *Forever* by Judy Blume has faced repeated challenges since its 1975 publication. For many, it was their first YA novel, and parents might have been surprised that their teens read it. Despite ongoing efforts to ban it, the book continues to be read. With 98 editions, its 224 pages have been printed over 80 million times. In 2021, Time magazine recognized it as one of the Best YA Books of All Time.

Judy says, "My daughter Randy asked for a story about two nice kids who have s*x without either of them having to die. She had read several novels about teenagers in love. "

Read more about what Judy says about this groundbreaking novel visit: https://judyblume.com/judy-blume-books/ya-books/ya-forever/