Are you looking for a good read? Here’s what Salem residents are digging up
According to librarian Kim Carroll, the Salem Public Library has seen a steady increase in returning visitors since reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown. And the use of the digital collection that took off during the pandemic continues to grow.
But there is more in the pipeline.
The library recently eliminated fines and increased the number of events for all ages, including storytelling, artists and book groups. The renovation of the library included the addition of study and meeting rooms open to the public.
“We will soon be launching a pilot program with book lockers at the Main Library,” Carroll said in an email to the Statesman Journal. “Users will be able to put items on hold and pick them up 24/7 from the book locker.”
A new Library of Things collection is expected to fully launch in March. Users will be able to control WiFi-enabled Chromebooks, metal detectors, video projectors, ice cream makers, outdoor games and other equipment.
Carroll also said there hasn’t been an increase in the number of controversial book challenges at the Salem library, but other libraries have seen challenges particularly to books that address racism, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.
“Salem Public Library is committed to centering, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging for all members of our community,” Carroll said. “One effective way to do this is to provide a wide variety of stories that explore the human experience.”
He said the literature is meant to act as a mirror, a window and a sliding glass door.
“A mirror is where we see ourselves in characters and experience. For me, a white cisgender woman with four sisters, I can see myself mirrored in Jo’s experience of Little Women.
A window allows the individual to view someone else’s experience. For some, it can be anything from Trevor Noah Born a crimewho talks about his experience when I was a boy growing up in apartheid South Africa, until Maia Kobabe’s journey through gender identity in the autobiographical graphic novel Gender queer.
“A sliding glass door expands the concept of windows,” Carroll said. “Sliding glass doors create empathy and understanding by influencing a person’s perspective in profound ways. For me, the work of Trevor Noah and Maia Kobabe offers a door into someone’s life experience that I can share even if it’s different from my own . I care about their experience, and this curation is what creates meaningful connections. That’s the power of literature.”
Carroll said these are the books Salem residents consulted the most in 2022.
Most titles extracted
- Dog Man by Dave Pilkey (juvenile graphic novel)
- Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner (fiction for young adults, Oregon Battle of the Books)
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (this year’s Salem Reads selection)
- Dog Man: Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey (youth graphic novel)
- The Match by Harlan Coben (fiction, thriller)
The best fiction for adults
- Harlan Coben’s game
- Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
- The City of Dreams by David Baldacci
- Nita Prose’s maid
- Lucy Foley’s Paris apartment
The best non-fiction for adults
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
- Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
- Atomic Habits: Small Changes, Big Results: A Proven, Easy Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad ones by James Clear
- The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in Trauma Healing by Bessel Van der Kolk
- The Dawn of It All: A New History of Mankind by David Graeber
The best fiction for teenagers
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
- Shadow and Bones by Leigh Bardugo
- Keeper of Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
- Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah Maas
The best non-fiction for teenagers
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
- All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir Poster by George M. Johnson
- Dashka Slater’s Bus 57
- Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
- Dungeon Master’s Guide by Mike Mearls
The best children’s fiction
- Dav Pilkey’s The Dog Man
- Kate Messner’s Oregon Trail Rescue
- Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney
- The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Jeff Kinney’s Escape
The best nonfiction for children
- Guinness World Records: Player’s Edition 2020
- Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids: Family-friendly projects to explore John Miller’s science, technology, engineering, and math concepts
- Megan Miller’s Unofficial Minecrafters Master Builder Workshop
- Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids by Jason Fry
- Star Wars, The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo
The best illustrated books for children
- Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party by Kimberly and James Dean
- Don’t let the pigeon stay up late! by Mo Willems
- The pigeon needs a bath! by Mo Willems
- Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by Kimberly and James Dean
- The pigeon has to go to school! by Mo Willems
Alia Beard Rau is editor-in-chief of the Salem Statesman Journal. Reach her at [email protected]
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