“As Americans grapple with the country’s history of racism, many of them have turned to books, propelling titles like How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo to the best-seller lists. … All that demand, however, is becoming a challenge for some Black-owned bookstores around the United States, as they attempt to manage the deluge of orders, a handful of titles that are out of stock, and occasionally, customers angered by the delays.” – The New York Times
Tag: 06.23.20
Facebook Bans All Trade In Historical Artifacts After Rampant Selling Of Looted Antiquities Discovered
After an investigation by the BBC and a Syrian-American archaeologist found a network of groups trading in ancient objects stolen from Middle Eastern war zones — including loot-to-order offers to dig up and steal mosaics that were still in the ground — the social media colossus says it will block all sale and trading of antiquities on its flagship site and Instagram. – BBC
Met Museum Sets Reopening Date
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art plans to open its doors on Aug. 29, after more than five months of pandemic shutdown … If everything goes smoothly with New York’s phased reopening, museums would be allowed to open on July 20 — in the fourth and final phase of the plan. The Met has set its date for about a month after that, with some staff members returning to work a few weeks earlier to prepare.” – The New York Times
John Bolton’s Tell-Not-Quite-All Officially Hits Stores, And Booksellers Are …
One might say that they’re conflicted. Barnes & Noble says that The Room Where It Happened is already at the top of its bestsellers list. “In contrast, a survey of participants in PW‘s Bxsellers Facebook group indicated that a slight majority of the approximately 30 respondents intend to stock the book, although many of them expressed caveats. Almost half of the indie booksellers responding to PW‘s query are opting to fulfill special orders only, while three booksellers disclosed that they flatly refuse to sell the book at all.” – Publishers Weekly
Philadelphia City Council Partly Reverses Zeroing-Out Of Arts Funding
“City Council has put money for the arts back into the administration’s revised COVID-19-ravaged 2021 budget, including full restoration of the subsidy for the African American Museum in Philadelphia. But the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, the city’s key funding apparatus for arts support, has been restored to only about one-third its pre-COVID-19 level of $3 million.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer