Great Regulars: In an impassioned speech at the British Library

this evening, the award-winning author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit [Jeanette Winterson] said: "Libraries cost about a billion a year to run right now. Make it two billion and charge Google, Amazon and Starbucks all that back tax on their profits here. Or if they want to go on paying fancy lawyers to legally avoid their moral duties, then perhaps those companies could do an Andrew Carnegie and build us new kinds of libraries for a new kind of future in a fairer and better world?"

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Charge Amazon, Starbucks and Google unpaid tax to fund libraries, says Winterson

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"Overseas-registered bookselling companies doing a lot of business in the UK, but paying little--or no--tax put our members who do pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage. In view of the public mood and interest, we have produced two posters for those of our members that want to use them," said Booksellers Association chief executive Tim Godfray. "We want consumers to be aware of the issue and, by doing so, to support those booksellers who do pay their taxes."

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: High-street shops turn fire on Amazon's tax avoidance

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Carlos sounds like a nice man. He's trying to find the book's real owner; if they haven't come forward within a couple of months, he'll give some of the money to charity and keep the rest. Good for him. He's certainly done better than the librarian who, last month, discovered an antique gun inside a donated book

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: A man found $20,000 in a secondhand book. Can you top that?

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According to the lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of local parent Tina Weber, it was stocked in the libraries of four schools in Davis School District, Utah, until some parents complained earlier this year that it "normalises a lifestyle we don't agree with", and that it "makes a homosexual lifestyle seem fun and exciting--lots of parties, costumes and events with children who grow up to have successful, high-paying careers".

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Utah district sued for segregating children's book about lesbian mums

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