Beyond The Shelves - Libraries as Third Spaces

This month on Beyond the Shelves , Sarah and Jes unpack the idea of "third spaces" why we crave them, why they're disappearing, and how libraries have stepped in to fill the gap. Stick around for the Book Bulletin, where they unpack everything from LGBTQ+ publishing setbacks to Shakespearean fan fiction, Bridgerton‑era romance trends, and the wild saga of a possibly‑AI‑written novel. SHOW NOTES What We're Reading Back after this by Linda Holmes Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë To Be Read In the veins of the drowning by Kalie Cassidy Big in Sweden by Sally Franson Dominion by Addie E. Citchens The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss Books on Third Spaces The great good place by Ray Oldenburg Palaces of the People by Eric Klinenberg The Overlooked Americans by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett Meet me at the library by Shamichael Hallman Arbitrary Lines by Nolan M. Gray (zoning laws) The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (redlining) Walkable City by Jeff Speck Why public space matters by Setha Low Finding your third space by Richard Kyte The death and life of the great American cities by Jane Jacobs Book Bulletin Publishers are stepping back from LGBTQ books amid bans Hamnet = Shakespeare fanfiction? Julia Quinn launching romance book subscription service

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Beyond The Shelves - Libraries as Third Spaces is an episode from DMPL Podcast by DMPL.

This episode is 54:08 long.

This episode was published on Feb 11, 2026.

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