Steal My Crawl: Laura Poll
Need ideas for your crawl? We asked some folks to share how they participated last year, or what they’d like to do this year. Take inspiration or copy them outright–we won’t tell!
Laura Poll, JerZine Librarian
Laura Poll is the local history librarian at the Middletown Township Public Library in Monmouth County. She is also their resident Zine Librarian and collects New Jersey Zines (forever to be known as "JerZines") for their collection, holds monthly zine workshops for adults, and runs their monthly New Jersey Book Club.
Laura’s 2026 Crawl
Running the Middletown Library's monthly New Jersey Book Club, I am always on the prowl for books by Jersey authors or books that have Jersey characters or use Jersey as a setting or state of mind. There is plenty in the non-fiction genre, but what about novels and poetry? Local authors tend to be excluded from the library catalog because of purchasing policies in place. For this year's bookcrawl, I plan to ask specifically for recommended local authors and books that feature Jersey (in a good or bad light) for upcoming book club discussions.
Favorite bookstores outside of NJ: Atomic Books in Baltimore; Quimby's in Chicago
I read best… on the couch in the living room away from the tv and phone.