The statement is the culmination of two months of ALA’s intensive review and research, and forms ALA’s official response to the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking that aims to overhaul the E-rate program, the most comprehensive proceeding since the program’s 1997 inception. The statement, the ALA notes, is in line with with President Obama’s ConnectED goal for access to high-speed broadband and wireless for all America’s students through libraries and schools within five years.

“The nation is facing a sea change in what robust technology infrastructure can enable, and libraries are perfectly positioned to light the way forward and ensure no one is excluded from digital opportunity,” says ALA President Barbara Stripling. “America’s libraries must move from basic connectivity to high-capacity broadband so our students and our communities can compete globally. The E-rate program is essential for fulfilling this digital promise.”

America’s 16,417 public libraries serve more than 77 million computer users each year, yet only half of these multi-user outlets offer Internet speeds above the FCC’s home broadband recommendation of 4 Mbps. Through these Internet connections, libraries support the education, employment and e-government resources and services all increasingly moving to “the cloud,” ALA notes.

The ALA calls for new E-rate funding to jumpstart and sustain high-capacity and high-speed Internet connections that support digital learning and economic development through libraries and schools. The current funding cap on the program consistently falls far short of meeting basic demand for Internet-enabled education and learning services, and technology trends clearly show needs and future capabilities only are growing, ALA notes.

To address this, ALA says it supports a two-pronged approach: 1) New temporary funding to support the build-out of high-capacity broadband networks and provide increased support for libraries with the lowest levels of broadband connectivity. 2) A permanent increase in funding.

“Current funding does not reflect the economic reality faced by libraries and schools as they try to upgrade their broadband services,” says Emily Sheketoff, director of ALA’s Washington office. “This FCC proceeding provides an important opportunity to add more funding to the program and increase the value of the program to libraries, schools and our communities.”

ALA also urges the FCC to provide additional E-rate discounts for remote rural libraries, streamline the E-rate’s application review process; replace E-rate procurement rules with those of the applicable locality or state; lower barriers to deployment of dark and lit fiber and ownership of wide area networks when they are the most cost-effective ways to deliver broadband; work with libraries and schools to develop “scalable” bandwidth targets and benchmarks for measuring progress against these targets; and allow applicants to file an “evergreen” form for multi-year contracts.

“We commend the FCC Commissioners on their thoughtful and thorough invitation to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the E-rate program,” adds Marijke Visser, assistant director of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. “[ALA's] filing is clearly only the first step to an E-rate 2.0, and we look forward to engaging in the process over the coming months.”

With the exception of the National School Library Program of the Year Award, the deadline for AASL awards and grants is February 1, 2014. The National School Library Program of the Year Award deadline is January 1, 2014.

Applications now open include the Innovative Reading Grant ($2,500), sponsored by Capstone, which is designed to fund literacy projects for grades K-9, and the Intellectual Freedom Award, which grants $2,000 to the winner and $1,000 to the school library of the winner’s choice, sponsored by ProQuest, and given for upholding the principles of intellectual freedom as set forth by AASL and the American Library Association (ALA).

With the exception of the National School Library Program of the Year Award, the deadline for AASL awards and grants is February 1, 2014. The National School Library Program of the Year Award deadline is January 1, 2014. All applications will close at 4:30 p.m. CST on the day of the deadline.

Morris was a long-time ALSC member and friend, the recipient of the first ALSC Distinguished Service Award as well as an advocate for children’s librarians and literature. Morris was former vice-president and director of library promotion at HarperCollins Children’s Books.

“The Morris Seminar offers an inspiring and invigorating opportunity to explore the dynamics of group discussion while engaging with experts in the field of book evaluation,” says ALSC President Starr LaTronica. “Participants make strong connections to peers and leaders and come away with a renewed confidence in book discussion. This is a unique and invaluable experience for all involved and it ensures ALSC maintains its legacy of distinguished award-winning books.”

The Morris Seminar will bring new ALSC members and members with limited evaluation experience together with those who have served on ALSC’s media evaluation committees in an environment to train and mentor them in the group process and in children’s media evaluation techniques. The seminar will result in new and emerging leaders for future ALSC evaluation committees.

The Morris Endowment, which was established in 2000 and activated in 2003 upon his death, supports those selected to attend the seminar by offering it at no charge, including materials and meals. The Endowment also provides a $200 stipend for each attendee to defray any additional expenses.

Information and the application form are available on the ALSC website. Applications must be received by September 20, 2013.  Attendees selected to attend will be notified during the last week in October.

Krahnke will use the grant to purchase books to give away as library card registration incentives and for the library’s monthly teen book club, while Rérat’s goal is to partner with the Jasper County (MO) Juvenile Detention Center and update the center’s library.

Funds raised through Books for Teens will be distributed to institutions in communities with a high level of poverty, where librarians and library workers will purchase and distribute new books, encourage teens to get library cards and provide teens with reading-focused events and activities. Visit the Books for Teens website for complete information on grant requirements.

Teen Read Week is an national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It’s aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

“The Teen Book Finder is a great resource for library workers, educators, parents, and teens to utilize to find award-winning books and recommended reading,” says Shannon Peterson, YALSA president. “We’re really happy it has received such a great response since our members work so hard and enthusiastically to identify the best in young adult literature.”

The app, available as a free download through iTunes, is currently compatible on the iPhone, iPod, or iPad, with an Android version in the works for 2014, according to YALSA, the young adult division of the American Library Association. It has already been downloaded approximately 6,000 times in 2013. The organization plans to update the app again in January, 2014, following ALA’s Midwinter Meeting and Youth Media Awards.

The Teen Book Finder enables users to search for books by title, author, award or list, award or list year, or genre, and its “Find It!” button, powered by the OCLC WorldCat Search API, shows users where to locate a book in a nearby library. Each day, “Three Hot Picks” are featured from the database. The “Favorites” button allows users to create individualized reading lists; users are also able to share titles found via Twitter and Facebook.

The development and launch of YALSA’s Teen Book Finder was made possible through a grant funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

American Library Association

The ALA considers the document the cornerstone document of Stripling’s presidential initiative, “Libraries Change Lives,” which is designed to build sustained public support for America’s libraries of all types—school, public, academic and special.

“Libraries provide services that inspire and empower their users to change their lives through education,” says Stripling. “The Declaration will serve as an advocacy tool to help communities take action and illustrate the value of their libraries and library staff. Our hope is that library supporters will take advantage of this tool and present collected signatures to local leaders and legislators throughout the year.”

Kent Oliver, director of the Nashville Public Library, as well as Nashville library leaders and community members, joined Stripling at the event. All were among the first to sign the “Declaration,” which is intended to serve as a strong public statement about the value of libraries as institutions that empower individuals, strengthen families, build communities, and protect our right to know.

Signings are being organized at libraries and other locations throughout the nation. The petitions will be presented to Congress by library supporters during National Library Legislative Day activities from May 5 to 6, 2014. Online signing of the Declaration will be made available later this summer.

There is a clear link between the quality of school library programs and academic achievement, the ALA says, noting that more than 60 studies in 19 states show students in schools with school library programs staffed by qualified school librarians learn more, have higher academic achievement levels, and score higher on standardized tests than their peers in schools without such library programs.

The ALA also notes that public libraries are also critically important in our communities. According to the ALA’s “Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study,” an estimated 300,000 people a day receive job-seeking help at public libraries, and more than 65 percent of libraries are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities.

In the next year, libraries of all types will hold signing ceremonies, during which community members can visibly declare their right to have vibrant libraries in their communities.

Longtime SLJ reviewer and contributor John Peters co-chaired the 2013 GWS committee. Peters shares, “The committee sifted through dozens and dozens of recommended sites, looking for that elusive combination of reliable content and inspired presentation that Great Web Sites for Children have to display. We have some real ‘finds’ here, and I think that children (and their teachers and parents) who spend even a few minutes exploring them will be surprised and delighted.”

Co-chair Kimberly Probert Grad, library information supervisor at Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library adds, “The newest additions to Great Web Sites for Kids feature a blend of fact and fun, including sites offering solid homework resources, current news for tweens in Spanish or English, STEM activities, engineering for girls, and the delightfully zany Captain Underpants. Two additional sites offer resources on Common Core Standards and Learning Disabilities.”

Newly evaluated and accepted sites are added by the committee three times a year. It also reviews all sites twice a year to guarantee that they are still relevant, appropriate, and accessible.

The newly added sites are:

B.J. Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper
Common Core – State Standards Initiative
Dav Pilkey’s Extra Crunchy Website-O-Fun
Engineer Girl
Howtosmile.org
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Start with a Book
Tween Tribune
Tween Tribune en Español
Wonderopolis

See also:
Joyce Valenza’s Picks from the Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning

Kiera Parrott’s Picks from the Best Apps for Teaching and Learning

The hearing, “E-Rate 2.0: Connecting Every Child to the Transformative Power of Technology,” aimed to address issues on strengthening the program that provides discounted Internet access and telecommunications services to U.S. schools and libraries,  in response to the Obama Administration ‘s directive last month to fund access to broadband to nearly all students within the next five years.

“I’m old enough to remember when it took 20 minutes to establish a dial-up connection. Clearly we are in a different place today. So are our libraries,” Lord told the committee [PDF], which oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who administers E-Rate.

“In 1998, I could not have envisioned the programs libraries offer today. For instance, we are using interactive videoconferencing technology to connect rural Mainers with volunteer attorneys. One library serving a population of about 1,200 hosted elementary students to view a real-time program on flight from the Smithsonian. This would not have been possible even five years ago.”

Lord also cautioned the committee, however, that simply connecting libraries and schools is not enough to serve our students and families today. “We need high-speed, reliable connections like the one at the Omaha Public Library that ensured one patron could Skype into three interviews with Boeing before being offered a job,” she said. “We also need upload capabilities that rival download speeds for small businesses to upload large packets of information into the cloud.”

The hearing comes just ahead of a decision from the FCC on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modernize the E-rate program.

Says Barbara Stripling, American Library Association (ALA) president, “Whether you are a school librarian—as both Linda Lord and I have been—or a public librarian, you know that your Internet infrastructure can either enable or stifle innovation for our nation’s 55 million K12 students, more than 1.5 million home-school students and millions more pursuing their GED or distance learning.We simply cannot allow inadequate bandwidth to be the limiting factor for what our students and our nation can achieve. E-rate is fundamental to meeting this challenge.”

According to a 2013 Pew Internet Project report, the availability of computers and Internet access now rivals book lending and reference expertise as vital library services. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say free access to computers and the Internet is a “very important” service of libraries, compared with 80 percent who say borrowing books and access to reference librarians are “very important” services.

Supported by the NEA Library, Information Literacy, and Technology Caucus, and presented by Susan Ridgeway, AASL member and advocacy chair for the Ohio Educational Library Media Association, the NEA measure promises to support AASL in its upcoming lobbying efforts.

“I am so happy that the item passed unanimously,” says Ridgeway. “That tells me that my colleagues agree wholeheartedly with all of the studies that have been conducted in the last twenty years. They know students perform better when they have access to certified school librarians. This will send a clear message to the Senate that this portion of the ESEA needs to be included and the whole bill needs to be passed by both houses as soon as possible.”

Adds Gail Dickinson, AASL president, “This high profile show of support by NEA will encourage school librarians across the nation. AASL would like to thank the NEA, the caucus, and Susan for championing the profession and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership.”

The Strengthening America’s Schools Act was introduced in the Senate last month by Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jack Reed (D-RI). It is the first piece of legislation to recognize the role school library programs play in student learning since 1965, according to the American Library Association.

The Printz Award committee flanks honoree (front row, from left to right) Beverly Brenna, winner Nick Lake, honoree Benjamin Alire Sáenz and honoree Elizabeth Wein. Photo courtesy of YALSA.

The event is a chance for honorees to celebrate and speak about their books, then mingle with fans over drinks and dessert. This year’s author speeches, like the books recognized, ranged in topic from the personal to the intellectual—but one central theme emerged: the power of storytelling and its ability to connect kids to larger truths about the world.

The Young Adult Library Services Association gives the Michael L. Printz Award each year to the “best book written for teens,” and the award committee can also name up to four honor titles. In January 2013, five books published in 2012 were recognized: winner In Darkness, by Nick Lake; and honor books Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz; Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein; Dodger by Terry Pratchett; and The White Bicycle by Beverly Brenna.

Sáenz opened the evening, and he could have closed it as well. His incredibly touching speech left the audience sobbing. His book is a coming-of-age tale about two Latino boys in Texas. He shared with the audience his own painful journey to coming out at age 54, “a wounded man—but what are wounds to a writer?” He spoke about how he nearly abandoned Aristotle and Dante because it was “too close to home,” and explained that he ultimately, accidentally, came back to the novel. “There should be roadmaps for boys who were born to play by different rules…born gay. I suppose I became a cartographer.” His speech was personal, painful, and passionate, much like Ari and Dante’s journeys, and in the end, he thanked the committee and the audience, saying “today I feel like a boy again.”

He was greeted by a spontaneous standing ovation, prompting Elizabeth Wein to start her own speech with a good-natured grumble about the agony of following him. Fortunately for her—and for audience, still sobbing—she moved away from deeply personal topics (which she had previously covered in her USBBY speech the day before) and started with history. Her own history, yes—but even Wein’s journal, which she read from, is a crafted, precise piece of accomplished writing, laced with literary references, sly humor, and an astounding wealth of detail.

In the reading, it became clear just how deeply Wein poured her own self into the creation of Julie, the narrator of Code Name Verity. “Like me,” Wein said, “she’s writing because it transports her.” As she spoke, it became clear that in fact this speech was just as personal and Sáenz’s, but focused on the act of writing. Code Name Verity is “about voices being silenced and found,” Wein said, and while it’s easy to see that it’s a story of friendship and World War II, it’s also about “the power of words.”

The theme of words as power—and literature as a means to a deeper truth—echoed throughout the evening; Sáenz brought it to life and Wein made it explicit. Terry Pratchett’s speech (given by his US editor Anne Hoppe) touched on the same ideas, in different form.

Dodger was written as a testament to the real Henry Mayhew, a man whose words, in the form of a comprehensive study of the poor of Victorian London, changed the world. But because it was written by Terry Pratchett, who admits that his “mind packs more rats than Hamelin,” the testament to Mayhew might have morphed a bit; Victorian London, after all, “is cut in the mold of fantasy.” Pratchett’s speech was laced with his customary wry humor, clear even when voiced by someone else, and, while he was missed, appreciative chuckles sounded throughout the audience, along with a murmur of agreement at a piece of truth: “you don’t have to invent that much if you have a good grasp of social history.”

Next up was Beverly Brenna, who started by thanking the audience for being there—because she’s actually shown up a night early, only to be greeted by empty chairs! Following up on the thematic scope of the evening (leading a few listeners to speculate that there might be a secret online forum for Printz winners and honorees where they had planned this perfectly aligned set of remarks), Brenna said “stories are important. Stories can change the world.”

And as she recounted a story her own mother told her, it became clear that Brenna is a consummate storyteller; she had the rhythm down perfectly, changing inflections and intonations for different moments. It’s no surprise that the aspect of The White Bicycle the committee and readers always reference is the voice. And indeed, Brenna admitted that she wrote her book with purpose: to give voice to those on the Autism spectrum, whose voices are still too rarely heard.

Speaking of the voiceless, Brenna was followed by Nick Lake, whose In Darkness gives voice to the poor of Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the terrible earthquake of 2010. Lake’s speech was laced with philosophy—Nietzsche, Campbell’s hero’s journey, and the idea of magical truths: “the shaman and the geneticist both would say, ‘My ancestors live inside me.’”

Above all, Lake spoke about circles and connections, within his book and within the world. “Something small can contain eternity,” and a book can contain a universal truth, he said. He spoke about how hard it is to grow up, and—winning the hearts of every listener, said “reading is an incredibly important part of young adults becoming functional adults.” He also managed, remarkably, to work in references to The Hunger Games, Daniel Kraus, John Green, and—of all things—“poo.” Because nothing puts life in perspective like winning an award and immediately having to deal with a 2-year-old’s diaper: the circle of life made all too real and much less intellectual in one fell swoop.

The speeches should be available on YALSA’s website in the near future.

Youth services division presidents Gail Dickinson (AASL), Shannon Peterson (YALSA), and Starr LaTronica (ALSC) pose with the ALA’s new Declaration for the Right to Libraries.

Right out of the gate, Barbara Stripling, ALA’s incoming president, drew upon the theme “Libraries Change Lives” in kicking off the organization’s “America’s Right to Libraries” campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the variety of services that libraries provide throughout the country. As part of her presentation, Stripling unveiled the Declaration for the Right to Libraries and reminded attendees that ALA is hoping librarians from all types of libraries will gather hundreds of thousands of patron signatures in the coming months. ALA plans to structure a one- or two-week window later this year when school libraries in particular across the country can host signing ceremonies, creating opportunities for ALA to leverage strong national media coverage and public support for the cause.

In the meantime, the initial promotion of the declaration is proceeding as planned. “At Board III, I signed [the declaration] flanked by immediate past-president Susan Ballard and President-elect Terri Grief,” AASL President Gail Dickinson tells School LibraryJournal.  “It was also  presented at Affiliate Assembly, so that our state affiliates are also aware. I am sure that both the legislation and the advocacy committees are working to publicize it.”

As promised by ALA last month, a new implementation task force has already been formed to continue the work of the School Library Task Force. The new committee will be co-chaired by Gina J. Millsap, CEO of Topeka Shawnee County Public Library (KS) and Terry Kirk Grief, AASL president-elect.

“The increased emphasis on preparing all students to be college and career ready and the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards and integration of technology have opened an unprecedented door to school library leadership,” the ALA leadership says.

Adds Margaux DelGuidice, a 2013 Movers & Shaker, “Meeting with fellow members of the AASL/YALSA/ALSC Joint Task Force on the Common Core in person and making out the work we will do together,” was one of the key moments in her conference experience this year.

Technology was also front-and-center, with recommended lists for apps and websites creating lots of buzz, attendees say. For the first time ever, AASL announced its list of Best Apps for Teaching and Learning; the committee’s selections were made using the AASL’s Standard’s for 21^st Century Learning as a guide. And for the fifth year, the organization announced its Best Websites for Teaching and Learning in six categories, including media sharing, curriculum collaboration, and social networking.

Additional AASL business included updates from Dickerson on the search for a new AASL executive director. “Conducting a search for this position, which is so important to school libraries, is a thoughtful and reflective process, with a lot of discussion to ensure that the person selected is our best candidate from a pool of highly qualified applicants,” she tells SLJ.

In addition, ALSC announced three Summer Reading Lists for kindergarten through eighth grade. Each of the lists has 25 titles selected by the organization’s Quicklists Consulting Committee and its School-Age Programs and Services Committee.

Generating a stir during the conference was Chris Harris, coordinator of the school library system for the Genesee Valley (NY) Educational Partnership, who introduced the new “Here Be Fiction” program during the “Maintaining Teen E-Collections” presentation. The program makes fiction available in ebook format to school librarians. August House, Bancroft Press, Picture Window Books, Lerner, and Stone Arch Books are the first publishers to be involved. With the program, librarians will be able to download such titles as Kate McMullan’s Nice Shot Cupid (Stone Arch, 2011) to a mobile device or reader. The program will go live on July 15, when selected school librarians around the country will have free access during their summer vacations to read and review ebook fiction.

ALA also spotlighted a number of authors are helping libraries have access to digital media through its new “Authors for Library Ebooks” campaign, which aims to assist ALA in its negotiations with publishers on reaching a sustainable solution for library ebook lending. Cory Doctorow, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Jodi Picoult are just some of the participating authors who have sign on in support of great access to ebooks through libraries.

Says Le Guin, “So, dear reader, if your library doesn’t have the e-book you’d like to read, please don’t complain to your librarian. Complain to your publisher. Tell him to wake up and get real.”

Adds Picoult, “Whether it’s a digital file or a paper copy, I want readers to find my books—and all books—in their libraries. I stand with libraries—and I invite other authors to join me in the campaign for library e-books for all.”

Inaugural brunch attendees build with blocks to illustrate Stripling’s collaboration theme.

A highlight of the conference, youth librarians tell SLJ, was the programming centered around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education, which was presented by the ALA Public Programming Office in conjunction with NASA and the Space Science Institute. Two sessions introduced new resources now available to libraries to introduce students and patrons to STEM topics: a traveling exhibit, Discover Tech: Engineering Make a World of Difference, and a new STEM online community, STARnetLibraries. The exhibit will be traveling around the country for the next year, while the site’s goal is connect libraries with STEM professionals.

Some conference attendees also enjoyed last Tuesday’s inaugural brunch to welcome Stripling and the new division presidents, with tables were decorated with Legos and building blocks to illustrate Stripling’s call for collaboration and building connections.

The close of the conference also marked the retirement of Julie Walker, AASL executive director.  The association is in the process of selecting her successor.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced its inaugural list of the Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. Revealed Jun 30 at the American Library Association annual conference, the 25 selected apps cover a broad range of subjects, inspire curriculum connections, and can be used with multiple grades. While chosen with school librarians and classroom instruction in mind, these apps can also be adapted for use in public library programming.

The Best Apps for Teaching and Learning Taskforce, chaired by Melissa Jacobs-Israel, developed a set of criteria based on the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and selected apps in five distinct categories: books, STEM, organization and management, social sciences, and content creation.

The committee considered whether the apps were well designed, user-friendly, and filled with pop-up ads or other unnecessary distractions. According to the committee, the winning apps encourage deep inquiry, critical thinking skills, and engaging learning experiences. The result is a well-rounded list that will be very useful for teachers and librarians, particularly those new to the world of integrating apps into classrooms and programs.

The list included a few of my own tried and true favorites like Toontastic (a fun and funny content creation app for elementary students) and Evernote (as one committee member noted, “I run my life on Evernote”). There were a few surprises as well. The following are apps that looked so exciting that I downloaded them as they were announced by the selection committee:

Shakespeare in Bits—Hamlet: Where was this when I was in ninth grade? Full-cast narration, animated scenes and character webs help students visualize and further explore the Bard’s famous creation. The original play can also be purchased in-app.

Tinkerbox: This is what great STEM apps can be. Combining engineering, puzzles, and design, children are encouraged to problem solve, apply new skills, and use their imaginations. They can invent crazy machines and share them with friends or with the app developer.

Videolicious: There are a ton of video creation apps, but very few are simple enough for most kids to use successfully and powerful enough to produce high-quality creations. This one hits both marks. Kids can choose photo or video content already saved on their device, record a narration, and select a copyright-free song from the in-app library.

Kiera Parrott is head of children’s services at Darien Library, CT, and a blogger for ALSC.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, given annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association to an author in honor of work that makes a “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.” The award, which is sponsored by SLJ, was presented Saturday during the American Library Association’s annual conference in Chicago to Tamora Pierce for her “Song of the Lioness” and “The Protector of the Small” series.

As is tradition, the winning author is the featured speaker at the event―and this year, the feisty and mischievous Pierce did not disappoint. After introductory remarks from Jack Martin, YALSA president, and Jamie Watson, chair of the 2013 Edwards committee, Pierce took to the microphone. She spoke in a soft monotone about how honored she was, mentioned her experience of attending conferences and listening to librarians and readers, and paused frequently to cough.

The audience was initially confused; where was the feminist personality they had come to see? Where was the warm, outsized writer whose online persona so many knew? There was a hush in the room, an almost palpable sense of disappointment. This was Tamora Pierce? This was the woman whose books had, for many attendees, been transformative reading in their own teen years?

And then Pierce dropped her punchline: she’s not that dull, robot-voiced speaker―but she likes to see the discomfort. “The thought of your pain and suffering makes me happy,” she said gleefully. The audience laughed appreciatively, thoroughly warmed up, and Pierce’s real speech began.

Readers familiar with Pierce’s work will know that she focuses on strong, spunky female heroes in well-realized fantasy worlds, a theme she discussed at length. Pierce spoke passionately about her own childhood reading of heroic tales and a few bright, bold girl books, and the tensions at home that tore her in two directions and at one point almost made her give up writing.She described discovering fantasy novels, where “women could be warriors. Except, well…”

In the fantasy of Pierce’s childhood, women were sword fodder or “over-sexed trollops.” So Pierce set out to write real fantasy: books in which chainmail bikinis would never make an appearance, featuring women “who would not surrender who they had fought to become. Even if they fell in love.”

Heads nodded. This was the speech people had come to hear!

Tamora Pierce addresses librarians at the Edwards Award luncheon. Photo by Jean-Marc Giboux.

Pierce wrote realistic fantasy―with bathrooms, contraception, and consequences―because she wanted to live in it. Her books reflect her whole self: Alanna comes from Pierce’s adolescence, but Kel comes from a deeper, adult understanding of the complications and challenges that face women in the military and other typically male-dominated, physically challenging jobs. The verisimilitude of Kel’s experiences reflects research and dedication: martial arts, interviews and conversations with women in the military, and a reflection on 9/11 which occurred as the final book in the Kel quartet was being written―all played a part in making the series ring true.

It’s this dedication to reality that makes Pierce’s books so enduring, and guarantees that she has “the coolest fans of anybody,” a statement in evidence at the end of the luncheon when several librarians who had come of age on Pierce’s books approached her, crying, to finally meet in person the hero who had taught them all about female heroes.

For those who missed the Edwards luncheon, there is another opportunity to hear from Pierce coming up: she will be keynoting SLJ’s free SummerTeen online event.

The Caldecott Medal was awarded to 32-year-old Jon Klassen for This is Not My Hat (Candlewick). In accepting the award, Klassen fondly referred to his book—about a sneaky fish and the stolen hat he adores—as his “little guy,” and said he was happy that its subtle humor and message had resonated with readers. Klassen is also a Caldecott Honoree this year for Mac Burnett’s Extra Yarn (HarperCollins); he is only the second illustrator with this achievement in the award’s history.

Katherine Applegate, winner of the John Newbery Medal for The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins), spoke about her long road to the Medal after a varied writing career, commenting that she was not ‘a late-blooming” success. The 56-year-old winner read from a Harlequin Romance novel that she once wrote. “A woman’s body is like a piano,” she said. “You are definitely a Steinway, baby.”

Unlike her early work, Applegate’s Newbery-winning turn is a poignant YA story of a long-captive gorilla. In her remarks, Applegate recalled her youth and specifically the time that she was introduced to Doctor Doolittle and Charlotte’s Web, books in which, like the Ivan of her book, the principal protagonists were talking animals. “You have to write the book that has to be written,” she quoted Madeleine L’Engle. “And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

Applegate went on to praise the optimism of children and to thank the members of the Nerdy Book Club, whose online enthusiasm brought recognition to Ivan.

In accepting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, Katherine Paterson thanked “all the librarians and teachers,” noting, “many children would never know my books if it was for you.” The award is given to an author whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature. The 80-year-old Paterson is a two-time Newbery and National Book Award winner, and has served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The Wilder award comes forty years after the publication of her first book, The Sign of the Chrysanthemum. In closing, Paterson praised the audience and the event, which she said was for “celebrating all of you who nourish the lives of the young.”

Librarian Suzanne Walker donned pins representing the 75 Caldecott Medalists.

The evening’s entertainment was not only found on the stage. The audience was filled with many librarians dressed in their Caldecott-themed fashions and accessories, such as Starr LaTronica, youth services/outreach manager at the Four County Library System (NY) and president-elect of ALSC, who sported earrings and shoes adorned with Caldecott Medals. Elizabeth Bird of the New York Public Library, picture book author and SLJ blogger, wore an outfit that featured all of this year’s Caldecott books. And all 75 Caldecott winners were present on the dress of Suzanne Walker from the Indiana State Library in the form of individual pins that she created for each winning book.

Katrina Taylor and Charlene Mckenzie, librarians from St. Paul, MN, are annual attendees of the dinner; both enjoy the event for different reasons, they told School Library Journal. While McKenzie appreciates getting to see the authors and illustrators who “create the magic of the book,” Taylor says, “it is so inspiring to have a celebration of children’s literature.”

During the reception, attendees previewed the museum’s special exhibit on the history of the Caldecott Medal, “Play, Pretend, and Dream: Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, 2010–2013,” and had books signed by featured Caldecott artists. The exhibition includes original illustrations from 16 books that have won the medal or an honor award in the past four years, including Jon Klassen’s This Is Not My Hat, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Jon Klassen), Peter Brown’s Creepy Carrots!, and Chris Raschka’s A Ball for Daisy. (Visitors to Chicago can view the works through December 1, 2013.)

On Friday, Selznick, 2008 Caldecott Medalist for The Invention of Hugo Cabret and 2002 Honoree for The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, opened the preconference by hilariously donning the sparkly shirt he wore when he accepted his own Caldecott and acknowledging Zelinsky, three-time Caldecott Honoree and 1998 Medalist for Rapunzel, in the crowd.

Selznick, who designed the logo for the Caldecott anniversary celebration, spoke about the importance of the medal and shared a little of its history and trivia, from its conception in 1921 by bookseller Frederic G. Melcher and on into the modern era. (For example, 1964 winner Maurice Sendak loved Randolph Caldecott’s Baby Bunting, especially its closing illustration, Selznick noted.)

Selznick also acknowledged that there are authors and illustrators that have never been recognized by Caldecott. In closing, Selznick went on to share more memories of his friend and mentor Sendak and the ways Sendak inspired his own work, and called Where the Wild Things Are one of the most important Caldecott winners. He closed with a reading of that iconic and beloved work.

Attendees learned about the process of creating an award-winning picture book in a series of panels: “Matching Words and Pictures,” which featured Erin and Phillip Stead and Neal Porter; “Choosing a Medium and a Style,” featuring Chris Raschka and Lee Wade; and “Preparing Art for Production,” featuring Jerry Pinkney and Patti Ann Harris. Attendees were shown early sketches of completed works (such as Raschka’s little books, in which he creates mock-ups of the earliest drafts of his picture books), and learned more about the revision and design processes.

At lunch, Leonard Marcus moderated a panel on Caldecott honorees featuring Melissa Sweet, Pamela Zagarensky, Peter Brown, and Kadir Nelson. The author/illustrators debated the future of picture books and talked about the various ways that technology might change the field in the future. Attendees also had a chance to discuss in small groups a list of books that each had been pre-assigned in advance, one Caldecott-winning book from each decade.

In the afternoon, Art Institute staff helped facilitate the breakout sessions for further discussion. The topics were varied: “Art and Stories,” ” The Caldecott Medal and Social Issues,” “Caldecott Medal Artists at the Art Institute: A Closer Look,” “Caldecott Books for Older Readers,” “How Did They Do That?,” “Look to Learn; Learn to Look,” “Multi-Layered Meanings,” “Randolph Caldecott and Caldecott Medal History,” “Serving on the Caldecott Committee,” “Style and Media,” “Watching Dry Paint!,” and “Weston Woods and the Caldecott Winners.”

The day wrapped with Zelinsky’s engaging and funny presentation, in which he challenged librarians to look toward the future of the field, especially in light of technology’s many distractions. What could “interactive” picture books look like? Might we see a day when famous picture books, even Where the Wild Things Are, will be adapted for each reader? (Maybe not. After all, “Paul, the king of all wild things…” doesn’t quite have the same resonance as “King Max.”)

Additional reporting by Rocco Staino, contributing editor.

Unveiled June 29 at the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago, the list includes digital storytelling tools such as FlipSnack, for creating books from PDFs, and Inklewriter, an interactive writing platform by Cambridge, MA, startup inkle, designers of the Poems by Heart app for Penguin Classics. Then there’s Biblionasium, a social reading site for kids that’s already being used by a California elementary school for summer reading. (Please let us know how you’re using or plan to use these tools in the comments.)

As she did last year, Valenza posted her take on NeverEndingSearch, Valenza’s School Library Journal blog.

Here in Chicago, AASL’s Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Committee just released its standards-aligned 2013 list.

Sites, apps, and tools are selected because they engage users through innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. Honored websites, tools, and resources will provide exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning.

Using Edcanvas as a platform for curation (see below), this year’s Committee described a fabulous array of tools in the categories of:

Media Sharing

Digital Storytelling

Manage & Organize

Social Networking & Communication

Content Resources

Curriculum Collaboration

The team confirmed several of my personal favorites: Pinterest, Smore, Easel.ly, TED Ed, and DPLA, for instance. But I learned about so many truly useful new tools this morning, my mind was racing with plans for both personal use and serious fall implementation.

Here is a list of some of those new-to-me discoveries:

Workflowy: for planning an organizing

FlipSnack: for digitally publishing professional looking flip books. I’ll check this out as an alternative to Issuu.

The American Library Association (ALA) annual conference is upon us, and I’m vexed with both Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). As I tool around the country helping folks engage with nonfiction and the Common Core, I keep seeing evidence of deeply-seated and unexamined prejudice against nonfiction in those two divisions.

I followed with real interest the discussion of the Caldecott Award at 75 on the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) listserv. The first posts were about identity: the overwhelming number of winners that were both male and Caucasian. I asked about nonfiction in terms of genre and format. How many nonfiction winners have there been? And, how frequently has photography (often used in nonfiction books) been honored?

Though there were moving and passionate posts about Tanya Hoban and Nic Bishop, (I’d add Susan Kuklin and Charles Smith, to begin), no committee has seen fit to honor them. Indeed the only exceptions I’ve heard mentioned emphasize my point: Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s medal winner Snowflake Bently (Houghton Mifflin, 1998), illustrated by  Mary Azarian, is about a photographer, without his photographs, while Patrick McDonnell’s honor book Me…Jane (Little, Brown, 2011) has, drumroll, a single photo. Why, one might ask.

The answer rests in a rule that gets to the heart of the issue I am raising: Caldecott criteria require original artwork that has not been previously published. That means that a picture book that incorporates archival photography or images from a research institute can’t win. At a stroke, the medal eliminates from consideration any book that uses, say, NASA images. The award can go to a deceased artist, but I was told by an expert that the medal was initially designed to support living artists, thus the focus on new work.

The problem is that Caldecott criteria state that the award is presented in honor of “the most distinguished American picture book for children,” and defines distinguished as: “Marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement. Marked by excellence in quality. Marked by conspicuous excellence or eminence. Individually distinct.”

If the Caldecott is an award to encourage living artists, then (contra what I argued in The Horn Book years ago) we should have awards designed to encourage every brand of living artist. Affirmative action is affirmative action–let’s identify deserving sets of artists and make sure they get their due. But, if the Caldecott honors the most distinguished picture book, it cannot exclude a title that requires the primary use of archival images. When I read through the list of medalists, I see marvelous books and a line-up of wonderful artists deserving of their honors. But the members of that all-star team, no matter how luminary, are solely masters of ink and brush, paint, and pixel.

The Caldecott does not honor the most distinguished picture book; it honors the most distinguished rendered picture book. That is a crucial distinction because it signifies that great artistry can’t be found in the selection, layout, design, and display of images that have survived from the past. Indeed, one person who posted on the CCBC listserv intimated that she, and she assumed most others, believe photography is not an art form in the same manner as drawing, painting, or collage.

Another person pointed to the Robert F. Sibert medal as meeting the need for a nonfiction award. But that is not fair given that the Caldecott criteria state that the award selects and honors distinction. The Caldecott is the ne plus ultra, the cynosure, of awards–it cannot both assert its primacy, and–implicitly–disqualify whole categories of books. Moreover, Caldecott is an ALSC award–a division that stretches up to 8th grade, as once again the award rules stress. Surely those older readers of picture books–and we all know they are legion–often prefer photographs over drawings they see as childish. And yet this ALSC award inherently excludes those older books from consideration.

That brings me to YALSA. I’ve been furious ever since that ALA division decided to remove nonfiction from its Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) list. BBYA is now best fiction. While YALSA has made efforts to improve its nonfiction prize, it has never recognized a key flaw in its plan: the BBYA meetings were a public forum where future librarians, authors, and editors, and could listen and learn, and its nomination list was often used by teens as a reading/discussion list. There is no longer an up-to-date list of young adult nonfiction titles for reading groups to consider, or a public venue where stakeholders can discuss teen nonfiction. It’s ironic that this has happened just when librarians, authors, and editors are asking for guidance in how to select and craft quality nonfiction.

So there we have it. Sure, individual books are honored, as Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb (Macmillan, 2012) was this year. But nonfiction remains marginal–so marginal that neither ALSC nor YALSA seems to notice their abiding bias. The question is, why?

Despite the exciting and welcome inclusion of school libraries in the Senate’s new education bill, “school libraries across the country are at a critical point,” said ALA President Elect Barbara Stripling, ALA President Maureen Sullivan, and ALA School Library Task Force Co-Chairs Susan Ballard and Pat Tumulty in a joint statement. “School libraries must be made a national priority, and we will need your help—and the help of every member and every supporter—if we are to succeed.”

The multi-faceted campaign will build on the work of the School Library Task Force, and an implementation task force has already begun working on strategic messaging and advocacy work for the next year, according to the ALA. First on the implementation task force’s agenda is the short-term “think tank” to develop key messages and strategies, before it divides into subcommittees to tailor the messages and actions to different constituencies.

ALA also confirms that its school library campaign will be jumpstarted by beginning the national push for signatures on the Declaration for the Right to Libraries with school libraries who will forward the signed declarations to public and academic libraries in their communities and state. The vision is to establish a window of 1–2 weeks in the fall for school libraries across the country to host signing ceremonies, which can be leveraged for strong national media coverage and public support, ALA says.

The school library advocacy efforts will also include building partnerships with national organizations and targeting specific constituencies (like school administrators, classroom teachers, parents, and school boards). Increased advocacy with national legislators will be guided by ALA’s Washington Office.

Several vendors have offered to support ALA advocacy efforts for school libraries; ALA promises it will engage those vendors and enlist others to become a part of the school library campaign.

“The bottom line for our school library campaign is our shared understanding that all types of libraries form an ecosystem that really does impact the success of whole communities and the individuals within them,” Stripling, Sullivan, Ballard, and Tumulty said. “We must stand together and demand strong school libraries. No child in America should be deprived of that right.”

Illustration by John Corbitt.

This month, librarians across the country are building their lists of can’t-miss panels, lunches, unconferences (participant-driven meetings), and exhibits as they gear up for the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Chicago from June 27 to July 2.

Other librarians are questioning how much ALA annual really serves their professional development needs. In a time of contracting budgets, layoffs, and demands for tech expertise in the library, is ALA still the must-attend event for all? Or is the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in San Antonio from June 23 to 26 a better choice?

For the ALA faithful, the panoply of offerings—not to mention the essential social component—makes ALA annual a necessity. “There’s definitely a lot of friends who connect at ALA,” says Gretchen Caserotti, director of the Meridian (ID) Library District, chair of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Children and Technology Committee, and a PLA (Public Library Association) and LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) member.

What else are ALA attendees looking forward to? For Caserotti, it’s the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder Banquet along with tech programs like “Apps, Apps, and More Apps,” “Top Technology Trends & LITA Awards Presentation,” and the LITA President’s Program speech by Cory Doctorow.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) executive director Beth Yoke expects to be holed up in meetings for much of the conference, but she’s eager to see the 25 featured winners of the Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults awards, with programs ranging from one involving iPads and incarcerated youth to another called “Teen Fashion Apprentice.” What’s on Wendy Stephens’s ALA list? Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, who’s delivering a keynote. The unconferences. And, “it’s a huge thrill to go to the Printz reception and the awards banquet,” says Stephens, a librarian at Cullman (AL) High School, ALA councilor-at-large, and the YALSA blog member manager.

Starr LaTronica, ALSC vice president and president-elect and youth services/outreach manager at the Four County Library System in Vestal, NY, will try not to miss “Think with Your Eyes!” a panel focusing on visual literacy. “In this heavily visual world, so much relies on being able to interpret visual cues,” says LaTronica, who praises the “serendipity” of the ALA conference experience, where the vast and varied offerings can lead to unexpected inspirations.

ISTE appeal

Serendipity, schmoozing, and star power aside, how critical is ALA to librarians’ needs? Not very, some librarians say. “Although I’ve gotten some great ideas at ALA, they’re still struggling to step up their game technology-wise,” says Gwyneth Jones, otherwise known as the “Daring Librarian” and a teacher librarian and technology specialist at the Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, MD.

Particularly among tech-savvy school librarians like Jones, ISTE is now more of a draw. It’s not just that ISTE’s ed-tech focus provides more bang for their conference buck. School librarians—while often active in AASL activities within ALA—don’t always feel they’re taken seriously at ALA annual and prefer the vibe among ISTE’s mix of educators.

“I sometimes have problems with the way school librarians are treated at ALA,” says Jones. “When I went to ALA early on, I felt like people were thinking, ‘oh, you’re a school librarian, how cute!’”

By contrast, “when I went to ISTE, I felt embraced by everyone,” she says. “They didn’t care what kind of librarian I was.” Jones, now the PK–12 schools representative for ISTE and an ISTE board member, says it’s “a great way to represent my people.”

At ISTE, Jones found “inspiration to start my school library blog.” And, she points out, “there’s not just one blogger’s cafe but four” at ISTE, as well as an entire category of sessions on BYOD.

“I always make the choice to go to ISTE,” says Tiffany Whitehead, a teacher librarian at Central Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA, who blogs as the “Mighty Little Librarian.” “As a school librarian, I’m an educator first. The chance to network with other educators, classroom teachers, administrators, tech coordinators, and others is the most important thing I can do for myself.”

At ISTE, Whitehead will be hosting a tech playground where teachers and school librarians will informally present and share tips on tools and resources. Whitehead’s principal first suggested she attend ISTE, she says. “I would love to go to ALA for the atmosphere and the emphasis on books, but I feel that for my teachers and my students, ISTE is the best choice for me. I really am the technology person on campus.”

Whitehead is also president-elect of SIGMS, an ISTE special interest group (SIG) for media specialists. The many special interest groups within ISTE “play a large and meaningful role in what’s being put forward” during the conferences, according to ISTE CEO Brian Lewis. This year’s conference, for instance, offers more than a dozen sessions about educational video conferencing. The opening keynote speaker is gamification expert Jane McGonigal. “We’re trying to connect folks with what they say they want,” says Lewis.

Stephens, who is attending both conferences and presenting at ALA, points out that “there is a more eclectic crowd of people at ISTE” than at ALA. For instance, as a friend of hers said: “There are men there.”

Gender statistics aside, Stephens—whose school district has never paid for her to attend a library conference but did sponsor an ISTE trip—says, “more people at ISTE work in the educational enterprise. Maybe you feel a little more kinship with those people than a state librarian from another part of the country or an academic library director.”

However, she adds, ISTE inspirations can sometimes be frustrating. “You may go and see this wonderful app and find that it’s blocked” back at your school.

On the other hand, in Stephens’s view, ALA is sometimes out of touch with the daily challenges of school librarians. While useful to people “in rarified situations, there’s not much trickle-down to people who are in a more typical situation.” That would be librarians “trying to tread water and keep programs running on a basic level,” and those working on “nuts and bolts advocacy to keep your job.” However, Stephens believes, “You can bring back more tangibles from ALA—advanced reader’s copies; posters; pictures of you with the Caldecott and Newbery winners. That can be very good for morale.”

AASL and ISTE

AASL president Susan Ballard acknowledges that some school librarians “don’t feel the love” at ALA and points out that ALA has taken steps to remedy this. “ALA is getting better and better at recognizing that we don’t exist in silos and we’re all interconnected,” she says.

How? Ballard refers to an ALA special presidential task force devoted to the current state of school libraries, as well as a focus on the Common Core curriculum. “I know when I go to AASL it’s not just your father’s Oldsmobile,” she says. “It’s as edgy as anything out there.”

AASL still holds appeal for Jones. “If I had to choose one, it would be AASL over ALA,” she says. And Whitehead will be presenting at AASL’s national conference in November.

In Ballard’s view, if librarians think that ISTE is more valuable to librarians than ALA, “we have a perception problem. People hear the word ‘librarian’ and they have a dated concept.” She adds, “I had a colleague in another state who said to his school librarian, ‘I have to think of another name for you, because when I say “school librarian,” I’m not getting any [financial] support.’ He understood what she did, but he couldn’t call her a librarian.”

However, YALSA’s Yoke points to ALA’s focus on “dynamic collaborations between school and public libraries,” the Common Core, and sessions on maintaining teen collections and new media, as huge selling points.

“A lot of the time we get this anecdotal information from school library members that the Association is more public focused,” Yoke says. However, she notes, a survey among 13,000 current, former, and potential ALA members showed evidence to the contrary. “There’s a perception that school librarians have different wishes and needs, but the survey did not bear that out,” says Yoke.

According to Lewis, “The library media specialist’s role is changing in terms of its interconnectivity across the school system.” He adds, “folks in school districts are looking for help, no matter where they are in the process of technology. They’re looking for clarity and support in how to effectively do what it is they’re expected to do.”

Among upcoming ISTE sessions, Lewis singles out “The Empowered Executive Team,” led by Steve Clemons of the San Diego Office of Education. The gist here is that better understanding and communication about what institutions are spending their tech-slated money on will ensure buy-in, communication, and shared decision making.

Caserotti, a technophile who’s gotten involved with ALA committees, says that ALA’s “support structure has been really empowering to me.” Broadly speaking, though, she worries that librarians are not keeping up with technology, despite high-visibility techies like Jones and Whitehead. Technology in the library is “like a car,” she says. “Some people will lift up the hood and take the initiative to learn how the car works.” But most people “take the car to the shop.” At ALA, she wonders, “how many people are stuffing their bags with posters,” and how many are saying, “yeah, I’m comfortable with tablets in the library?”

“Part of the beauty in ISTE is the connectivity to others,” says Lewis, who became CEO of ISTE last summer. “ALA’s conference is great and ISTE is great,” he adds. “Everybody who puts on an event like this works so hard to make sure that through whatever measures, we’re delivering terrific content.”