Photo courtesy of the Queens Public Library.

The New York, Queens and Brooklyn Public Library systems have partnered with the city to ensure that students affected by Hurricane Sandy are able to stay on course academically.

Late last month, schools chancellor Dennis M. Walcott announced that the Department of Education would offer online courses to students displaced from their homes and to those attending affected schools. “The impact on students demands more resources to ensure they get the education they need,” Walcott said. “These online courses will help keep our students on track for their academic success.”

The courses—which are an extension of New York’s digital iZone initiative—can be completed through any computer with Internet connectivity. The city’s public library systems will complement the DOE’s efforts by offering these students Internet access across its branches.

“The city’s critically important program to help students displaced by the storm is a public service that we are very proud to offer as we continue to do all we can to help New York recover and support education, ” said New York Public Library president Tony Marx.

In the storm’s wake, librarians have come together to offer support and resources. At November’s annual NYCSLS fall conference, New York City librarians discussed a plan to deliver supplies and volunteers to affected libraries so that they could continue to provide essential student services. Linda E. Johnson, president and chief executive of Brooklyn Public Library, said that just days after the storm, bookmobiles traversed some of the borough’s hardest-hit neighborhoods and delivered books, charging stations and other materials to those in need. “We will continue to help all of our patrons, volunteers and employees recover from the disaster,” Johnson said. NYPL’s Tony Marx added that since Sandy struck, the library has offered free Internet, heat, power and other resources to thousands of New Yorkers.

To enroll in the city’s online courses, students must complete an interest form online or by calling 718-642-5885. The city will set up a learning plan for each eligible student, and they can go online to access the courses.

Along with Internet access, libraries will offer students technical assistance and other support, said Bridget Quinn-Carey, chief operating officer of the Queens Library. “Our doors are open, our computers and our trained information professionals are available to help students succeed,” she said.

National Book Award winner William Alexander.

At teen press conference, kids grilled finalists on their research, their inspirations, and their editors

First time author William Alexander took home the National Book Award (NBA) for Young People last night for his book Goblin Secrets (S&S, 2012), about a boy who joins a theatrical group of goblins.

The day prior to the award ceremony, 200 secondary school students had the opportunity to grill Alexander, along with the four other finalists in his category, at the NBA Teen Press Conference, probing them on topics ranging from character development to their relationships with their editors.

Finalists William Alexander, Carrie Arcos, Patricia McCormick, Eliot Schrefer and Steve Sheinkin at the NBA Teen Press Conference at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Now in its 15th year, the press conference, which was held at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, is a key event leading up to the NBA ceremony.  Alexander, along with Carrie Arcos, Patricia McCormick, Eliot Schrefer, and Steve Sheinkin, took center stage to face their young audience, which had prepped for the event by reading all of the finalists’ books. The event was moderated by Coe Booth, author of Tyrell (2006) and Bronxwood (2011, both Scholastic).

Students from New York City area schools had done their homework before the conference. High schoolers from Brooklyn’s Kamit Preparatory Institute had read Arcos’s debut novel Out of Reach (S&S, 2012), a story of addiction and self-discovery, along with McCormick’s Never Fall Down (HarperCollins 2012), a harrowing tale of the reign of terror in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.

Moderator Coe Booth at the Press Conference.

Kids from Tompkins Square Middle School were versed in other titles including Sheinkin’s Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Flash Point/Roaring Brook, 2012) and Schrefer’s Endangered (Scholastic, 2012), a story set in the Congo.

After reading selections from their books aloud, the panel fielded questions. Kids asked Alexander if his drama school experience helped him as a writer. Yes, he said, because actors, like goblins, are superstitious. Responding to the question about how long it takes to write a book, Sheinkin described the amount of research that goes into a nonfiction study such as his.

The inquiry that received the most chuckles from the panel was whether they ever get annoyed with their editors, many of whom were in the audience. The authors, unsurprisingly, danced around the topic.

Schrefer, whose book tells the story of a girl who must save a group of bonobos—pygmy chimpanzees—and herself from a violent coup in the Congo, was impressed by how engaged the students were. McCormick was struck by the depth of the students’ questions, and Arcos was generally thrilled to be in a room of young adult readers.

Steve Sheinkin signs a copy of his book for a student.

Each participating student received a press kit featuring biographical information on each author, book summaries, and materials related to the National Book Awards. Following the conference, the finalists autographed books for audience.