STAFF

On the heels of School Library Journal’s publication of its special report, “School Libraries 2021,” readers are invited to join a #SLJChat on the future of the profession.

The Department of Justice is suing to stop the proposed merger between publishers Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster; Alex Gino's novel will officially get new title and cover; the Library of Congress has a new comics exhibit; and more in this edition of News Bites.

Books and music have a lot in common. Both can convey different reactions and emotional responses in people just by their names alone. This short list shares a few book titles that are also song titles. Readers may come to these books for their titles, and stay for their engaging plot lines.

Editorial

This season’s Series Made Simple titles collectively ask us to join the conversation about community, how we fit into it, how we might want to change it, and above all, how we can read and learn about it.

In the November issue of SLJ, we examine the state of U.S. school libraries and librarian ­positions—the fight to preserve the institutions and the vast range of critical services performed by library professionals nationwide.

When a video of a woman speaking out against the book Out of Darkness at a school board meeting went viral, author Ashley Hope Pérez responded with a video of her own.

Tell Me Another Story, fromThe Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in collaboration with the Office Performing Arts + Film, highlights past and present creators and advocates whose focus has uplifted children’s literature.

Applications are being accepted for the annual honor highlighting outstanding achievement by a K–12 library professional. Sponsored by Scholastic, this year's expanded award program features new prizes and participation in an upcoming event.

For the first time since the 1970s, the reading and mathematics scores of 13-year-old students fell.