Ideas

The maker movement has taken our culture by storm, and libraries have been stepping up with programs large and small. While some might not view storytime craft projects—such as paper daffodils—as maker, others recognize their vital place on the creation continuum. We at SLJ see the SLJ_CV_May2015nimble response from the library world and recognize how much remains unknown or untested.

Making and tinkering have long-been staples of the Hispanic community. Tim Wadham shares Spanish-language, bilingual, and Latino-focused books and crafts that are just right for maker spaces looking to diversify their offerings.

This app is going to make travel, field trips, birdwatching and walks in the woods, on the beach and in the park way more fun. One of my very favorite examples of crowd-sourced reference sites has been Yale University’s Map of Life . Using a wide variety of data sources,  the biodiversity project endeavors to provide [...]

Quilting, knitting, and creating by hand foster collective learning. Plus: Top 10 crafting tips; Five outstanding crafting programs

“I’m still a big Dr. Seuss fan—The Sneeches, Horton, and all that stuff,” the President told middle schoolers during his visit to the Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, DC. Watch the full video.

At a visit to Washington, DC’s Anacostia Neighborhood Library April 30, President Barack Obama announced two new initiatives that promise to rally America’s libraries, publishers, and nonprofit organizations to strengthen learning opportunities for all children, particularly in low-income communities. The plan, dubbed the ConnectED Library Challenge, will engage civic leaders, libraries, and schools to work together to ensure that all school students receive public library cards. Commitments from 30 library systems are already in place.

Recovered! After a transition to a new CMS a few years back, we lost some of our multimedia files. Here's what remains from a trove of readings School Library Journal recorded in 2007 for National Poetry Month.

What are minicomics? "Good Comics 4 Kids" blogger Brigid Alverson sheds some light on the independently created format, shares tips on how librarians can acquire minicomics for the collection, and suggests ways they can encourage creativity in teens.

Pat Scales responds to a kindergarten educator who questions the age-appropriateness of This One Summer as a Caldecott Honor Book and an English teacher who grapples with what to do about her student teacher from a Christian university who has asked to opt out of working with To Kill a Mockingbird.