Industry News

Note: At the bottom of this post, after today’s DPLA news, make sure to look at a brief overview of the Smithsonian Collections Database. This searchable and browsable resource comes direct from the SI and is available today (free).  From the DPLA Announcement: The Smithsonian Institution will join with the Digital Public Library of America [...]

Author and illustrator Tomie dePaola's exuberance and unrestrained creativity were evident this week as he joined Pratt Institute for an evening modeled after Inside the Actors Studio to discuss with moderator Pat Cummings his artistic process, his childhood, and his most notable works.

Get ready for a busy April with National Bookmobile Day, author/illustrator Patricia Polacco discussing bullying via Skype, and the deadline for submission for the Library of Congress’s new Literacy Awards. Check out these stories and more in News Bites.

When it comes to reaching out to teen library patrons, partnerships between public and school libraries are absolutely key—but how to make them successful is an ongoing challenge, agreed those library staff and stakeholders who gathered in a virtual town hall yesterday hosted by YALSA.

What’s your survival plan? In Orleans, Sherri Smith has created a rich and complex world of the future where New Orleans and much of the Delta region are cut off from the United States to prevent the spread of a deadly virus. A new, primitive society emerges, divided by tribes based on blood types. Fifteen-year-old Fen de la Guerre—fierce, tender, and a survivalist—is left to fend for herself and an infant after her O-positive tribe is ambushed. Her journey, which Kirkuscalls “a harrowing and memorable ride,” is one you won’t soon forget.

Opening Day of Loudon County Library's newest facility, Gum Spring Library, has come and gone. More than 6,500 people checked out 14,000 materials in just under five and a half hours, and we issued over 1,100 library cards. And those are just the tangible statistics! Teens finally found a place in their community to call their own! Caretakers can now stop driving 25 minutes to the nearest storytime! An entire region of northern Virginia learned what it feels like to have free resources available to them in their own backyard. The looks of amazement and happiness that I saw on Opening Day filled me with amazement and happiness. The Gum Spring Library has arrived, and we're open for business!

As dwindling funds and looming budget cuts reach many of the nation’s public libraries, 12 institutions received $5,000 mini-grants to support programming in their diverse communities. ALSC recently gifted these Día Family Book Club Program awards to expand El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día) into an ongoing yearlong celebration. The winning libraries give SLJ some insights into how they garnered the much-needed funds.

From The Washington Post: Saving for an American Girl doll might take months or even a year. But now there’s a way for local kids to bring one home without paying the $110 price tag. Beginning this month, anyone with an Arlington County library card can sign up to borrow one of eight dolls for [...]

The American Library Association (ALA) will be selecting the presidents of its three youth divisions in the coming weeks, with voting opening tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Central Time and closing at 11:59 p.m. on April 26, 2013. School Library Journal asked each of the candidates why they want to be president of their respective division, and what they would bring to the position. Here is what they had to say.