Industry News

In SLJ's recent “Common Core and the Public Librarian” one-hour live webcast, Olga Nesi, regional coordinator for the New York City Department of Education, Division of Library Services, and Nina Lindsay, the children’s services coordinator for Oakland (CA) Public Library, discussed the national initiative and, in particular, what it means for public librarians.

The Internet offers today’s youth unprecedented opportunities to connect with peers and seek knowledge in almost any area of interest—and libraries are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this learning, according to Mimi Ito, professor and cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator for the new education model Connected Learning.

SLJ staff wanted to share their thoughts on Trevelyn Jones, who retired as Book Review Editor after more than three decades. Industry representatives paid tribute in an appreciation of Jones's career in the October issue. Now, it's our turn.

Teen Read Week, YALSA's annual national adolescent literacy initiative, was held this year from October 13-19. Librarians who serve teens organized events, displays, and programs to encourage them to be lifelong readers and library users. This year's theme, "Seek the Unknown @ your library," is illustrated in this terrarium based on Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, created by Molly Wetta of Lawrence Public Library, Kansas.

Teen Read Week (TRW) kicked off with a lively Twitter chat among supporters of teen literacy and leisure reading on October 15. SLJ, Blink, Goodreads, Merit Press, Soho Teen, and AASL participated in the hour-long virtual conversation, highlighting ways librarians can help celebrate teen reading. The following are some of the tweets that resonated with SLJ editors.

Three friends who want to leave high school and move on describe their anguish in Emma Cameron’s novel, Out of This Place, written in verse. Three narrators tell the story from alternating points of view in this audiobook version. Read this starred review

Facebook has announced that it is changing its privacy options so that teens ages 13 through 17 can choose whether or not to post publicly on the site, a reversal of the company's previous policy. Teens also will now be able to turn on "Follow" so that their public posts can be seen in people’s News Feeds.

Ann Jonas, award-winning writer and illustrator of numerous children’s books, died September 29 in Rhinebeck, NY. She is perhaps best known for Round Trip, which was named an ALA Notable Book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

How does DeKalb Public Library do it? The library has earned seven Big Read grants from the NEA. Read on to find out how they nailed the True Grit western theme without the book's reclusive author.