Industry News

UPDATE October 18: Here’s the full text of Gaiman’s Speech (via Reading Agency) The Guardian has published an edited version of the lecture the Neil Gaiman gave in London last night. It was the second annual Reading Agency (a charitable organization) lecture and focused on children, reading, literacy, and libraries. We think it’s something many of [...]

Ahead of our exclusive webcast with kid lit authors Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka on October 21—during which they will discuss her latest book, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, and the importance of humor in children's literature—we asked DiCamillo to field a few humorous warm-up questions.

School librarians must be assertive leaders and technology experts, Joel Castro, associate superintendent for the Lubbock, Texas, School District, told attendees at SLJ's annual Leadership Summit in Austin in September. Castro also urged school librarians to work closely with their school principals in order to forge common ground.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Grants Administration Committee are now accepting online applications for the 2014 Bookapalooza Program. Deadline for submissions is February 1.

Jennifer D. LaBoon, coordinator of library technology for the Fort Worth Independent School District, and Cindy Buchanan, program director for library media services for the Aldine, Texas, Independent School District, shared advocacy strategies with attendees at the SLJ Summit in Austin. Here are takeaways from their presentation, “PTA & School Library Relations.”

Two Philadelphia school libraries, at the prestigious Central High School and Masterman High School, will reopen next week thanks to an anonymous donation, the Inquirer has reported. The school libraries had been shuttered last month due to severe city budget cuts.

I've been told that I can turn any conversation into one about libraries, a book, or a “cool thing” my own library is supporting. I don’t just tout the library’s programs during a lull in conversation, though. I simply see a connection between person and program, need and service.

Across Texas, the number of certified school librarians has dropped 10 percent since 2009, in part because of limited budgets and the growth of digital books. The decline has been particularly sharp in Houston, where roughly 60 percent of schools do not have certified librarians this year, according to district data.

Author Lee Bennett Hopkins has pledged to give the Penn State University Libraries his 18,000-volume book collection and correspondence papers from his lifelong career in children’s literature. The children’s poetry and literature collection, valued at approximately $3.25 million, includes volumes from such authors as Nikki Grimes, Madeline L’Engle, and Maurice Sendak, many of whom have autographed their works.