Industry News

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has announced it will give an additional $5 million in funding for up to 12 more public school library renovations as part of the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project, for a total of $10 million for as many as 24 new public school libraries.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has chosen the winners of the 2013 Library of Congress Literacy Awards, a new program originated and sponsored by philanthropist David M. Rubenstein. The recipients are the Reach Out and Read early literacy program in Boston; MA, 826 National, San Francisco, a K–12 tutoring and literacy program; and the international program PlanetRead, based in Mumbai, India.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has announced its creation of the Spark Award, an annual literary award that will recognize excellence in a children’s book published through a non-traditional publishing route. The award is open to current writer and/or illustrator SCBWI members who have published a board book, picture book, chapter book, middle grade, or young adult novel either independently or via an established self-publishing enterprise.

Read for the Record Day is October 3, and children all over the country will be celebrating by reading Loren Long's Otis, including the students at teacher librarian Shannon McClintock Miller's school. Five lucky classrooms that pledge by September 25 will also get the opportunity to chat with the author in a Google+ Hangout.

Are you ready for Banned Books Week? The American Library Association (ALA) and readers from around the world are gearing up to demonstrate their support for free speech next week by participating in a Virtual Read-Out of their favorite banned and challenged books. The event will serve as the backdrop for the announcement of ALA’s Banned Books Week Heroes, honoring those people and groups who stand up for intellectual freedom and the right to read.

The BARD Mobile app provides access to braille and talking books directly from the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. BARD contains nearly 50,000 books, magazines, and music scores in audio and braille formats, with new selections added daily.

When I hear heart-breaking news like this recent story of the closings of the libraries at Philadelphia’s two top academic high schools, following the closing of so many others,  I recognize that my own community likely takes our own libraries for granted. Really, how often do we as communities stop and acknowledge that we value [...]

November is Picture Book Month. Five winners and five finalists of the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards were announced September 17. Apply for the Stony Brook Southampton (NY) MFA in Children's Literature Fellows program. Kids in grades 2–5 can enter the LEGO Essay Contest.

Grand Rapids, MI, school officials are hoping to better engage students through technology: 100 Nook e-readers provided by the Grand Rapids Public Library (GRPL). The new readers were procured specifically to engage the city’s teenage population, says Jessica Liddell, GRPL’s youth services librarian.