Industry News

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate, eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. Houghton Harcourt is giving five lucky SLJTeen readers a chance to find out who Cia can trust, and win the ultimate Testing prize pack.

YA Author Todd Strasser poses with his surfboard in Montauk, New York. Strasser started surfing when he was in his mid-50s. His next book, Fallout(Candlewick), publishes in September 2013.

SLJ says about Brother, Brother—“This prince-and-pauper tale will have readers poised to learn the truth with Brother, rooting for him. This uplifting underdog story will draw thoughtful readers with its well-wrought characters and themes of family secrets, romance, and virtue.”—and now, five lucky SLJTeen readers can win a copy.

Don't procrastinate: get your plans in place now for Teen Read Week, October 13-19, brought to you by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). This year's theme, Seek the Unknown, has a world of possibilities for libraries and teens to explore.

April Shroeder shares some advice on how to create unique and successful author visits for teens. Jay Asher and Ransom Riggs are some of the recent writers who have been hosted at the newly minted Gum Spring library, part of the Loudon County (VA) Public Library.

Back in the fall of 2010, SLJTeen reported on one librarian’s dream to build a library at the Jambo Jipya Academy in Mwtapa, Kenya with the assistance of the organization Reason2Smile. The fundraising is almost complete and Jambo Jipya is hoping to expand and purchase the land adjacent to the school to become the future home of the school library. Donna Rosenblum brings us up to date on her quest to build that library.

Calling all performance-inclined library media specialists. Think you can pull off a song about what librarians do—as a rap? Flocabulary, creator of multimedia K–12 lessons to a hip-hop beat, wants you.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez, who last month warned that 22 of the county’s 49 public libraries could be shut down this fall due to deep budget cuts, announced that his administration now expects to shutter only four, according to the Miami Herald.

Nearly 50 children’s and teen librarians met last week at Darien Library (CT) for the fifth annual KidLibCamp, a free “unconference” in which the discussion topics, panels, and workshops are voted on by the participants. Attendees explored best practices in 12 interactive breakout sessions with several common takeaways: that innovative programming can be achieved at little start-up cost; librarians need to better market existing programs to their patrons; and partnering with schools and communities is critical to the future of our libraries.