News & Features

Author Rick Riordan wrote a blog post in response to fans upset with the Disney+ casting of Percy Jackson and the Olympians; publishers and educational organizations join ALA's Unite Against Book Bans; and more, in this edition of News Bites.

Reporters and editors—we at SLJ included—want to get the story right, to bear witness, and to provide readers with accurate, relevant information. But the tenor of an increasingly polarized debate, with efforts to limit discussion of racism and LGBTQIA+ topics in the classroom, challenges journalists—much less educators and students—who must navigate a volatile climate.

In the latest Censorship Roundup, administrators pull books from shelves and require parental consent based on individual complaints and an organization's list of "problematic" titles.

To support teachers and librarians in the face of ongoing censorship, School Library Journal and Penguin Random House—in partnership with PEN America, NCAC, NCTE, FReadom, and Library Journal—have created a poster that vividly illustrates the importance of intellectual freedom.

We Need Diverse Books is fundraising for LGBTQIA+ book donations, President Biden speaks out against book banners, May 6 is Floyd Cooper Day, and more in this edition of News Bites.

After Google pulled the interactive reading app from its store because of the inclusion of Dawn McMillan's I Need a New Butt in its collection, Library Ideas appealed and won. The iVOX app is available again in the Google Play store.

Two New York City library systems are opening up their collections to readers across the country; YALSA needs a Pura Belpré award committee volunteer, LitUp writing fellowship is accepting applications, and more in this edition of News Bites.

LGBTQIA+ authors and writers of color are getting fewer invitations to speak to students at schools as attempts to ban books continue across the country.

As adults try to pull books from school library shelves across the country, students are responding with book clubs centered on the challenged titles.