News & Features

No matter how many school classrooms I visit, tours I lead, or new patrons I welcome into the library, I cannot help but stare in shock every time I am asked, “What is the cost of a membership?” Once I realize they aren’t asking me a reference question (the local Costco fee is $55 per household, and the nearest gym charges $83 per month) I respond, “Unless you drop a book in the bath tub or return something past its due date we will never charge you for anything—ever—at this library.”

On October 24, Kate, a hard-working attorney and single mother, is called away in the middle of a crucial meeting to pick up her 15 year-old daughter at her fancy private school in Brooklyn. Amelia has been suspended for plagiarizing an English paper. When Kate arrives at Grace Hall she learns that Amelia has jumped from the roof, committing suicide. Adult Books 4 Teens blogger Angela Carstensen recently talked with debut author Kimberly McCreight about her debut novel, Reconstructing Amelia.

On Saturday, February 23, 2013, Oakville (ON) Public Library held the Real Life University & College Fair, the fourth of its kind since 2010. As I told one of my colleagues, “I love my job because of events like this and all the amazing young adults with whom I get to work!” I know that many of you share this very sentiment, too.

This year’s Computers in Libraries conference included sessions particularly useful to school librarians, with topics ranging from ebook creation to the flipped classroom.

Introduce young viewers to Faith Ringgold, an amazing and influential African-American artist, in Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Faith Ringgold. Be sure to check out the starred review of this DVD.

It's time to update your audiobook collection, so don't miss ALSC's Notable Recordings and YALSA"s Amazing Audiobooks lists for 2013.

BYOD, or bring your own device, programs offer media specialists an opportunity to connect with students, teachers, and school administrators—and to take a leadership role in their schools and districts.

What have you done to celebrate School Library Month? The theme this year is Community matters @ your library, and some of your colleagues have contributed their activities to the "Community Calender" which the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) has set up to allow libraries to exchange their ideas and programs.

The ability for teachers and students to embed their own content into digital texts, write notes, and get feedback on student reading—classroom reading just got a lot more dynamic. SLJ columnist Jeff Hastings test driives Gobstopper and Subtext.