News & Features

Sharing has a whole new meaning for Marion County, FL, elementary school librarians, far beyond the lesson they help teach their young charges. Today, the word refers to the way media specialists manage their jobs—which means each must head two elementary school libraries instead of one.

Planned school visits by YA authors Meg Medina and Rainbow Rowell set to coincide with Banned Books Week (September 22 to 28) have been cancelled due to local challenges over the content of their acclaimed books, the National Coalition Against Censorship reports.

Know a deserving school librarian, media specialist, or teacher-librarian? AASL has many opportunities for recognizing their smarts, bravery, and innovative style through its 2014 Awards program. And the online awards database promises to make the nomination process easier than ever.

I'm not sure what was more of a surprise to me—that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around for 30 years, or that the John Madden videogame football franchise goes back twenty five years! John Mayer has some ground to make up; his first album debuted in 2001, an Internet only album titled ​Room for Squares​. Hopefully he'll have the longevity of the turtles and one particular earthbound former football coach.

Do you have plans for recognizing Anti-Bullying Month in October? One great way to wrap up the month is to join the national Mix It Up at Lunch campaign. Mix It Up at Lunch Day is set for October 29, but you can plan it for any day, any time of the year.

This weekend, thousands of educators, parents, and kids of all ages will join the crowd of DIY enthusiasts flocking to New York City’s 4th annual World Maker Faire New York to see more than 650 makers present original projects celebrating such areas as technology, education, science, arts, crafts, engineering, and sustainability. The family-friendly festival of invention and creativity will also be offering a “How to Make a Maker Space” workshop ahead of the main event.

Chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee Pat Scales responds to questions about book challenges, summer reading lists, and boundaries for school library parent volunteers.

Fiction for grades three to five can take on tough subjects―abandonment, foster families, and racism. Handled with tactful gloves, the following fiction titles, selected by the editors at Junior Library Guild, allow readers to learn about themselves and empathize with those who are struggling with difficult issues.

We’re reading across the spectrum this week at Library Journal/School Library Journal, with nonfiction and fiction both represented. A cross theme of strong women, from actress Anjelica Huston to warrior maiden Alanna to Anne Frank’s sister, is in play, with some humor and fantastic fantasy thrown in. There’s also real-life drama, as beleaguered hospital staffers [...]