Public Libraries

Vibrant Voices: A Booklist Celebrating Stories of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color is selected by New York Public Library staff to help students, parents, and educators discover a world of new perspectives and narratives through literature.

Those dreaded summer reading lists. For eons, teachers have been handing out assigned reading, mostly comprised of old “classics.” With this survey, SLJ and NCTE invite teachers and librarians to choose the titles you’d like culled from required reading and those books you would urge students to read instead.

As censorship efforts continue, here's a look at some of the latest developments in schools and public libraries around the country.

Despite dangers, school and public librarians continue to push back against efforts to censor books. 

The most challenged graphic novel this fall: Gender Queer. And the award-winning Maia Kobabe memoir remains a frequent target nationwide. Graphic novels are more vulnerable, says Jonathan Friedman of PEN America, as older people simply are less comfortable with them. 

SLJ rounds up censorship news around the country, with reports of books threatened with removal in Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The Front Desk author tweeted a call to action to her colleagues, as she tries to "motivate and mobilize" people to fight coordinated efforts to remove books from schools and libraries.

Well-organized literacy programs help kids in detention access and talk about books. 

Pat Scales answers questions about a recommended booklist; culling biographies for "questionable behavior," and titles that might upset kids in foster care.