School Libraries

SLJ asked librarians, authors, and illustrators to reflect on their pandemic experience: the impact on them, their students, and readers; the innovations that stuck; the memories that linger; and the lessons we learned.

As the American education system continues to work toward recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say it’s vital to properly frame what happened and understand the multifaceted reasons behind the continued struggles.

Bank Street College of Education has revealed the 2025 Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award honorees, along with the Best Board Books of the Year.

New PEN America analysis of book bans in the 2023-24 school year found that bans across reading levels and genres continued to target titles about people of color, race, racism, and LGBTQIA+ subjects, as well as stories about disabled people, immigrants, social activism, and bullying.

This roundup features an assortment of tabletop role-playing games that are easy to learn, easy to play, and have something for everyone.

Setting up new elementary school libraries is no small feat, but with the right support, it can be a transformative experience for students and educators alike. This was the case for Fitchburg Public Schools in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where the establishment of first-ever libraries at its elementary schools marked a significant milestone.

While winning the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz awards often leads to a bump in sales and a spot on school library shelves, censorship legislation, librarians afraid of challenges, and the growing anti-diversity movement could change that this year.

A bill to remove legal protections from school and public librarians advances in South Dakota; Livingston Parish, LA, has emptied the YA shelves in five branches and told librarians to read every title in search of sexually explicit material; and so much happening in Arkansas in the latest Censorship News.

Graphic novels, and manga in particular, have exploded in popularity with students, a recent SLJ survey revealed. As teens and younger readers eagerly devour graphic novels, publishers are responding with more books in graphic format to satisfy readers of all genres.