School Libraries

IMLS-funded, READCON provides free, self-guided training to help library practitioners build strong community relationships, ­manage ­difficult situations, and engage stakeholders. Public, school, and academic library workers are also welcome to READCON's ­Legal Landscape of Librarianship Forum, February 18–20.

Book challenges overwhelm members seeking to follow library policy and address other district issues.

New planets, secret headquarters, extraterrestrial creatures, and other cosmic delights fill the pages of these works for elementary through high school readers. 

The new law in New Jersey aims to limit book removals and protect librarians from criminal prosecution; in Illinois, some school districts are choosing to lose state grants instead of complying with its Freedom to Read law; additional titles removed in Oregon and Tennessee; and more in censorship news.

For more than 40 years, book supplier Children’s Plus, Inc. has been helping librarians do their jobs more effectively. Now, Children’s Plus has rebranded as Libraria and launched a new website that will make getting the right books into the hands of readers even easier.

A national network of organizations revitalizing communities through public spaces, Reimagining the Civic Commons offers helpful information for libraries to connect their efforts to larger goals, as well as to the work of their neighbors.

2021 School Librarian of the Year Amanda Jones has filed two new federal lawsuits for defamation and false light against a man who has posted accusations of her being a groomer, distributing obscene material to children, and more.

What’s captured reader attention the last seven days? Top picks in middle grade and graphic format books, along with the political climate and the potential impact on schools and libraries.

Utah has added Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott to its list of books banned at all public schools; the Texas state board of education wants legislation giving it  control of school library collections; and Crank by Ellen Hopkins remains on South Carolina high school shelves, but students will need parental permission.