School Libraries

Elissa Malespina lost her job last spring after a performance review, which cited her book displays on race and LGBTQ themes. The 23-year veteran educator shares her experience to counter censorship and help fellow librarians know they are not alone.

Beanstack co-founder and edtech trailblazer Jordan Lloyd Bookey has devoted her career to the big-picture challenge of expanding families' access to education and reading. Her new podcast, The Reading Culture, turns a more intimate lens on children’s literature via deep-dive personal interviews with kidlit authors.

Efforts to shield children from perceived unpleasantness, however well intentioned, ignore the genuine fear and anxiety that kids must grapple with in their daily lives.

The best fundraisers bring your school community together—and that means ensuring that every student can contribute. Readathons offer the best of both worlds: allowing your school to prioritize literacy and raise critical funds without alienating lower-middle-income families. All students can read and participate in fundraising events, and all kids can be recognized equally for their efforts.

The library writing contest was a hit across middle school demographics, bringing in students who rarely came to the library along with the frequent visitors.

Share these books during LGBT History Month and keep them in the collection for much-needed representation as LGBTQIA+ titles face protests and calls for book banning.

The Right to Read Act would help fund certified school librarians and well-resourced libraries across the country; the Philadelphia superintendent is looking for help from the city's public library system; Levine Querido launches a Spanish imprint; and more in News Bites.

K–12 librarians will take the stage at the 2022 SLJ Summit, delivering five-minute presentations in the event’s “lightning” portion of the program on November 6 in Minneapolis, MN.

For Joy James Elementary School in Texas and Mitchell County Middle School in Georgia, improving reading outcomes after pandemic learning loss became an essential goal. Leaders at both schools recognized independent reading's crucial impact on students' reading comprehension and fluency.