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We Need Tag-Team Librarianship: Active collaboration between public and...
Consider this number: nine percent. That’s how many public librarians say they “work directly with school librarians and teachers” on homework assignments. SLJ’s survey of public library spending on...
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‘I Can Help You With That’: Providing solutions puts librarians at the center...
If you want to have a stake in the Common Core, take a page from Tina Edwards Felder, who responds to her teachers’ concerns about meeting the ambitious new standards with a willing, “I can help you...
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First, Last, in the Middle? The Perils of one-dimensional rankings | Editorial
On June 6, Forbes published a list that ranked the master’s in library and information science (MLIS) against 34 other master’s degrees in terms of salary and employment outlook (see “The Best and...
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Every Word Counts: Impoverished Kids Need Libraries More Than Ever | Editorial
I got a chill listening to Walter Dean Myers describe the decline in literacy he has witnessed in his decades of working with incarcerated males. It used to be, he said in his keynote address at SLJ’s...
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What Creativity Looks Like: Put a Bunch of Librarians in a Room, and Great...
What happens when you comingle 80 or so librarians for some eight hours and give them just enough structure to focus on key issues? Answer: KidLibCamp. I expected this unconference at Darien (CT)...
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The Tension of Innovation: The bridges to the future must be built for the...
As SLJ’s editors roll up our sleeves in final preparation for our annual Leadership Summit, in Philadelphia, October 26-27 (www.sljsummit2012.com), and our “Digital Shift: Libraries, Ebooks and Beyond”...
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A Note from LJ/SLJ to Those Affected by Hurricane Sandy
Dear friends, The entire team at Library Journal and School Library Journal extends our deepest sympathy to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well....
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Superheroes Among Us: Librarians are the unsung tech leaders in our nation’s...
Photograph by Mark Tuchman Action figures don’t usually weigh in on SLJ’s design, but Flash, the iconic DC Comics superhero, zipped into the story this month. He snuck his way into my purse and then...
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Behind the Best: Or what it takes for 65 books to become SLJ’s top titles of...
First, consider the numbers. Some 37,000 children’s and YA books have been published in 2012, according to Bowker. SLJ reviewed more than 6,500 of them—thanks to our corp of 300 active reviewers in the...
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That Collaborative Spirit: Changing times demand more complex partnerships |...
Who wouldn’t want to work with the two librarians on our cover? To me, their joyous, open faces welcome engagement. I want in on the action—in this case, the series of projects they pull off to bring...
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The Art of the Caldecott: At 75, the powerful award keeps proving the value...
There’s nothing quite like the run-up to the announcement of the Youth Media Awards at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Meeting. The show buzzes with librarians taking best guesses...
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The Cost of Cuts: When we lose librarians, it’s the kids who suffer most |...
Photo credit: iStockphoto I’m usually a glass-half-full kind of person, but sometimes you can’t help reflecting on the emptiness—on what’s missing. When our schools cut librarians to save dollars, a...
View ArticleLetters to SLJ | March 2013
The following letters were written in response to Shelley Diaz’s article, “Librarians Sound Off: Not a Lack of Latino Lit for Kids, but a Lack of Awareness” in SLJ’s newsletter, Extra Helping (Jan. 22,...
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Poem! Poem!: Everyday exposure to poetry brings joy and learning | Editorial
It is common at our dinner table to hear a call for poetry. “Poem! Poem!” my son, John, will exclaim, turning us all toward what has become a centering event for our family. We then trade poems or,...
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World Peace and Other Aspirations: The Role of Play | Editorial
Pam Sandlian Smith, who graces SLJ’s May cover, knows how to have fun. Her ongoing reinvention of library service at the Anythink Libraries in Colorado shows what leadership exercised in a spirit of...
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ALA, It’s Time to Step Up for School Libraries | Editorial
As the end of the school year approached, the library listserv LM_Net considered several distressing strands: How do you close a library for the summer when it may never reopen; how do you hand off...
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Give ’Em Chalk: Hands-On Learning Is Fun and Builds Literacy Skills | Editorial
Photograph by Rebecca T. Miller “The most exciting time for a kindergarten teacher is when a kid looks up and says, ‘Hey, I can read!’” This is my favorite line from a conversation between two...
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Matters of Equity: As the Divide Grows, We Must Help Level the Playing Field...
August always seems to make me fretful. Perhaps it’s the approach of the new school year—excitement paired with concern as the summer wanes. The emotion kicks in, spurred by some kind of internal clock...
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New York’s Folly: A Lack of Vision at the City’s Dept. of Education | Editorial
As students around the country return to school, those in New York City are facing a future without certified school librarians, as the NYC Department of Education (DOE) has asked to be excused from a...
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A Critical Legacy: Honoring Book Review Editor Trev Jones | Editorial
With Trev in my office at press time,talking about her early years at SLJ.Photograph by Mark Tuchman This month marks the retirement of Trevelyn Jones, as she steps down from her role as head of SLJ’s...
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