News Briefs
Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2001
That's Senator Hillary
In her quest to be the next U.S. senator from New York, Hillary Clinton did more than her share of meeting and greeting. Here, she woos the preschooler set with a reading of the ever-popular Corduroy at the Flushing branch of the Queens Borough (NY) Public LIbrary. With luck, she'll be as vocal in support of more federal funds for libraries.
Virtually Bank Street
The next best thing to the Bank Street Bookstore in New York City, an affiliate of the respected Bank Street College of Education, is its new Web site, www.bankstreetbooks.com.
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The site was created with Booksense, an initiative promoting independent bookstores, as a way to expand Bank Street's audience. All revenues from the site will go to Bank Street College.--Alexis Sinclair
The Bird is the Word
If you happened to attend November's 51st National Book Awards ceremony, in New York City, you couldn't help but notice a certain wild and crazy guy. For the second consecutive year, comedian Steve Martin hosted America's most distinguished literary event. Martin, the author of a new novella called Shopgirl (Hyperion), couldn't resist ribbing the National Book Award recipients--especially those who dawdled on their way to the podium.
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The very next winner followed the actor's advice. As children's book writer and poet Gloria Whelan made her way to the stage to receive the National Book Award for young people's literature, she smiled impishly and pumped her arms into the air, drawing a giggle from the black-tie audience. But once on stage, the author of Homeless Bird (HarperCollins, 2000) turned serious, invoking a 20th-century French writer. "Simone De Beauvoir said, 'Books saved my life,'" noted Whelan. "I think for me that's true. Books saved my life.... I think books save the lives of a lot of children."--Rick Margolis
Take a Giant Step
We hope that when you've finished reading this month's cover story about the first-ever Giant Step Award winner (see pp. 54-58), you'll be inspired to apply for the award yourself. The annual Giant Step Award honors the school library or public library that has made the greatest strides in its services to students. The award, which is sponsored by School Library Journal and the Gale Group, carries a $10,000 prize.
Guidelines are available on our Web site (www.slj.com) and the Gale Group's Web site (www.galegroup.com), or by calling the Gale Group at (800) 877-4253. Applications must be received by May 31, 2001.
Success Stories
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Young adult author Nancy Garden and free-speech activist Bennett Haselton were named recipients of the 2000 Robert Downs Intellectual Freedom Award from the faculty of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. Garden's book Annie on My Mind (Farrar, 1982) was removed from the Olathe, KS, school district libraries in 1993 and ultimately returned to the shelves after a successful lawsuit. Haselton created Peacefire.org, a Web site that has focused on revealing the limitations of Internet filtering software and promoting free speech among young people.
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Instant Winners
Once again, School Library Journal's technology editor, Walter Minkel, and Roxanne Hsu Feldman, a librarian at the Dalton School in New York City, will be using the latest technology to make the winners of the American Library Association's children's book awards known to all. The information will be posted after 10 a.m. on Monday, January 15. To view the Newbery Medal winner, go to www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html. The Caldecott Medal winner can be found at www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html, and to view the Coretta Scott King winner, go to www.ala.org/srrt/csking.--A. S.
Congratulations
Viki Ash-Geisler was appointed youth services coordinator for the Spokane (WA) Public Library. Ash-Geisler was previously assistant professor of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University and has 17 years of experience working in public libraries.
Jeanette Larson, who for the past nine years was director of the library development division at the Texas StateLibrary, took over last month as the youth services manager at Austin Public Library. Among other things, Larson will work with the library's Dell Wired for Youth Computer Centers.
The Wizard of Charity
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling plans to share the proceeds of her fabulously popular work with underprivileged children. Rowling will pen two books to raise money for the organizing charity, Comic Relief U.K. The two books, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be written under the pseudonyms Kennillworthy Whisp and Newt Scamander, respectively, and will be distributed in the U.S. by Rowling's publisher, Scholastic, in March. With a list price of $3.99 per book and first printings that add up to 11 million copies worldwide, the books are expected to raise millions for various children's charities.
