News and Issues for K-12 education from School Library Journal
Obama’s Pick for Secretary of Education Supports School Libraries By Debra Lau Whelan - 12/16/2008
Arne Duncan, the man President-elect Barack Obama has tapped as secretary of education, spent the last seven years as CEO of Chicago Public Schools—and during that time he’s shown solid support for school libraries. More
PBS, NASA Partner to Help Educators With Climate Change Lessons By SLJ Staff - 11/06/2009
If you’re looking for a way to teach a lesson on climate change that includes science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts, you’re in luck. PBS TeacherLine has partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create a series of professional development courses and teaching resources on the subject.
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Do You Believe in Magic? There's a good reason why so many families love storytimes By Renea Arnold and Nell Colburn - 11/01/2009
A colleague put a lovely image into our heads at a recent discussion of best practices for family storytimes. Librarian Maria Lowe offers family storytimes in the evenings, and she always includes a time for “family boats.” A mom and dad sit on the floor, join hands and encircle their children, or a single adult clasps his child in his arms, and they all begin to rock as Maria leads...
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Librarians: Forget Baby Einstein; Try Reading By Lauren Barack - 10/29/2009
Librarians and media specialists are secretly saying "I told you so" about the Walt Disney Company’s decision to issue a full refund on the Baby Einstein videos that parents have bought by the millions over the last five years.
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Race for Common Core Standards Begins By Lauren Barack - 10/08/2009
The nation is one step closer to a unified platform for educational standards, as the first draft of what students need before entering college, or launching their career, went live last month.
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Reading is Fundamental, but Literacy is Key By Lauren Barack - 10/07/2009
Students are taught to read in their early years of schooling—but that doesn’t mean they’re given the keys to comprehension. And it’s this skill that the Carnegie Corporation of New York believes is the cornerstone to academic—and lifelong—success, says a new report.
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Things That Keep Us Up at Night By Joyce Kasman Valenza and Doug Johnson - 10/01/2009
The library, as we once knew it, may no longer be relevant. School librarians, as we once knew them, may no longer be relevant. And, yet, this is undoubtedly the most exciting time in history to be a librarian. The future of the school library as a relevant and viable institution is largely dependent on us and how quickly we respond to change.
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Practically Paradise Diane Chen, Librarian, Hickman Elementary School, Nashville, Tennessee March 6, 2007 The Perfect School Library
Welcome to the first posting of this new blog for SLJ. I appreciate the simplicity of... More
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
2008 National Book Awards Nominees in the young people's literature category graced the red carpet on Awards night Nov. 20, 2008.
The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. Gr 2-4–Alvin Ho, a quirky Asian-American second grader, is articulate at home but so afraid of school that he is unable to speak while he is there.
Clowning around at the second annual Atlantic City Free Public Library Family Fun Festival last weekend. About 2,500 people came out to enjoy the beautiful day and the many festivities, including an array of performances, face painting, poetry readings by local teens, games, and music.
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The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. 
