Public Libraries

What titles stand out as the greatest in literature for children and young adults? That’s the question School Library Journal has posed to readers.

In June, ALA Council will decide the fate of YALSA, voting on the recommendation that the teen division be eliminated and its work be moved under the umbrella of ALSC.

Award-winning author illustrators Julie Flett and Sophie Blackall sat down for a chat on the occasion of Children’s Book Week 2025. Flett created this year’s poster on the theme: “An Ocean of Stories,” and Blackall did the honors in 2024, illustrating “No Rules. Just Read.”

The U.S. Department of Education expressed its love of librarians. It was not well received. 

Book access and other restrictions on libraries and library values remain top of mind for readers. So too, practical posts toward serving library patrons, with creative ideas for staging a crime investigation to teach research skills and preserving family recipes getting the most views on SLJ.com.

Kiese Laymon, award-winning author and MacArthur Fellow, is out with a new picture book. City Summer, Country Summer celebrates the deep bonds of friendship forged among three Black boys on a summer journey to visit their grandmothers in Mississippi.  

PEN America, the National Education Association, and student advocacy organization SEAT are among those who have filed amicus briefs in support of the school district in the upcoming Supreme Court case; Harry Lerner has died; applications open for Banned Books Week programming grants; and more.

Books to help budding ornithologists explore the world of birds, along with aspects of SEL (social and emotional learning), from persistence to making friends.

Schools and public libraries are still navigating the aftermath of devastating flooding and wildfires.