Breaking News

Photo credit: Claudio Leon

Massive congratulations to colleagues Jamila Abdulrashid and Claudio Leon, school librarians serving Bronx Hope and Horizon, respectively, for winning the BUILD Up grant from the NYC Department of Education, Office of School Library Services, and Mackin.  Both school librarians and their school library locations have been awarded $5000 in new school library books for their collections.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

PAL iPad Pilot Launches at Passages

Today Passages Academy Libraries' iPad pilot launched! Students at secure sites accessed iPads for the first time. One incredulous user asked "Are we really going to be able to use [them] again?" --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Exciting News: National Treasure Named National Ambassador

Welcome back and Happy 2012! We were already excited about today (stay tuned!) but now we're doubly excited to find out that this year will be the best one yet for the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (in our biased opinion). The inestimable Walter Dean Myers picks up the mantle and will spend the next two years traveling about (as he is already wont to do) encouraging folks to read. Could they have picked a better humanitarian and author for this job? Um, no. They could not. Congratulations, Walter! Excellent work, selection committee! --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Read about it in yesterday's New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Photo credit: Constance Myers