Despite the stodgy stereotypes, libraries and librarians themselves can be quite funny. The spectrum of library humor from sources inside and outside the profession ranges from the subtle wit of the New Yorker to the satire of Mad. This examination of American library humor over the past 200 years covers a wide range of topics and spans the continuum between light and dark, from parodies to portrayals of libraries and their staffs as objects of fear. It illuminates different types of librarians--the collector, the organization person, the keeper, the change agent--and explores stereotypes like the shushing little old lady with a bun, the male scholar-librarian, the library superhero, and the anti-stereotype of the sexy librarian. Profiles of the most prominent library humorists round out this lively study.

Get teens excited about reading by using your own love of books along with a good dose of market savvy. This simple, upbeat guide is packed with practical guidelines and a wealth of exciting ideas for promoting books and reading through everything you do—from collection building, designing the space, and creating a Web site, to booktalking, readers' advisory, and special events. A practical, step-by-step approach. Promoting books and reading is one of your most important roles, but reaching teens and inspiring them to read can be a challenge, especially now, when teens have so many other commitments and interests. This guide will inspire you to build your book knowledge and combine it with marketing savvy to bring teens together with books and reading. Drawing upon recent research on teens and libraries, the author offers practical guidelines and a wealth of exciting ideas for environmental reading promotions (collection building, designing the space, creating publicity materials and developing the web site), as well as interactive promotions (communication with teens, readers advisory, booktalking, partnering with other organizations, and book-related activities and events). Based on the author's experience and the experience of others who work with teens, the book provides librarians and other educators with a simple, handy, and upbeat guide. Grades 6-12.

The library programs featured in this unique collection are those that have been suggested, created, and led by youth with the help and guidance of the supportive adults at their library. Many times, librarians bring ideas to teens in hopes of getting them to buy in and perhaps help them to run programs. In this book, you’ll primarily find a role reversal! Tweens and teens lead the way with whatever adult information, support, and supervision they need to see their proposals through. To accomplish this, the youth are encouraged to create new ideas, are empowered to make decisions, and are given control. Plus, the ideas they bring to life are not just peer-focused. The programs, activities, and events they create and lead can be for children, adults, or even for all ages or mixed audiences, as well as for fellow tweens and teens. In addition to finding a wide array of proven ideas, recommendations, and testimonials from real tweens and teenagers, you will discover helpful advice on using the philosophies behind allowing youth to not only have a say but to take action; testimonials from adults who have worked directly with youth having this level of empowerment; suggestions on getting approval and providing funding and other support for youth ideas; ways to evaluate such youth-led programs; and sample forms, flyers, and other materials that can be adapted.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, A Wrinkle in Time, Blubber, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - these are some of the most beloved, and most challenged, books, Leaving controversial titles such as these out of your collection or limiting their access is not the answer to challenges. The best-selling Hit List series gives you the information you need to defend challenged books with an informed response, all the while ensuring free access to young book lovers. Featuring 24 hot button books, Hit List for Children 2 presents a who's who of children's literature writers including Dahl, Allard, Blume, Rowling, Stine, L'Engle, Lowry, and Naylor. With a profile of each book that includes its plot, characters, published reviews, awards and prizes, and author resources, you will be prepared to answer even the toughest attacks. The most recent and compelling challenges are also discussed so that you will be prepared to address specific points. Eleven new books have been added to the second edition including Mommy Laid an Egg, the Alice series, Witches, and Guess What? For any librarian who feels alone on the front lines of the free access debate, the appendix reassuringly details wha

How do you teach children to value peace and appreciate diversity? One way is to provide them with books with themes that promote these ideas. The Parent / Teacher Guide to Children's Books on Peace and Tolerance offers readers a wide variety of award-winning titles along with annotations and grade level recommendations. The book is divided into the following sections: Preschool - grade three Grades 4 - 6 Middle school, and High school. Each section has over 100 listings. Topics include civil rights, the Holocaust, slavery, Native Americans, bullying, war, child abuse, bigotry, cooperation, acceptance, apartheid, family relationships, Arab/Israeli conflict, controlling anger, the Civil War, the Vietnam War, WWII, gays and lesbians, and other social issues. Many of these books are the recipients of the following awards and honors: Newbery Award, School Library Journal (starred review), Caldecott Award, Boston Globe Horn Book Award, American Library Association Notable Book, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, American Bookseller - Pick of the List, Kirkus Reviews (starred review), Publishers Weekly (starred review), Booklist (starred review), Coretta Scott King Award, VOYA Top Picks, National Book Award, and the Michael L. Printz Award. This guide is an excellent resource for parents who would like their children to become peace-loving, accepting adults. Teachers who are looking for books to supplement their curriculum will find the suggested titles to be among the best written works in the designated areas. For example, one would be hard pressed to find a better written book on the Holocaust for middle and high school students than I Have Lived One Thousand Years. The author has done a great service by providing parents and teachers with a list of books that cannot be found anywhere else.

In this practical guidebook, experienced librarians—a public librarian and a school librarian—share advice and ideas for extending resources, containing costs, and leveraging capabilities between school and public libraries, offering insights and strategies to overcome today's economic challenges. The current economic crisis has had a drastic impact on both public and school libraries. As budgets shrink, resources become scarcer, and the job of the librarian becomes harder. The conundrum of doing more with less challenges even the most seasoned professionals whose institutions face service cutbacks, disappointed patrons, and possible job eliminations or closures. This book asserts that a collaboration between school and public libraries can effectively serve the needs of two populations—teens and the community at large—while minimizing the cost to do so. Better Serving Teens through School Library–Public Library Collaborations offers thought-provoking advice and ideas for practical use in real-world libraries. The authors provide step-by-step guidance for those who wish to start, strengthen, or extend a partnership with colleagues at a sister library, covering topics ranging from teen advisory boards and collaborative programs to homework help and professional development. Veterans in the field, as well as beginners, can utilize the wealth of tools within—including worksheets, timelines, and checklists—to leverage the capabilities of other agencies tp fortify both their own and their institutions' value.

Think Big: A Resource Manual for Library Programs That Attract Large Teen Audiences is a how-to manual for librarians who want to attract large groups of teens to their libraries with meaningful, memorable events. Large programs may seem to be impossible to attempt until the project is broken down into the separate parts needed. Think Big begins with those separate parts necessary to create a large event, starting with the logistics of time and place, the budget and how to find funding, making a timeline to make everything fall into place, communication among all of the people involved, marketing to the teen audience, troubleshooting with thorough preparation, and the importance of evaluations for reporting and for future planning. Part 2 is a collection of best practices. Seventeen successful, large programs are included, contributed by librarians who have dared to think big and made it work. Included are the book and author programs in school and public libraries. There are also creative programs about poetry and dance, STEM activities, pop culture, and school and work. Every section has two to four programs. Each program explains how the program began and evolved to the event it is today. A timeline, how the program was financed, who assisted to make every step successful, how the program was publicized, and how evaluations were collected and written are provided in detail to empower a librarian to tackle their first-time big program.

Known for her commitment to excellence in education, Sharon Draper was named National Teacher of the Year in 1997. In 1994 her first novel, Tears of a Tiger, was published, and since then she has written more than fifteen books for middle and high school readers. Tears of a Tiger received the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and her novels Forged by Fire and Copper Sun have both won the Coretta Scott King Award. Most of her books have been featured on the American Library Association Best Books list, their Top Ten Quick Pick list, and IRA's Young Adult Choice list. In Sharon M. Draper: Embracing Literacy, author KaaVonia Hinton reveals how Draper became an exceptional teacher and writer, and how she uses her writing to urge young people to embrace literacy. Hinton also explores how Draper has made a lasting contribution to the field of young adult literature. This book-length study examines both her life and work and will benefit all students, teachers, and scholars in the field of young adult literature.

Year after year a majority of the titles on ALA’s Banned Books list, which compiles titles threatened with censorship, are either YA books or adult books that are frequently read by teens. It’s important for YA librarians to understand the types of challenges occurring in libraries around the nation and to be ready to deal with such challenges when they occur. The Young Adult Library Services (YALSA) has tailored this book specifically for these situations, providing much-needed guidance on the highly charged topic of intellectual freedom for teens. Among the issues addressed areHow to prepare yourself and your staff for potential challenges by developing a thoughtful selection policy and response planResources for help when a challenge occursThe art of crafting a defense for a challenged book, and pointers for effectively disseminating your response through the press and social mediaThe latest on intellectual freedom in the digital realm, including an examination of library technologyUsing examples of censorship battles in both school and public libraries to illustrate possible scenarios, this guidebook gives YA librarians the foreknowledge and support to ensure intellectual freedom for teens.