Illinois School Receives National School Library of the Year Honor
The library media center at Vernon Hills High School in Illinois—just north of the American Library Association’s Chicago home—has been named National School Library of the Year.
The History of School Library Month
April is School Library Month, when school librarians across the U.S. are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school libraries play in transforming learning. For more than 40 years, School Library Month has highlighted the vital role school libraries play in the lives and education of our nation’s youth. It has a fascinating history.
Montana School Library Helps Students Fight Bullying
Bullying can impact individuals in any environment, but it can be particularly devastating in an educational setting. Students and a school librarian in Montana decided to address the issue directly with help from an American Library Association grant.
‘How I Library’ Episode 18: Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra from PBS News Student Reporting Labs
In episode 18 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra, two high school students from Texas who are participants in “On Our Minds,” an award-winning podcast series about the teenage experience from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. The new season asks teens, “Who Inspires You?” For Zahra and Misra, it was their school librarian who is beloved on campus for being a proponent of reading banned books. Zahra and Misra join the show to discuss working with PBS News, podcasting, journalism, banned books, and of course, how they library.
Kentucky School Program Grows Readers, Leaders, and Community
In Louisville, Kentucky, an elementary school’s path to become a Spanish-immersion magnet school helped create an ALA award-winning program that raised awareness of the Hispanic/Latinx community and fostered the cultural competence and unity of all students by asking: What unites us?
Poverty and Philanthropy: Combining Education with Community Needs
In the latter half of the 2010s, 6th graders at Wyoming (Ohio) Middle School took a class that gave them firsthand experience in addressing food disparity in the community—one that ended up winning the school in the Cincinnati suburbs a grant from the American Library Association.
Get Involved: Advocate for School Libraries
As youth across the U.S. head back to school, it’s vital that we turn our attention to school libraries. Schools with a strong school library program and a certified school librarian ensure their students have the best chance to succeed. Yet, many students are returning to school without a resource essential for success: a strong school library program lead by a certified school librarian.
School Libraries Are Essential
Schools with a strong school library program—and a certified school librarian—ensure their students have the best chance to succeed. But in too many schools, school library budgets and school librarian positions are being cut. This puts our children’s education and workforce readiness at peril.
Football Playoffs Pay Off for Houston School Library
Each year, The College Football Playoff Foundation, a nonprofit committed to supporting education, teachers, and students, gives back to the community hosting the playoffs by investing in its teachers and schools. For this round, the foundation identified six Houston-area schools for a makeover, including Ponderosa Elementary which received a $50,000 grant to upgrade its library.