Kara Yorio

The librarian at Mount Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, NC, has created a welcoming and inclusive space while building a reflective collection and empowering academic-recovery students.

Here is a look at the strategies and messaging in eight states with recent bills to remove the prosecution exemption for librarians and educators in current obscenity laws.

At least 17 states have proposed legislation that would remove the defense of prosecution exemption for librarians and educators under obscenity laws.

Kaye Johnson brought a statement from George M. Johnson, the author of All Boys Aren't Blue, which was one of six titles a group wanted removed from the public library. The Board of Trustees decided that all six titles will remain on the shelves at the Glen Ridge Public Library.

The author's debut was a Printz honor book, along with winning the young adult category of the Stonewall Awards and the Sydney Taylor Book Awards at the 2030 Youth Media Awards.

From Virginia Florence, the first Black woman in the U.S. to receive a library science degree, to Clara Stanton Jones, the first Black president of the American Library Association, pioneers of the profession.

In this story of a little dog stressed out by the sights, sounds, and feelings of the city on a summer day, Salati wanted to share a universal experience of feeling overwhelmed that would resonate with kids. 

The author says her novel loosely based on the Maroon communities of escaped formerly enslaved people will give young readers a connection across cultures and experiences and help restart the difficult conversation around slavery. 

Tahir's novel, which she once thought was "too niche" and "too weird" to be published, earned the Printz Award on Monday.