Marva Hinton

Greater representation serves young library users and the profession. But more effort is needed to bring in—and retain—Black librarians.

SLJ spoke with five school librarians about how they came to the profession, the work they do each day, and their connection with students.

Cynthia Leitich Smith, Joseph Bruchac, Carole Lindstrom, and more share how the market for children’s books by Indigenous authors has changed for the better.

Children can handle the hard truths about slavery, say educators.  Literature can help the conversation.

“We’re like jazz musicians in that we decide on a structure, but a lot is left up to improvisation,” says Griffin about working with Reynolds. Read more about how this SLJ starred book came together.

Advocates for queer young people say support from caring adults is crucial. Here's how librarians are standing up for their students.

Thanks to an IMLS grant, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries will say goodbye to the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress Classification systems.

Battling threats to library funding and positions and educating the community on the value of librarians often becomes like a second job, taking up nights and weekends with conversations, events, and social media posts. 

These librarians provide books and a sense of belonging to marginalized students and those academically behind, living in poverty, or facing other difficulties.