Hear Ye! Hear Ye! | May 2025
Judy Zuckerman, Youth and Family Services, Brooklyn Public Library, New York, is the 2025 recipient of ALSC's Distinguished Service Award, which honors an individual who has made significant contributions to library service to children and to ALSC. Congratulations, Judy!
Tess Botkin, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma, and Alicia Rogers, Worcester Public Library, Massachusetts, are the 2025 recipients of the Penguin Random House Young Readers Group Award. The $1,200 stipend, made possible by an annual gift from Penguin Random House Young Readers Group, enables up to two children’s librarians to attend their first ALA Annual Conference. Enjoy the conference, Tess and Alicia! And, many thanks to Penguin Random House for making this valuable professional development opportunity possible for our members.
Martha Simpson, Connecticut, is the author of a new picture book, A Ring for a King: A Tale of King Solomon (Wisdom Tales), which was published in April. Based on a legend about the Jewish king, this ancient story is retold from a child's perspective for a new generation of readers. Kudos, Martha!
Charlotte Chung, Suncrest Elementary School, Morgantown, West Virginia, was one of four librarians to be awarded a 2025 AASL Toor Scholarship for Strong Public-School Libraries. The scholarship is given to public school librarians who have created and implemented a local public awareness/marketing campaign that positions their school library as a necessary resource in the community. The $1,000 scholarship helps cover travel to attend the biennial AASL National Conference. Brava, Charlotte!
Cherity Pennington, Shawnee Middle School, Oklahoma, was one of fifteen recipients of a 2025 Jewish American Heritage Month Collection Development Grant for $500. The award allows recipients to create or expand their collections with content that provides context and explores Jewish experience, achievement, and identity as an antidote to antisemitism. Congrats, Cherity!
Upcoming eLearning
Treat yourself to some professional development time with ALSC.
Webinar: Turning the Page on Trauma: Libraries as Safe Havens for Children & Caregivers | RESCHEDULED - Thursday, June 12, 2025 | 12:30-1:30pm CT
In a world where trauma affects the lives of countless children and caregivers, libraries are more than just repositories of books. They serve as sanctuaries of healing, hope, and empowerment. This webinar aims to shed light on the essential resources and successful programs available within libraries to support those affected by trauma. Learn more!
eCourse: American Sign Language with Children in Storytime or in the Classroom: A Practical Guide | January 5 - February 15, 2026
Registration for this highly anticipated eCourse is now open. Slots always fill up quickly, so reserve yours early!
American Sign Language (ASL) is most commonly used in storytimes for babies, but the applications can go much further. In this 6-week class, programming expert and signing storyteller Kathy MacMillan explores the benefits of signing with all children. In addition to learning basic ASL vocabulary appropriate for use with children in library and classroom settings, you will also learn techniques to share stories, songs, and other activities that incorporate ASL. Learn more!
Share These Recommended Summer Reads with Your Community
The 2025 ALSC Summer Reading Lists are here! Compiled by the Quicklists Consulting committee, the lists feature entertaining and award-winning book titles to keep children reading all summer. For digital media fans, the committee also recommends a range of apps, podcasts, and websites to pique kids' interests.
The lists are FREE and easy to download and print for distribution in your library and community. Check them out on the ALSC website.
Join Us for the Next We Are ALSC Chat!
Can't make it to ALA Annual this year? Join ALSC's Membership committee for "ALA Annual FOMO."
This We Are ALSC Chat will be held on June 25 at 2 p.m. (Central) via Zoom. Come and hang out in this virtual space with fellow librarians ahead of the conference. Share your favorite stories from conferences past and talk about what you'd like to see in the future. Register here!
We Are ALSC Chats are online, informal networking get-togethers for resource sharing and discussion. They are open to ALSC members and non-members. Bring your stories, ideas, and questions! We hope to see you there.
New Resource Delivers Literacy Research Info
Are you looking for published research to support a request for funding, inform your library work, or stay on top of new trends? Did you know the Early and Family Literacy committee maintains a database of research articles from trusted sources that are relevant to early and family literacy issues?
Articles are presented in an Airtable format that is searchable, and fields—such as topic, publication date, and author—can be sorted, grouped, and filtered to make searches for just the right data easier.
To learn more, check out the Airtable base online.
2025 Annual Conference Update
Advance registration rates for the ALA conference, June 26-30 in Philadelphia, are in effect until June 20! ALSC is offering an engaging lineup of educational programs, special events, and award celebrations.
ALSC’s Preconference, Leveraging the Power of Play in Storytime: Engaging Techniques for Early Childhood Programs, will be held on Friday, June 27, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Discover powerful ways to make your storytimes more interactive for both children and caregivers - and save your sanity in the process! Music, movement, and dramatic play help bring stories to life, allow children to fully embody new concepts, and promote caregiver interaction. Participants will walk away from this event with new resources, practical tips, and actionable steps for immediate program implementation.
Join ALSC for the Charlemae Hill Rollins President's Program, The Current Landscape of AI and its Effects on Children, a timely and crucial conversation about artificial intelligence and its growing influence on children’s lives, featuring distinguished voices at the intersection of technology, education, and social impact. The speakers will explore the ethical use of AI tools for children and libraries, and will discuss how AI impacts society and the role of technology companies in shaping responsible AI tools that are free from bias.
The ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition brings together thousands of librarians and library staff, educators, authors, publishers, keynote speakers, and exhibitors to the world's largest library event. Learn more on how you can make your case to attend and join us for this enriching professional development opportunity.
CBC Announces Favorites Awards
The Children's Book Council (CBC) has released its 2025 Children’s Favorites, Young Adult Favorites, Teacher Favorites, and Librarian Favorites award lists. Every year young people from kindergarten through grade 12, teachers, and librarians across the country read newly-published books and vote for those they like best. Titles on the Favorites lists are selected from hundreds of works submitted by publishers and represent just that: favorite reads of children, young adults, and teachers/librarians. The lists and additional information about CBC Favorites are available on the Children's Book Council website.
