Young Adult Programs and Services

Making the connection: Amanda L. Folk and Tracey Overbey discuss libraries and the Black and African American experience

Still a predominantly white profession, librarianship has a legacy of racial discrimination, and we must face and better understand the ways in which race impacts how we meet users’ needs both now and in the future. Amanda L. Folk and Tracey Overbey, authors of two ALA Editions Special Reports, posit that identifying and acknowledging implicit and learned bias is a necessary step for moving forward.

"Keep the literal and figurative lights on; cockroaches hate that": Michael Cart on YA lit, censorship, and his new book

a photo of author Michael Cart promoting an interview on YA lit, censorship, and his new book

For well over a decade now, Michael Cart and his book Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism have served as invaluable guides to both the history and unfolding landscape of YA lit. Longtime columnist and reviewer for Booklist, as well as a prolific author and editor, Cart decided that the new fourth edition called for a sweeping update.

“We need to have difficult conversations, but they should be respectful ones”: Belinha S. De Abreu on media literacy and social justice

a photo of author Belinha S. De Abreu, Ph.D.

In his Foreword to Belinha S. De Abreu's new book, Yohuru Williams writes, "Young people are literally bombarded with images and information, raw and unfiltered. The contours of when and how they receive information have changed dramatically from just a few years ago, resulting, on the positive side, in a democratization of information, and on the negative side, in the monumental task of discriminating fact from fiction while discerning credible sources ...

Kenneth J. Varnum surveys top tech trends for libraries

If you want to learn about library technology, whether past, present, or future, Kenneth J. Varnum is exactly the right person to talk to. Senior Program Manager for Discovery, Delivery, and Library Analytics at the University of Michigan Library, he has more than two decades of experience working with public-facing technology in academic, corporate, and special libraries.

Michelle Reale on igniting a spirit of inquiry in students

How do you guide students to move beyond just finding answers and towards critical thinking? It's exactly the approach Michelle Reale outlines in her new book Inquiry and Research: A Relational Approach in the Classroom. An associate professor and head of access services and outreach at Arcadia University, she took some time out from her duties to speak with us about the epiphany behind writing the book, the role of reflective practice in information literacy, and much more.