FYI, Passing this along to school librarians on behalf of a colleague on this committee. ~Sharon   School librarians are invited to apply for a $5,000 annual award recognizing outstanding humanities programming in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Nominations for the 2025 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award will be accepted until May 1, 2025.  Applications, award guidelines and a list of previous winners are available at https://www.ala. ...Continue Reading

Hello.  Could my email address "irea...@hotmail.com" be removed from all distribution lists?  I would appreciate it.  I have a new email address "curr...@gmail.com".  I did notify NJLA about this change, but I didn't realize that I had to give a separate notification about NJYAC. Thank you, Tricia Curran *From:* njy...@njstatelib.org <njy...@njstatelib.org> on behalf of Sharon Rawlins sraw...@njstatelib.org [NJYAC] <njy...@njstatelib.org>*Sent:* Wednesday, ...Continue Reading

Please excuse cross postings   FYI, *Miss Rumphius Award – Deadline to Apply April 15, 2025  * The New Jersey Center for the Book proudly presents the annual /Miss Rumphius Award, /based upon the title character of the National Book Award winner by Barbara Cooney. In the spirit of Miss Rumphius, we seek to amplify the work of exemplary librarians, library staff, library students, and school librarians who implement creative and engaging programs to improve their environments. We hope the /Miss ...Continue Reading

FYI,   Sharing this with you on behalf of Jen Nelson:   *_A Message from NJ State Librarian, Jen Nelson_* On Friday March 14, 2025, an Executive Order was issued that severely reduces the functioning of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The full implications of the order on the New Jersey State Library (NJSL) are unclear. NJSL annually receives approximately $4.5 million from IMLS. Those funds are primarily used to fund the NJ Talking Book and Braille Center, JerseyConnect (which provides c ...Continue Reading

Hello, The NJLA Intellectual Freedom subcommittee is looking to update this statement about children and libraries: https://www.njla.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86:njla-statement-on-children-and-libraries&catid=26:njla-executive-board-statements-and-resolutions&Itemid=161 One of the things we would like to do is include newer examples of statements on child safety, specifically policies on unattended minors in the library. If you could please send your library's policy statements on this ...Continue Reading

Hi, Everyone,   Does your library serve summer meals or snacks, or are you interested in being a meal site or supporting other meal sites in your area? A number of  libraries in New Jersey and around the USA participate in the *Summer Food Service Program* (SFSP, now branded as SUN Meals), a USDA-funded program that provides free meals and snacks to children ages 0-18 in communities with high levels of need. * * *Libraries and SFSP are a great fit.* The library is a trusted, accessible community center ...Continue Reading

Please excuse cross postings   FYI, *Miss Rumphius Award – Deadline to Apply April 15, 2025  * The New Jersey Center for the Book proudly presents the annual /Miss Rumphius Award, /based upon the title character of the National Book Award winner by Barbara Cooney. In the spirit of Miss Rumphius, we seek to amplify the work of exemplary librarians, library staff, library students, and school librarians who implement creative and engaging programs to improve their environments. We hope the /Miss ...Continue Reading

FYI,   I’m just passing this along for informational purposes only. ~Sharon   *Support for Bringing Youth Creative Writing Programming into Libraries*   Are you interested in running creative writing workshops for your K–12 patrons? Education nonprofit Cosmic Writers provides libraries with training, resources, and guest workshops to implement writing programming in genres ranging from monster-building to journalism. Fill out our Educator Interest Form and/or contact Executive Directo ...Continue Reading

Please excuse cross postings   Hi, Everyone,   Here are a few webinars coming up that might be of interest: *_Katherine Applegate’s Kickoff for CSLP 2025 Summer Reading Program in Public Libraries – Wed. March 5th_* CSLP is partnering with Macmillan to have Katherine Applegate as our Summer Reading Champion for 2025. On Jan. 15, 2025, Macmillan started giving out a large poster featuring our champion with all CSLP orders (while supplies last). There will be a "kickoff" event on Wed. March 5th at 2 ...Continue Reading

FYI,   I’m forwarding the Library of Congress’s announcement to apply to have National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett visit your library. See below for the announcement.   ~Sharon  All the best, *Sharon Rawlins, MLS (she/her/hers)*/Youth Services Specialist/ /Library Development/*New Jersey State Library* *P.*  609-278-2640 x116    *E.*  sraw...@njstatelib.org*W. * www.njstatelib.org   185 West State StreetP.O. Box 520, Trenton, NJ ...Continue Reading