Back when the author was the school librarian at Little Elementary School in Arlington, Texas, she started writing and publishing books for children. She had completed her master's and PhD in Library Science from Texas Woman's University while working full time, and when she finally finished, she had such well-honed time management skills that she…

Secondary school libraries often look much like research centers with banks of computers linked to databases related to curriculum topics. A glance into the library shows teens using online resources for research while trying to check their MySpace or Facebook page when they think the teacher or librarian is not looking. The librarian's weekly…

Web 2.0 tools enable today's writers to connect with their audience in unprecedented ways. The advent of social networking and other Web 2.0 tools have changed the rules for how authors and book publishers market and communicate with their audience. Through tools like blogs, Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, Young Adult (YA) lit authors can choose…

Hearing some fun facts about books and authors can bring books to life and help ignite students' interest in books and reading. Because most elementary school media centers and public libraries have many of the Newbery Medal books, students will have a better chance of finding books they decide they want to read once they hear about them. Reading…

In this article, the author gives some ideas on how to find funding for author and poet visits. Author and poet visits are very important for children of all ages. Young children learn much from meeting real people who write professionally. Good speakers inspire students to write and communicate in an articulate manner while in school and later in…

This article is a discussion of authors and controversial novels that should be on the top of library media specialists' reading list if they work with high-school-age teens. "Controversial" is not a dirty word, it is an enticement! The goal of library media specialists is to get teens who may be burned out with reading due to incentive programs…