Posts in 2019

Connect - A Year in Review

Posted on December 18, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Throughout the year, we’re proud to highlight the key resources that help make libraries great, along with special anniversaries and collection development strategies

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Looking Ahead to 2020

Posted on December 18, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

In the words of my favorite (fictional) president, Jed Bartlet of "The West Wing," "What’s next?" Librarians are always looking ahead, wondering what will enchant and entice their patrons in the coming year.

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National Book Award Finalists

Posted on November 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

National Book Award Finalists

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STEM and Comics Team Up

Posted on November 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

STEM, STEAM, STREAM. These are all acronyms for a teaching approach that focuses on a combination of core concepts, including Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), and sometimes Art (STEAM) and Reading (STREAM).

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10 Deadlines Only a Librarian Would Understand

Posted on November 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

For librarians, deadlines invite a special chance to embrace the sometimes absurd—but always rewarding—task of meeting patrons’ unique and changing needs.

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Celebrating Sesame Street

Posted on October 16, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Let’s take a look back at the late 1960s, when television, in many respects, was grim. If the nightly news wasn’t reporting on race riots in America, it was broadcasting body counts in Vietnam.

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A Breath of Fresh Air

Posted on October 16, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Have you ever noticed that in most sitcoms there’s an episode where characters go camping and…it’s a disaster? A hilarious disaster, but still a disaster. The great outdoors can be a tough place. As I write this, mosquitoes are waiting just outside my back door for their next meal.

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September Is Literacy Month

Posted on September 18, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

As librarians, literacy is something close to our hearts. We are readers, searchers, and devourers of facts. As information becomes easier to access but more complicated to manage, there are now many different kinds of literacy we can help our patrons navigate.

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Woodstock Revisited

Posted on August 21, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

By the time they got to Woodstock, they were half a million strong… at least according to the Joni Mitchell song. In actuality, 400,000 might be a more realistic number.

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Toni Morrison: 1931 – 2019

Posted on August 21, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Toni Morrison, a giant among twentieth century American writers, died yesterday in New York City. She was 88. Words are hard to find today to sum up her life, her literary work, and her influence in this country and around the world. To say one thing is to leave something else out of perhaps equal importance. There is not time and space enough here to sum up this person.

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What is #ownvoices?

Posted on August 21, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

As readers and librarians, we are finding that the publishing world is making an effort to seek out more diverse perspectives and voices and to honor stories about characters from groups that have previously been marginalized. These groups include ethnic minorities, different sexual orientations and identities, and those with disabilities. The We Need Diverse Books movement (WNDB) has really sparked conversations and moved the ball forward.

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Maya Angelou

Posted on July 17, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

There was a lot going on in 1969. As a result, there are quite a few 50-year anniversaries being observed this year. Right around the time that men first walked on the moon and hippies were flailing around in the mud at Woodstock, one of the most important books of all time was also being published: Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

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Does Your Library Carry Las Novelas Gráficas?

Posted on July 17, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Over the last decade, graphic novels have gained in popularity and are now widely considered an essential component of almost any library's collection. Beyond graphic novels in general gaining recognition, librarians have been clamoring for expanded Spanish graphic novel collections.

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Kekla Magoon

Posted on June 19, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Did you know a real-life Styx growing up? Who most inspired you when you were Caleb and Bobby Gene’s age?

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LGBT Pride Month

Posted on June 19, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Balloons! Streamers! Boisterous music! Bright rainbow colors! Costumes, dancing, hands and hips waving, face paint, and glitter galore, plus more skin than one usually sees on the street.

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OCLC's Top 100 Novels

Posted on May 22, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Librarians love lists, and here is a fun one, with titles for all ages. OCLC has identified The Library 100 Top Novels of All Time. According to OCLC, literary greatness can be measured by how many libraries own a copy of a novel.

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These Aren't Your Average Board Games

Posted on May 15, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Summertime is nearly upon us. Soon, some of us will be riding our bikes, or perhaps cheering our family on as little ones engage in some fun summer sports. Beyond offering summer reading programs, how can librarians help to combat the infamous summer slide and keep patrons (especially children) coming in during the summer months?

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A National Crisis

Posted on May 15, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

As most librarians know, what appears in headlines will probably show up in libraries. Unfortunately, today we’re not talking about Publishers Weekly headlines. We’re talking about the opioid crisis.

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Apollo 11

Posted on April 17, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Let’s look back over our proverbial shoulder to the spring of 1961. Here in the United States, there was an atmosphere of defeat. We were losing the space race with the Soviet Union, which on April 12 had just launched the first person ever into space, Yuri Gagarin.

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Large Print Books

Posted on April 17, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

As educators and librarians struggle to combat the dire reality of illiteracy and its impact on low graduation rates, meager job prospects, low income, and even crime, many remedies have been tried, with little success. Thankfully, one rather old-fashioned tool is gaining traction and showing promising results: using large print books with young, striving readers.

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Guns: As American as Apple Pie

Posted on March 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

Guns are cool. Guns are bad. Guns protect us. Bad guys use guns. A gun is simply a device that can be used properly or improperly, just like cars or painkillers.

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Spanish Language Collection Development

Posted on March 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

The demand for Spanish materials in public libraries has increased dramatically over the past few years, and librarians have accepted the challenge to find the right titles for their library’s demographic.

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Read Across America

Posted on February 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

With so many ways to celebrate Read Across America 2019, where do you start? Our librarians offer up programming suggestions while sharing the unique library programs that worked for them.

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A Universe of Stories

Posted on February 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

As I'm writing this, the polar vortex is plunging deep into the nation, and it's hard to imagine that it’s time to get ready for summer reading!

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Happy Earth Day

Posted on February 20, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

What were you doing on the inaugural Earth Day, April 22, 1970? Maybe you were in diapers. Maybe you weren't here yet. Or, perhaps, like myself and Benjamin Braddock, you were a college student who was worried about his future.

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Authors We Said Goodbye to in 2018

Posted on January 07, 2019 in Posts in 2019 by Brodart

2018 is now officially “in the books,” as the saying goes. At the beginning of the New Year, we take a moment to remember those who have recently completed their journeys here on Earth.

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Collection Development

Cataloging & Processing

Online Ordering

Connect - A Year in Review

Looking Ahead to 2020

National Book Award Finalists

STEM and Comics Team Up

10 Deadlines Only a Librarian Would Understand

Celebrating Sesame Street

A Breath of Fresh Air

September Is Literacy Month

Woodstock Revisited

Toni Morrison: 1931 – 2019

What is #ownvoices?

Maya Angelou

Does Your Library Carry Las Novelas Gráficas?

Kekla Magoon

LGBT Pride Month

OCLC's Top 100 Novels

These Aren't Your Average Board Games

A National Crisis

Apollo 11

Large Print Books

Guns: As American as Apple Pie

Spanish Language Collection Development

Read Across America

A Universe of Stories

Happy Earth Day

Authors We Said Goodbye to in 2018

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