2. School Library Journal recently released a crowd-of-librarians-sourced list of the Top 100 Must-Have Young Adult Books. We already have most of these in our Library, so be sure and stop by to check them out!
3. This bears repeating: If you don't have one, GET A LIBRARY CARD ALREADY! The Brooklyn Public Library recently redesigned their website, and it's awesome. Take a look at all of the Learning Resources they have, free with an active library card!
4. Would you love to get a grant to take your students on a field trip? Then apply for a Target Field Trip Grant today! Each grant is worth up to $700, and the entry deadline is October 1st.
5. If it's September, it's Brooklyn Book Festival time!! The festival will run from September 11-17, with the Children's Day on September 16th and the Festival Day & Literary Marketplace on September 17th. Go see hundreds of world-famous authors, buy amazing books, and hang out with your fellow readers!
6. Five Books is a great new readers advisory site that collects the top five book picks from authors who know what they're talking about!
7. It's time for Scholastic Writing Awards again! Begun in 1923, it is the nation's longest-running writing and artistic competition for young people. The competition opens on September 13th, so be sure to tell your students to enter. "Through the Scholastic Awards, teens in grades 7–12 from public, private, or home schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published."
8. Not sure if you heard the big news lately, but both BPL and NYPL now subscribe to Kanopy so you don't have to. This educational movie streaming service has over 26,000 fascinating movies and documentaries ready for you and your students to watch. Once you connect via either your NYPL or BPL card, you will be able to watch up to 6 films per month. Once you begin a movie, you have 3 days to finish it, and you can also watch on your smartphone. Move over, Netflix!!
9. Don't forget to check in with the New York Times' Learning Network when the school year begins. It is full of activities, lesson plans, writing prompts, and contests for your students to enter!