I have been awfully quiet these last few months. Ever since the ALSC Forum on Social Justice Practice in Youth Librarianship (ALSC members: watch the archive if you missed it), I’ve been reflecting on my own social justice practice. This included reflecting on the purpose of this blog.
Last month, I wrote a follow-up to my post on performative allyship and haven’t blogged since. This blog isn’t going anywhere but there are going to be some changes—namely the end of my TBR Pile posts and, following Angie Manfredi’s terrible ouster from Newbery, a more careful approach to posting.
Due to my current service on the Rainbow Book List Committee, I have already taken a vow of silence regarding speaking out about any eligible books (anything with queer content published between July 2016 and Dec 2017). This is proving to be way harder than I thought it would be and, admittedly, I have accidentally slipped in a few eligible titles into the TBR Pile posts. So, I’m extending this vow of silence to avoid advertising any book—unless it’s one I’ve used in a storytime.
Some other updates to share:
- I am now reviewing for Kirkus—a dream come true. ICYMI, Kirkus also just released this amazing new service for diversifying collection development, Kirkus Collections.
- My colleagues and I (mostly them, honestly) launched a new blog, Medal on My Mind. This blog will follow in the footsteps of other award speculation blogs (Heavy Medal, Calling Caldecott, Guessing Geisel) and generate discussion about eligible titles for the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award of the Stonewall Book Awards.
NOTE: Regarding the blog, I want to make sure readers understand that, though I co-founded the blog, it is completely unrelated to my service on Rainbow List (we started planning the project in Summer 2016, before I had been appointed). I am not currently writing any posts for the blog, and the posts do not reflect my opinions or the opinions of my committee.
The Stories Guy 
Could you please tell me what TBR stands for? I like your blogs, they are honest. As a consumer who is looking for diverse books to read to children, I find your lists and comments very helpful. If this is what is going to stop, then I will be disappointed. I especially favor your storyhours, and the reports on what worked and what did not. I am not a librarian, so I do get lost in the jargon, and abbreviations, but you had so much fun at the last ALA convention, that I am attending next year.
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Hi! Thanks for your comment. TBR stands for “To Be Read.”
I will continue to post about storytime–that’s my favorite part. I will no longer post lists of what is coming out each month, but I will post lists of books on topics, and other recommendations. If there’s something specific you are looking for, do let me know.
I will try and be more conscious that some of my readers aren’t librarians–thanks for bringing that up. And thanks for reading!
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