Summer Reading Kicks Off June 1

Build a Better World - Summer Reading Program 2017 Kicks Off June 1st

Join Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System as we kick-off our annual Summer Reading Program with an amazing new celebration at Woodruff Park. For the first time ever, come “Build a Better World” with storytelling, a special visit from Word Girl from PBS Kids, Rocky the Reading Raccoon, face painting, balloon art, crafts and plenty of entertainment for the whole family. The Bookmobile will also be onsite and ready to get you signed up for a library card and check out materials (books, movies, DVDs, CDs). Register for the 2017 Summer Reading Program and while you’re there, you can also Build a Better You, when you participate in our fitness activities, including yoga, obstacle course, dancing and more.  Snacks will be provided, or you can bring a picnic and enjoy an afternoon in the park with your family.  All ages welcome. 

For more Summer Reading information check out the 

2017 Fulton County Schools Summer Reading Resources 

& 

2017 Atlanta Public Schools'Summer eReading

More Reading Recommendations Below

Build a Better World Book List

Summer Reading, 2017

Under 5:

Bulldozer’s Big Day by Candace Fleming

Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child

Elementary:

Picture Books:

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann

The Night Gardener by Terry Fan

Pipsie the Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar by Rick Dedonato

Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara

Chapter Books:

The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd

Tween/ Teen:

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Banned Books Week 2016: Sept. 25 - Oct. 1

(courtesy of the American Library Association, Office of Intellectual Freedom)

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country.

Find out which challenged books made the 2015 list, which was released as part of the 2016 State of America’s Library Report.



A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

OIF also offers support for librarians facing challenges to materials in their library. The support librarians seek will not be disclosed to any outside parties, and the challenge report OIF receives is kept confidential. Please see Challenges to Library Materials for resources and information to help you prepare for and respond to challenges.

If you would like more information about banned and challenged books, contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org. For more information on how to get involved with Banned Books Week, email bbw@ala.org.

For media inquiries related to Banned Books Week, please contact: Heather Cho, Media Relations Specialist, 312-280-4020, hcho@ala.org; and Macey Morales, Deputy Director of ALA's Public Awareness Office, 312-280-4393, mmorales@ala.org.

A library card is the coolest card – September is Library Card Sign-up Month

(ATLANTA, GEORGIA)– Today’s libraries are about more than books. They are creative educational spaces for learners from birth to high school and beyond. September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System joins with the American Library Association and public libraries nationwide to make sure that every student has the most import school supply of all – a free library card.

Libraries are also a training ground for students of all ages to expand their knowledge and explore creative pursuits. The development of makerspaces is just one way libraries are seeking to meet this demand, ranging from low-tech, hands-on engineering opportunities for children and teens using toys and kits to the incorporation of high-tech tools like laser cutters and 3D printers.

Resources at the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System are available to anyone who has a library card. Students can turn to the library for materials, programs and knowledgeable library staff that support academic achievement. Students and patrons can also take advantage of the digital resources offered such as E-Campus, Galileo, Mango Languages, and much more.

“Our library provides access and programs for students of all ages,” says Dr. Gabriel Morley, Executive Director of Atlanta-Fulton County Library System. “For preschool age children we offer early literacy and storytimes to encourage school readiness, for older children and teens we supplement education with hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) programs, and for nontraditional students we offer GED resources. There’s really something for everyone, and it’s all free with a library card.”

Throughout the course of the month, the library will host a number of activities, including Midday at Milton Book Club, Journey to Literacy with Junior League of Atlanta, and a Curiosity Day with Curious George.

Librarians provide important resources to families whose children are at the earliest stages of development, by teaching parents and caregivers the components of early literacy which help children develop the basic tools for school readiness. As of 2010, libraries in the United States offered more than 2.3 million children’s programs, which account for nearly two thirds of all library programming.
Older students can access high-speed Internet, digital tools and the opportunity to work with trained professionals on how to use them. Librarians provide guided training in digital media and grow digital literacy skills. Libraries also provide equity of access to digital tools and media, which has become increasingly important in high-poverty areas where students are less likely to have a computer or internet access in the home.

For more information on how to sign up for a library card, visit any of our 34 libraries system-wide or complete an online application at www.afpls.org.

Best Buy Teen Tech Centers and Geek Squad Academy camps reach youth where they live

Best Buy Teen Tech Centers and Geek Squad Academy camps reach youth where they live.

This spring, the Best Buy Teen Tech Center network will achieve a milestone of a dozen urban locations when four new centers begin offering year-round after-school programming for teens.  And from May through September, more than 6,000 students will attend Geek Squad Academy (GSA) free, two-day summer camp sessions in communities around the country.  Teen Tech Center and GSA curriculum encourages teens to explore technology through immersive training in digital music and film production, digital photography, coding, 3D design, robotics and more. 

Following an open grant submission process, Best Buy has selected the Atlanta Fulton Public Library System in Atlanta, the Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in Dallas, the P.F. Bresee Foundation in Los Angeles and Alternatives in Action in Oakland as partners for four new Best Buy Teen Tech Centers.  Opening this spring, the new centers join existing centers in Chicago; Denver; Jersey City, N.J.; Miami; Minneapolis; San Antonio; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. 

Geek Squad Academy will kick off in Atlanta in May and include a total of 30 camps.  Since its inception in 2006, Geek Squad Academy has served more than 25,000 teens through its summer camp program.  The full 2016 summer camp schedule will be announced in April.