Author Archive: Terra Dankowski


Reshma Saujani.Photo: Adrian Kinloch

Newsmaker: Reshma Saujani

July 19, 2017

Girls Who Code has seen exponential growth since its founding. To what do you attribute to the nonprofit’s success? We have this amazing, authentically girl-led movement. We started with 20 girls in 2012; now we’ve reached more than 40,000 girls in all 50 states through our summer immersion programs and after-school clubs. We’ve met girls … Continue reading Newsmaker: Reshma Saujani


Ready for the Library?

June 27, 2017

Collins was trying to illustrate a crucial lesson—that we make assumptions about what students know—for attendees of “Library Readiness: Steps to Ensure Your Students Are Ready to Learn in the Elementary Library,” her American Association of School Librarians session at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 26. “A lot of … Continue reading Ready for the Library?


Getting Teens “Real Ready” for the Future

June 27, 2017

The case studies that were shared with YALSA membership at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 26 were sterling examples of the impact young adults can have—on their neighborhoods, their futures, themselves—when libraries and local organizations support their needs, interests, careers, and visions. The library projects profiled spanned the … Continue reading Getting Teens “Real Ready” for the Future


Lessons from Strong Girls School

June 27, 2017

Evans leads an annual program series for girls that addresses inequality and self-esteem issues in her conservative Long Island community. She provided some compelling—and chilling—statistics as to why programs like hers are so badly needed. “By the time a college-educated woman turns 59, she will have lost almost $800,000 throughout her life,” Evans said, referring … Continue reading Lessons from Strong Girls School


Anticipating a Crisis

June 27, 2017

Jennings was one of three panelists who headlined “Crisis Communications: Who Speaks for Your Library?,” a joint program presented by the Reference and User Services Association, United for Libraries, and the American Library Association’s (ALA) Chapter Relations Office at ALA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 25. “I thought about calling my presentation … Continue reading Anticipating a Crisis


The Paradox of Belonging

June 27, 2017

“First time I got a note that said, ‘I like you, do you like me?’ Library. First peck kind of kiss? Sorry, library. First refuge for girl who belonged nowhere? Library. Then fast forward to the special relationship that PhD students have with librarians,” Brown said. A researcher and storyteller who has been studying shame, … Continue reading The Paradox of Belonging


Sarah Jessica Parker Unveils ALA’s Book Club Central

June 26, 2017

“No one could leave the house without something to read,” Parker fondly recalled that rule of her mother’s before a packed auditorium at the President’s Program of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24. Growing up, Parker and her seven siblings were constantly shuttled to the Clifton branch of … Continue reading Sarah Jessica Parker Unveils ALA’s Book Club Central


The New Normal slide

From Design to Dedication

June 25, 2017

“We had a dilemma,” says Cyr. “It was a really hard pill for anyone to swallow as to why we would build new public building for $18 million.” Still, champions of the library—both political and internal—pressed on and the new building finally opened in 2012, a full 14 years after it was first envisioned. “The … Continue reading From Design to Dedication


Digital Media Recommendations for Our Youngest Patrons

June 25, 2017

Brooke Newberry (early literacy librarian, LaCrosse [Wisc.] Public Library), Stephanie C. Prato (head of children’s services, Simsbury [Conn.] Public Library), and Mary Schreiber (youth collection development specialist, Cuyahoga County [Ohio] Public Library) set out to clarify the revised standards for the under-18 months, 18–24 months, and 2–5 years groups, and provide actionable tips in an … Continue reading Digital Media Recommendations for Our Youngest Patrons


Why teaching girls to code will change the workforce … and the culture

June 24, 2017

“We’re missing out on women, and it wasn’t always this way,” speaker Reshma Saujani told attendees at the Opening Session of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 23. “It’s almost become fashionable for girls to say, I hate math, I hate science.” So what did Saujani, whose … Continue reading Why teaching girls to code will change the workforce … and the culture