I find it harder and harder to keep up with finding, reading/reviewing and buying new books for our Library collection. The number of books for YA have grown each year and I just don’t find the time to keep up. (I am still about 6 months behind is reading Booklist – a magazine book buyer/reader advisory publication)

So when I saw another Librarian posted the question? “How do you keep up-to-date on the best and trending children’s and teen books?” to a Library Listserv I was interested to see the results – and oh there were many.


Some go traditional and use print media (also available digitally) targeted at Librarians and Booksellers: The Horn Book, School Library Journal, Booklist, Bookmarks, Gale/Cengage, Salem Press, Greenhaven, Lerner or Cavendish Square


Use digital media targeted at Librarians and Booksellers:
 Netgalley, Edelweiss, Titlewave, Kirkus reviews, Junior Library Guild


Some use publisher’s lists, print or digital media targeted at the everyday reader:
NY TImes Books, NPR, Paste Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly newsletters, 
NYTimes book supplement, and Indie Next list.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgtorOQ4j79YmD-Rggl04XlLetU9M_c37


Some use the blogs and listservs written by Librarians or Library groups:
VOYA
YALSAHub http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/
yalsa-bk https://lists.ala.org/sympa/info/yalsa-bk


And then there are those who are just passionate about books and reading and want to tell the whole world through :

Edi Campbell’s blog https://crazyquiltedi.blog/
Lee & Low, #weneeddiversebooks https://www.leeandlow.com/
Bookish
Rich in Color
BookRiot
2020 YA/MG Books with POC Leads https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/124900.2020_YA_MG_Books_With_POC_Leads
We Need Diverse Books
The Brown Bookshelf
American Indians in Children’s Literature
Reading While White (on this blog, there is a list in the right-hand column of “Kindred Spirits”–other blogs with a similar purpose)
Pinterest lists


And some have time to keep lists that they share with others:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12-HyFGc5xQB7yigy0J8L1RVnh9jvWm02L27FpLhpaW4/edit#gid=744337181


Personally, I just can’t keep up with it – sad to say that I bought one of these books a couple years ago (after hearing Michael Cart speak at a conference) and I still haven’t finished it, and it’s only 105 pages!

When I was in Library school I was reading 4-5 Young Adults books a week minimum, now I am lucky to finish 1 book a week – where has all my time gone! I am like our students, I took a stack of books home over Christmas break and they are still there – unread in a pile in my living room – and then feeling guilty that I am keeping them from someone else reading them. So now my goal is to spend 30 minutes each day reading one of my advisory magazines, books or blogs and hoping that I can get back into a daily routine of staying just a little up to date on what is going on in bookland.