Collection Development
Resources for selecting items and supplies for your collection. Contact Jenny Shonk or Nora Burrows with any suggestions or changes to this section.
Awards | Book Lists | Book Reviews | Common Core | Films | Gaming Resources | Birth-Pre-k | Grades K-5 | Hi-Lo | Leveling Systems | Professional Resources | Tweens and Teens | Vendors | Weeding
Adults
- ALA Collection Development Resources
- Book Riot
- Center for the Book
- Fantastic Fiction
- NYT Bestsellers List
All Ages
- A Book and a Hug
- ALSC Blog (Association for Library Services to Children)
- Children’s Literature Network
- Goodreads
- NoveList
- ReadKiddoRead
Award Winners
- 3 Apples: The only award for kids by kids in New York.
- Caldecott Medal
- Charlotte Zolotow Award
- Coretta Scott King Book Awards
- Cybils Award
- Empire State Award
- Man Booker Prize
- National Book Awards
- Newbery Medal
- Nobel Prize for Literature
- Michael L. Printz Award
- YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Book Lists By Topic
- Al Salwa: Arabic Children’s Books.
- ALSC: Association for Library Service to Children
- American Indians in Children’s Literature
- Arte Public Press: U.S. Hispanic Authors.
- Cinco Puntos: Latino titles.
- East West Discovery: Bilingual titles.
- Empowering Books for Little Black Girls
- Free Spirit Publishing: Youth navigating life resources.
- Good Comics for Kids
- Goosebottom Books: Inspirational titles for young women.
- Guys Lit Wire: Books with male appeal.
- Guys READ
- ilovelibraries Recommended Reading
- Kar-Ben Publishing: Children’s books for Jewish families
- LGBTQ
- Bold Strokes Books
- Love and Pride
- Over the Rainbow: ALA’s LGBTQ Reading List
- Read Proud, Listen Proud
- NYPL Recommendations
- Reading in Color
Book Reviews
- Booklist Reviews
- BookPage Review
- Kirkus Reviews
- Library Journal Reviews
- LARB: LA Review of Books
- New Yorker Books & Fiction
- NPR Book Reviews
- NYT Book Review
- Publisher’s Weekly Reviews
- USA Today Book Reviews
- Washington Post Books
Common Core
- Common Core Articles from ALSC
- Common Core in the Classroom
- Common Core Resources from EngageNY
- NY Common Core Standards
- Printable Resources from Booklist
- Why Common Core State Standards Matter
- YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Films
Gaming Resources
- ABCmouse.com: Free for public libraries!
- Crimson, Inc.
- Destructoid
- ESRB
- Gamestop
- PlayPlayLearn
- Nintendo
- TCGPlayer
Gaming Reviews:
Commercial Review Sites
Grades K-5
Hi/Lo Resources
- High Interest Publishing
- Orca Books
- Remedia Publications
- Wieser Educational
- FLLS Literacy Resource Guide
Leveling Systems
Are parents coming into the library with strange reading levels from the school? For help deciphering these levels, check out the following resources:
- Reading A-Z Chart: “My child is reading at K.” Find out what K means (and all other letters) here.
- ATOS for Text: ATOS is the leveling system used by Accelerated Reader. You can type in a small text file or submit an entire book for analysis.
- Get a Lexile® Text Measure: Apply for a free Lexile account that allows you to submit a limited amount of text for determination of its Lexile level.
- Readability Calculator: Paste text into this calculator to find readability using the following methods: Coleman Liau index, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, ARI (Automated Readability Index), SMOG. Provides suggestions for improving text readability
- Lexile Find a Book: The official site for finding Lexile levels. Search by author, title, Lexile or grade level and genre.
- AR Book Finder: Search for books in Accelerated Reader program by author, title or topic. Provides interest level, book reading level and AR points.
- Scholastic Book Wizard: Search by author, title or keyword. Provides levels for Guided Reading, Lexile Level and DRA. Also has “Book Alike” to search for books at similar interest and reading levels.
Levels and Labeling with ALA
- Labeling and Rating Systems: An interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.
- Position Statement
- Questions and Answers on Labeling and Rating Systems
Professional Resources
FLLS has a variety of titles in Polaris that you may place on hold. Search the collection ZPROGEN for the entire list.
Journals
FLLS has print copies of the following journals. Please email nburrows@flls.orgif your library would like to be added to the routing list for:
- American Libraries
- Library Journal
- School Library Journal
- Video Librarian
- VOYA
Web links:
Tweens and Teens
- A Chair a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
- Cynsations
- Finding Wonderland
- GreenBeanTeenQueen
- Stacked
- Teen Librarian Toolbox
- Waking Brain Cells
- YALSA’s Super Cool Teen Book App
- YA & Kids Books Central
Vendors
Collection | Prizes and Promotional Items | Supplies
Space Planning |
Toys and Games |
Weeding
- ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom
- Awful Library Books
- CREW Weeding Handbook
- Weeding Library Collections Annotated Bibliography
- Weeding Without Worry