Deborah Salyer is an international speaker with 30 years of experience in the classroom and school libraries. Deborah spent a handful of years in the bookseller market and professional development with Media Source. She is currently the California TeachingBooks Implementation and Training Specialist, which brings her back to work with her former librarian colleagues. She is also a senior presenter with 21  years of experience at the Bureau of Education and Research. Her current seminar is the annual, What’s New in Children’s Books, K-6 where she travels across the country doing book reports. You can register for her seminars at BER.org. Contact her about your TeachingBooks access at dsalyer@overdrive.com. _________________________ https://GoldenLibraries.com https://BookFloodPodcast.com

Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of books such as Enchanted Air, Drum Dream Girl, Dancing Hands, and The Surrender Tree, which received a Newbery Honor. She served as the national 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Other awards include Pura Belpré Medals, the Golden Kite Award, Walter Honors, Américas Awards, Jane Addams Award, PEN U.S.A., and NSK Neustadt Prize. Recent young adult verse novels include Wings in the Wild and Wild Dreamers. Recent picture books include Eloísa’s Musical Window and Water Day. Engle’s next verse novel is Island Creatures. Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island.  She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California with her entomologist husband and squirrel-chasing Border Collie. Margarita Engle on GoldenLibraries.com Wild Dreamers⁠ ⁠Eloísa's Musical Window

Do libraries need to be protected in 2024? The answer that surprises no one is that they most certainly do. In this podcast, John Chrastka and host Tom Nixon take a look at the current state of libraries and what they might look like in the future. John Chrastka is executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a nonprofit focused on research and training to stabilize and extend library funding. Since 2012, EveryLibrary has helped 130 library communities in the United States with ballot measures for funding, operations and buildings, winning more than 85% and securing over $2.8 billion in funding on Election Days. Website: https://www.everylibrary.org/ Donations: https://www.everylibrary.org/donate Golden Libraries: https://GoldenLibraries.com

Acclaimed children's author Nikki Shannon Smith discusses her forthcoming book, "Stranded." Purchase: https://amzn.to/4e89GSA http://GoldenLibraries.com

Shawn Thrasher, president of the California Library Association, discusses how CLA supports its members. He also discusses its upcoming conference in Pasadena, CA. CLA Conference: https://www.cla-net.org/ CLA Organization: https://www.cla-net.org/

This episode is unique because it is a solo podcast. It includes information on improving book access, information on California Library News events (with follow-up on http://GoldenLibraries.com), and a guest list for future podcasts.

I had the pleasure of interviewing library leader Amanda Jones about her new book and about her journey battling people who would ban books. Very much worth a lesson. "That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America" by Amanda Jones (2024) Hardcover on Amazon Kindle on Amazon Hardcover on Bookshop “Amanda Jones started getting death threats, all for standing up for our right to read . . . but she's not stopped fighting against book bans, or stopped advocating for access to diverse stories.” -Oprah Winfrey, in a speech at the 2023 National Book Awards ++++ Thinking of hosting your own podcast? Use Riverside.fm.