Scales on Censorship: Real Life Lessons from School Library Journal

Pat R. Scales has tirelessly worked as an advocate for children’s reading and intellectual freedom throughout her distinguished career. After working for more than twenty-five years for Greenville Middle School in Greenville, SC, Pat became the director of library and information services at the state’s Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Among her many professional activities, she has served as President of ALA’s Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), chaired the 2005 Arbuthnot Lecture Committee, 2003 Caldecott Award Selection Committee, 2001 Wilder Award Selection Committee, and 1992 Newbery Award Selection committee. Awarded the SCLA/SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award in 2001 and named one of the Movers & Shakers: People Changing the Future of Libraries by Library Journal in 2000, Pat continues to share her expertise with librarians around the world through her School library Journal Column, “Scales on Censorship.”

Rebecca T. Miller has almost 20 years of editorial experience, and was named Editorial Director of Library Journal/School Library Journal (part of Media Source Inc.) in 2013. Her deep background in libraries dates to 1998 when she joined the book review staff of Library Journal. In the intervening years, serving as Executive Editor for Library Journal and subsequently Editor-in-Chief of School Library Journal, she helped launch several new products, including Críticas magazine and Library By Design, as well as driving the evolution of the content strategy of these two key brands through the development of digital outlets, original research, and the creation of virtual and face to face events and professional development initiatives. Prior to joining Media Source, she worked at Utne Reader. She also served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle for six years, two as President. She has a BA from DePauw University and an MSLIS from Pratt Institute.

Barbara A. Genco is a library consultant and the current Manager of Special Projects for Library Journal. Her 40 year career as a librarian includes 34 years at Brooklyn Public Library where she spent over 25 years in collection development with a special focus on creating and managing centralized selection models, value-added vendor relationships, and re-engineering technical services. Before her 2009 retirement from Brooklyn PL, Genco served as a Coordinator of Special Projects and Strategic Planning, leading the library’s Community Needs Assessment initiative. Her professional career includes a stint as president of the Association for Library Service to Children (American Library Association [ALA]), an at-large member of ALA Council, and serving on the Newbery, Caldecott, Boston Globe Horn Book, Theodore Seuss Geisel, Sibert, Ezra Jack Keats New Authors/Illustrators, Science Books and Films, Society of Illustrators Original Art, and Arbuthnot Lecture award juries.

In 2000, Genco was the recipient of the prestigious ALA/Public Library Association Allie Beth Martin Award, which acknowledged her "extraordinary…depth of knowledge about books and (the) distinguished ability to share that knowledge." Genco has an MLS from Pratt Institute and a BA in English from Canisius College. She is a Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt Institute School of Library and Information Science and serves on the governing board of New York City's historic Salmagundi Arts Club in the heart of Greenwich Village.