For librarians

CCBC Book ShelvesWhether you work in a school or public library, the CCBC has a wealth of resources and services to assist you.

Hands-on Book Examination

CCBC collections include review copies of many of the newest books for children and teenagers published in the United States. If you live in or near Wisconsin, we invite you to visit us and spend time doing hands-on book examination before you make your purchasing decisions. If you just want to browse, feel free to drop by during our public service hours. If you want books pulled in advance*, or to make sure specific books, such as the current CCBC Choices, are available, request to schedule a visit.

*We will make every effort to accommodate requests to pull books in advance, but our ability to fulfill requests to pull more than 100 books are dependent on staffing availability and capacity based on other commitments.

Starred Review Days

The week before Thanksgiving in most years, we host Starred Review Days at the CCBC. We pull all of the books from the current publishing year we’ve received to date that have gotten a starred review in Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Horn Book, Kirkus, and/or School Library Journal and set them up for easy viewing in our conference room. Watch our calendar of events each fall for additional information, including how to register to attend. (Registration required.)

Assistance with Book Challenges

The CCBC Intellectual Freedom Information Services provide Wisconsin school and public librarians facing potential or actual book challenges with book-specific information. We also invite you to ask questions about intellectual freedom issues through our online What IF. . .  forum. And we have links to intellectual freedom resources and information here on our website as well.

Reference Services

Contact us if you have a specific question or concern related to children’s and young adult literature, from help identifying books for use in the curriculum to assistance with patron requests.

Workshops and Presentations around Wisconsin

Find out about our hands-on workshops and presentations for librarians and educators.

Web Resources

  • Original booklists created by the CCBC professional staff on a wide range of themes and topics for youth from birth through high school. You can also find out how to order a copy of the most recent edition of CCBC Choices, the CCBC’s annual best-of-the-year list of outstanding books for children and teens.
  • Book search of CCBC-recommended titles
  • Links to many of the annual children’s and young adult literature awards and best-of-the-year lists.
  • The Westing Game manuscript materials. Examine the rough draft, first draft, second draft and final manuscript of chapter one of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, complete with notes from the author, editor, copy editor and proofreader. Listen to Ellen Raskin’s commentary, and examine her working notes and design concepts for the book. This is a terrific resource to pass on to classroom teachers, or to use as part of a library book discussion.
  • Live and archived web presentations about new books for children and teens.