Evan St. Lifer joins vp/gm of Scholastic Library Publishing to oversee the editorial, marketing and sales efforts. He will have day-to-day oversight of Scholastic Library Publishing's major reference and nonfiction imprints including Grolier, Grolier Online, Children's Press and Franklin Watts, which include such notable reference resources as ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA, the newly released ENCYCLOPEDIA LATINA, NEW BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE and NUEVA ENCICLOPEDIA CUMBRE EN LINEA. He will also help lead Scholastic's advocacy efforts regarding the important role of libraries in improving student achievement.
Lifer served as editor in chief of SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (SLJ) since 2001. Dedicated to elevating the role that school libraries play in promoting educational excellence, St. Lifer worked to develop strategies and resources to help librarians become leaders in their schools. The library publication produced the First Annual SLJ Leadership Summit, a landmark forum on the importance of school and public libraries, which was followed by the launch of the SLJ Virtual Summit blog.
He re-launched the SLJ website and created SLJ's CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS, winner of the Assoc. of Educational Publishers' 2004 Distinguished Achievement Award for best special publication. He also spearheaded groundbreaking editorial and research initiatives, including the K-12 Book Buying Study, the first-ever report on the technology role of the school librarian, and a special survey on K-12 administrators' perceptions of librarians.
"Evan brings and unparalleled expertise and commitment to supporting school and public library media specialists in their contributions to student achievement," said Greg Worrell, president, Scholastic Library Publishing, to whom St. Lifer reports. "He will be instrumental in SLP's continued efforts to ensure that all children benefit from access to quality books and enriching reference materials at school and in the home."
St. Lifer is a member of the Assoc. of Educational Publishers, the American Library Assoc. and serves on the advisory board of the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries. He has presented at such educational conferences as the California School Library Assoc., the American Assoc. of School Librarians, the Urban Libraries Council and the International Society of Technology in Education.
A veteran journalist and editor, Mr. St Lifer has written for such publications as the NEW YORK TIMES, CRAIN'S NEW YORK BUSINESS and NEW JERSEY MONTHLY.
Scholastic Library Publishing creates a multitude of products, both in print and online, for the school and public library market under the imprints of Grolier, Children's Press, Franklin Watts, and Grolier Online. Children's Press offers primarily non-fiction series for elementary and middle schools, while Franklin Watts focuses on non-fiction for the high school market. Grolier publishes encyclopedias and is best known for the brands ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA and THE NEW BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE. Grolier Online is a self-contained, non-commercial electronic gateway offering thousands of resources for student research, including the Encyclopedia Americana online, The New Book of Knowledge Online and the Spanish language encyclopedia La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre -- serving more than 18 million students and teachers.
New York City-based Scholastic Corp. is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. Its products and services are distributed through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the companys website, www.scholastic.com.
