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'The SpongeBob Musical' will debut in Chicago next year before heading to Broadway.

For the past few months, the three library systems of New York City (the New York Public Library, the Queens Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library) have been pushing Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council for an increase in funding. The campaign has proved successful; a $43 million increase has been approved for the Fiscal Year 2016.

More than 150,000 New York library patrons sent in letters to support this cause. Several authors and celebrities also joined in this fight including Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman, In the Unlikely Event novelist Judy Blume, Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz, ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke, and Grammy-winning musician John Legend.

According to the press release, this budget increase “will allow for citywide six-day branch service, as well as an increase in hours and programming seats, more expert library staff, and more. The budget — adopted today — also includes a capital allocation of at least $300 million to libraries over 10 years, which will go towards improving, renovating, modernizing, and repairing library facilities across the city. This is the first time libraries have received such a large, long-term investment, allowing them to adequately plan for the future.”

A yellow sponge makes his bid for the bright lights of Broadway.

Brandon Stanton, creator of the “Humans of New York” photo project and author of the New York Times bestselling book, was invited to take pictures at The Met Gala by Vogue magazine.

During the glitzy event, Stanton captured the portraits of How I Met Your Mother actor Neil Patrick Harris, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, and nine-time Grammy winner John Legend. Vogue allowed Stanton to post some of his favorite pieces on the HONY blog.

Stanton shared the photo of Cranston and his wife along with a touching quote this morning on Facebook; the post has drawn more than 310,000 “likes” and over 6,100 comments. In an interview with Mashable, Stanton revealed that his “goal was to keep my interviews the same as they’d be on the street, even though everyone was carrying cocktails and wearing tuxedos.” What do you think?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Beloved children’s book characters like Madeline, Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Babar the Elephant and The Very Hungry Caterpillar star in a new video (embedded above) to promote the literacy nonprofit, Reading Is Fundamental.

The video urges readers to take the the Book People Unite pledge: “declare your belief in the transformative power of books, especially for young minds. Encourage your friends to join the movement too by sharing online and you’ll get a download of the full Book People Unite track. We’ll also follow up with news on the Book People Unite movement.”

The catchy song in the video was produced by The Roots with vocal support from Jack Black, Chris Martin, John Legend, Regina Spektor, Jim James, Nate Ruess, Jason Schwartzman, Melanie Fiona, Carrie Brownstein and Consequence. Follow this link to see reading pledges from these celebrities.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.