Registration is now open for the 3rd Annual National Latino Children’s Literature Conference which will be held April 23 and 24, 2010 at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. For more information, visit the conference website: http://www.latinochildlitconf.org. The Conference is sponsored by the School of Library & Information Studies and the Office of the Provost and the Division of Academic Affairs at the University of Alabama.

The conference was created to promote high-quality children’s literature about the Latino cultures and to offer a forum for librarians, educators, researchers, and students to openly discuss strategies for meeting the informational, educational, and literacy needs of Latino children and their families.

Early-Bird Registration (on or before April 15) for the 2 day event is $105. After April 15, the registration fee is $120. More registration information is available at the conference website.

Conference Chair Dr. Jamie Campbell Naidoo was featured April 22, 2009, on an ALSC Blog podcast.

How about that aliteration?  Here is the newest installment of 10 ideas from ALSC’s Public Awareness Committee:

10 FREE ways to take advantage of the Kids! @ Your Library^® toolkit this spring.  For more details, visit the Kids! Toolkit by following this link: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/kidscampaign/kidstoolkit.cfm

1. Get your kids excited about President’s Day! Display the latest Presidents of the United States poster and ask your kids to vote on their favorite president and keep a running tally near the poster for all to see.
2. Celebrate Black History Month with a display of notable African Americans, including authors and illustrators.
3. Let your patrons make their own Valentines!  Set up a craft table with multicolored die-cut paper hearts and supplies to decorate them the week before Valentine’s Day.
4. Have a drop in bingo program on Valentine’s Day.
5. Invite your tweens to make Duct Tape Roses after school, using the directions in the toolkit under “Tween Friendly Programs.”
6. Promote your summer reading club by scheduling a visit with your local school libraries.
7. Combine Valentine’s Day with Love Your Library Day by displaying books about kids and libraries.  See the tool kit for recommended titles.
8. Update your displays and bibliographies with the latest award winning titles.
9. Hold a Bookmark Design Contest for the Kids! Campaign theme of “So Much to See, So Much to Do @ your library^®.” (See website for entry forms).
10. Promote Library Lover’s Month by encouraging kids and their families to express their love for the library.

The University of Connecticut is host to a number of excellent interviews with children’s authors conducted by Susan Raab. Recent additions include interviews with Laurie Halse Andersen, Katie Davis, Lois Lowry and Mark Teague. These are great supplements for children’s literature classes or use with author studies in schools. Access is free.

Riverside County Library System presents the 2010 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture featuring Kathleen T. Horning, Director, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin.

“Can Children’s Books Save the World?”
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Registration will open on March 1, 2010 on the Riverside County Library System Web site.

For more information, visit the ALSC Web site.

It always a busy week – but the kind of busy that makes a children’s librarian smile. Tuesday night, I was invited to read at the local Family Resource Centre. 20 kids in their PJ’s listened and sang along with “Pickin’ Peas” by Margaret Read MacDonald. Wednesday, I was at an elementary school, with 148 students in grades Primary through 3 (that’s K-3 for those who don’t speak Nova Scotian). With 5 different groups I read “Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock” by Eric Kimmel, and then re-enacted it with puppets. Tomorrow night I’ll be telling a story at the Ceilidh being held at one of our branches. All across Canada, libraries, schools, and other family-centered organizations are holding celebrations, sing-alongs and special storytimes to commemorate literacy. It is a very feel-good holiday here in the land of snow and cold temps, something to warm our souls in the height of winter. This year, the theme is “Sing for Literacy”, which has been a lot of fun. Everyone loves music, and Nova Scotians love it more than the average bear. We’ve had great turnout for our sing-alongs and campfires. One branch created a fake fire and after songs and stories around the fire, distributed sticks and marshmallows. Anyone who sees a group of kids with real sticks and marshmallows pretending to roast them over a tissue-paper fire has got to admit that libraries do great things. Not only do we offer amazing deals on books (free), and a gaggle of other resources, we build imaginations. This is the stuff that dreams are made of. I just love libraries. And Family Literacy Day is pretty cool, too.

The 26th Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth will be held on Thursday, April 8 & Friday, April 9, 2010 at the Kent State University Student Center, Kent, Ohio. The conference provides a forum for discussion of multicultural themes and issues in literature for children and young adults.

“New Horizons – the Next 25 Years!” is the theme of the conference, featuring authors Pam Muñoz Ryan and Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrator, R. Gregory Christie.

The Thursday, April 8, evening program will feature a keynote address by the 12th Annual Virginia Hamilton Literary Award winner, Pam Muñoz Ryan and a performance by The HeartBEAT of Afrika. On April 9th, Friday, a variety of local and national speakers will present workshop sessions on multicultural picture books, notable books for a global society, young adult novels for girls, cultural graphic novels and puppet books. Friday’s conference agenda will include a “conversation” session with the three featured presenters.

The registration fee for both Thursday evening and Friday is $150; for Thursday evening only, $40; Friday only, $120. Contact the Office of Continuing and Distance Education at (330) 672-3100 or (800) 672-KSU2 to register. Or register on-line at http://www.yourtrainingresource.com (Click Program, Conference.)

The program below is one of many featured on ALA’s online clearinghouse for school/public library cooperation managed by the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation. Visit the clearinghouse to learn more or share your own exemplary partnership!

Title of Program: Youth Outreach / Words on Wheels (WOW)
Type of Program: Public Library Visits to Schools
Age level: Elementary & Secondary
Description of Program: Outreach staff is available to share information about the library, reading and information literacy with students in all grades. Some of the programs we offer include:

• Website Introduction: we teach students to navigate the Library District website focusing on homework help, online tutors and tests, ordering library materials, emedia, and getting a library card.
• Nevada Reading Week Classroom Visits: Let us visit your Elementary classroom and share stories, information about the library, and the joy of reading when you celebrate Nevada Reading Week.
• Summer Reading Assemblies or Classroom visits: Reading during summer break helps kids keep their skills fresh. Let us get kids fired up about reading all summer long as we explain the Library District’s Summer Reading Program.
• Third Grade Wallet Visits: we can visit your 3rd grade classroom to share stories, booktalks and information about the public library. Third grade students receive the state Library Card Wallet with a special greeting from the Governor and encouragement to sign up for their own library card.
• We are also available for: Family Nights, Literacy Events, Career Days, College Fairs and other school events we can staff an information table or create a custom presentation to fit your needs.

Contact Information:
Mary Nelson Brown
Youth Services Coordinator
833 Las Vegas Blvd. N.
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 507-3596
brownm@lvccld.org

The Texas State Library is hosting this webinar and has invited people from anywhere in the country to join in. It is free so take a look. Note that the time is CENTRAL and adjust for your location.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 10-11 AM Central Time

Providing innovative programming for the school-age crowd during the school year can be a challenge, especially when libraries are competing with children’s busy after-school schedules. Participants in this webinar will learn how to provide fun and educational programs for children ages 5-12 that will have them running to your library after the school bell rings. Programs featured include Chess Club, Fun with Science, Art Explorers, Craft Time, and a KidTrekkers around the world cultural program.

About the Presenter
Anne Neidinger is a Children’s Librarian at the Lone Star College-Tomball Community Library. She holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science with a Youth Certification from the University of North Texas. She has presented at several Texas Library Association conferences and co-authored “Igniting a Children’s Summer Reading Program on a Piggy-Bank Budget” in the Texas Library Journal (2006). Anne also co-wrote the Elementary Programs Chapter of the 2009 Texas Reading Club manual. At her library, she has coordinated many after-school programs and enjoys seeing her school-age customers return again and again to the library.

Register here:
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/workshops/webinars/afterschoolprograms/index.html

A Kaiser Family Foundation report has been released that finds that kids are still reading. “According to Generation M, total media usage by that age group rose to seven hours and 38 minutes per day in 2009 from six hours and 21 minutes in 2004. Time spent with digital media rose in all categories, while the use of print media fell from an average of 43 minutes per day in 2004 to 38 minutes in 2009.”

According to the summary, “Over the past 5 years, time spent reading books remained steady at about :25 a day, but time with magazines and newspapers dropped (from :14 to :09 for magazines, and from :06 to :03 for newspapers). “ “The decline in reading print was due entirely to young people spending less time with magazines and newspapers over the last five years, while the time spent reading remained steady at about 25 minutes per day.”

View the report and other information at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm. It’s interesting that with multitasking, kids pack more time into their media hours–10.75 hours of media into 7.5 hours of time.

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award:
Charles R. Smith Jr., for “My People” (written by Langston Hughes, published by Atheneum)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor:
E.B. Lewis for “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (written by Langston Hughes, published by Disney Jump at the Sun)

Coretta Scott King Author Award:
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, author of “Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal” (illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, published by Carolrhoda)

Coretta Scott King Author Honor:
Tanita D. Davis, author of “Mare’s War” (published by Knopf)

The Coretta Scott King Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Walter Dean Myers

Coretta Scott King Steptoe for New Talent 2010:
Kekla Magoon, author of “The Rock and the River” (published by Aladdin)