I’m not a morning person in the slightest, but today I drank my coffee a bit faster than usual because I had a 7:00 a.m. appointment with one of the most dedicated groups in the universe: The ALSC Past Presidents! As a future Past President myself (here I come, 2016!) I was invited to attend this traditional conference gathering of those who have served our division in such a special way. Today there were presidents from 1976 (Peggy Sullivan) to 2014 (Starr LaTronica, who just received her shiny Past President’s pin) and I was fortunate enough to benefit from their collective wisdom on the topic of mentorship, which our current President Ellen Riordan wisely suggested as a discussion topic. Inspirational! Next came the Leadership & ALSC Meeting which you can find more about on Twitter with #leadalsc. This is a chance for the many chairs of ALSC’s hardworking committees to…
Month: January 2015
Notable Children’s Book Discussions at #alamw15
This weekend at the conference, I have used the time between sessions and meetings to watch, and listen to the Notable Children’s Book Committee discussions. The 12 eloquent and articulate members of this committee read, analyze, and discuss hundreds of children’s books. These books are then narrowed down to become the Notable Children’s Book list. The discussion proceeds one title at a time, starting with a summary, followed by appreciations and then concerns. As an audience member it’s fascinating to listen to the discussion. The committee only has a few minutes to dedicate to each book, so the members are concise and focused in their comments. I noticed many members had organized binders full of notes on each title. Only committee members are allowed to discuss the titles, and observers are required to be as quiet as possible. For me, this is particularly difficult with a title about which I…
ALSC mentorship at #alamw15
One of the best things about coming to conference is the chance to meet people face to face. Today I got the chance to meet my mentor, Mary Fellows, in person for the first time. The ALSC mentoring program is a wonderful way to meet a fellow children’s librarian at a different stage in their career. I’m a very new librarian (graduated in May 2014) and Mary is incredibly knowledgable. Mary and I talk on the phone about ALSC competencies as well as anything else that comes up, and she gives me her wonderful perspective on leadership, providing services, and philosophies of librarianship. We attended a meeting of the ALSC board today, where they were discussing the fascinating issue of what to do with the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Videos. There was a lot of interesting discussion about our role as children’s librarians, the function of awards, and…
My Uncommons Meet Up #alamw15
I am very interested in services to special needs populations, and I know a lot of other librarians are, too. So I booked the Networking Uncommons this afternoon for an hour, which basically means my name and topic appear on the Uncommons schedule (and we have primary access to any tech we need in there: mics, projectors, etc). Then, it’s just a matter of spreading the word and hoping people show up to talk and share ideas. About 15 people came, ranging from librarians who are already doing work with this population (hi, Tess and Renee!) to people who are going to be trying something soon or are just starting to look for ideas. Aside from all the ambient noise that necessitated the use of a mic, which made me feel like our friendly chat became more “official,” it was a great hour filled with useful discussion and connections made….
Colonel Jill Morgenthaler: The Courage to Take Command
#alamw15 At the AAP Debut Authors Forum, it is fascinating to hear Morgenthaler talk about her experiences as a soldier in Iran, but also her journey to become an author through the help of the DesPlaines Public Library. Recommend to your Teens and Adult readers.
Notable Children’s Books, Day 2 #alamw15
The Notable Children’s Books committee gets a lot of love from this blog and much deserved. This is the rare committee that allows all of us to listen in to the evaluation process. The discussion is rich, respectful, well-thought out, sometimes heated. It’s so wonderful to listen to a group where 11 librarians have all read and pondered the same books. Do you realize what a time & space commitment reading ALL of the books for 0-14, fiction, non-fiction entails? Give this committee your time, love, and attention whenever you have downtime in your afternoon. If you’re looking for something to do RIGHT NOW, they just started discussing the picture books!!!
Witches, Goonies, and Winnie-the-Pooh: Jason Segel at #alamw15
You know it’s going to be a cool conference when the first person you spot standing outside of McCormick Place is Jason Segel. I’d just hopped off the bus and there he was, hanging out before his talk! Way cool. Segel, an actor and writer, was this morning’s interviewee during the Auditorium Speaker Series. He talked about how his own childhood experiences with night terrors inspired his children’s book, Nightmares! (co-written with Kirsten Miller). “I dreamed witches were eating my toes.” Sounds kind of adorable? “It’s adorable if you’re the eater, not the eatee,” he quipped. He’s been writing since age 22, and is heavily influenced by Roald Dahl, Tim Burton, Goonies, and Labyrinth. While writing The Muppets screenplay, Segel re-read A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh for inspiration and to get in “kid brain” mode. Segel’s primary interest is exploring the human condition of always wanting to be something more, of…
Live blogging ALA Midwinter 2015… does your branch manager know?
#alamw15 I have been riding the shuttles between convention events and sitting at breakfasts and lunches and chatting with wonderful librarians from all over the country. It’s so interesting to learn what a day in a life of a librarian looks like in Jackson Hole, Wyoming or outside of Rapid City, South Dakota or in a middle school in New Jersey. It’s been interesting to ask these wonderful people if they are looking forward to the ALA Youth Media Awards. Now I have a question for you. Does the staff at your library know that the ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced on Monday, Feb. 2? Do the customers or students in your library know that the awards will be announced? What I’m getting at here is just how large do our awards loom on the national stage? How much are they a part of the national conversation? How…