About three years ago, I did what would probably be considered the craziest thing for a first semester (heck, first month) MLS/MIS student could do, I filled out a volunteer form for ALSC, and I never looked back.
Since joining and volunteering in ALSC, I’ve made some wonderful connections and started to develop a better understanding of what my professional interests are. One of the very first people I met was Starr Latronica, who was then President of ALSC (hi Starr!). It was nice to meet someone was genuinely interested in what my passions were and could provide insight into the library world. Since I first met Starr, she’s provided me guidance when I’ve been struggling with concerns, and when I picked up my life and moved, she helped me find someone in the area who might be able to provide some insight. I’ve also met people like Linda Perkins who I instantly bonded with over baseball, and Sam Bloom. Sam sent me a postcard welcoming me to ALSC, and then I realized that we not only shared a school (Go Hoosiers!) but a library. Sam is currently the Children’s Librarian at the Blue Ash branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton- the same branch I learned to read in! ALSC has led me to people like Dan Bostrom – if you don’t know Dan, you should introduce yourself to him at a conference. Aside from giving me insight into membership things (that is after all his job), he’s provided me with encouragement and advice for how to navigate the library world.
But like I said, ALSC has done more than just introduce me to people. It’s piqued my interest in Intellectual Freedom, Technology, and Multicultural Children’s Literature. It has provided me with ways to become involved in these fields through introduction to groups such as Little eLit, and roundtables like EMIERT and GLBTRT.
Over the past few years, I have served on the Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Stonewall Book Award Committee, and been the GLBTRT-ALSC liaison. I have also unsuccessfully tried my own hand at chairing a task force. I would not have been able to explore these opportunities- or have the courage to walk away from the ones that I have- if it were not for ALSC.
So, I encourage you. After you read this post, follow this link to read about how you can get involved in ALSC, on a level that feels right to you. I promise, you won’t regret it.
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Our guest blogger today is Alyson Feldman-Piltch. Alyson lives in Brookline, MA. She is almost done with her MLS/MIS program and will graduate from Indiana University at Bloomington in May 2015. She is a member of the ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee and the 2015 Stonewall Book Award Committee, as well as the GLBTRT-ALSC liaison.
When she isn’t reading, doing homework, blogging, or sleeping, Alyson can usually be found at Fenway Park or a midnight movie showing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. She can be reached at alyson.fp@gmail.com and can be found on Twitter by following @aly_fp.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at alscblog@gmail.com.
Starr LaTronica
Thanks for reaching out…and jumping in, Aly!
The great thing about being involved is that it expands our influence as librarians and as ALSC members exponentially. When Aly became involved with ALSC, she invited me to visit her Youth Services class in Bloomington while attending PLA last spring and talk about the benefits and importance of involvement in professional organizations with the hope that those students will be inspired to join our ranks as we work to create a better future for children through libraries.