#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 much are they part of the conversation at your library? Will your community newspaper run a story on them? Will your local television station do a segment on the winners? For those who are not a part of the library world, are these oh-so-important awards on their radar?
What we talk about in our social conversation brings attention to events, activities, attitudes. What we do not talk about in social conversation is just as important because it can send an unconscious message that these things are not things we value.
We do shine the national spotlight on our movies, our songs, our television programs, our sports teams. Why the lack of national conversation about the amazing award winners for children and young adults?