Today’s ALA Conference started as it should, by meeting other librarians on our way to the McCormick Center. It actually started that way yesterday by meeting librarians on the train into the city – we’re recognizable, with or without the ALA badge! Wearing shirts like this one probably helps, though. 🙂
After registration (which was quick and easy), the Library Marketplace was calling to me – and it’s where I spent the next six hours. There were so many takeaways already, including:
- The Gale team will help librarians customize a site for their patrons using Gale Pages Studio (Nod to Iowa AEA for giving free access to Gale and other resources to students in my state)
- Junior Library Guild subscriptions are affordable and, even with just one, you can access the JLG Backlist, with its remarkable deals ($5-$7 per high quality, hardcover book)
- Bound to Stay Bound books are an affordable and really sturdy option for your highest circulating titles – with a lifetime guarantee
- Zig-zag displays make dynamic shelving easy (thanks to Kelsey Bogan for her Demco webinar this spring that made me seek these out)
- Wonderbooks from Playaway are a great way to bring print and audio together if you’re having trouble getting traditional Playaways to circulate
I didn’t get through the entire Marketplace before my feet protested and I had to take the shuttle back to the hotel. Well, there’s always tomorrow!
I look forward to catching more sessions on Sunday, including some I may need to line up early for!
Today’s guest post was written by Dr. Christine Sturgeon (she/her/hers). Christine has been working in school libraries for 42 years, getting her start as a volunteer in her elementary school library (or, if you want to be pedantic, 12 years as a licensed educator – BA, 2009, MLS, 2011, PhD, 2020). You can read about Christine’s libraries in articles she co-wrote in the Winter 2021 YALS special issue on student voice and the March/April 2023 School Library Connections. She’s the district teacher librarian for Fort Dodge (Iowa) Community School District, where her best days are spent doing preschool storytime.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC. All images courtesy of the blogger.