The 2024 Annual Conference – #alaac24 – is on! Are you unable to attend and wondering how you can keep up with all that’s going on at this year’s American Library Association conference? We’ve got you covered!
Let me be among the first to offer special thanks to the conference bloggers who will be reporting for the ALSC Blog on what’s happening at this summer conference held in San Diego. Here are some of the people who will be writing about their experiences:
Sci Fi fan and lover of anything outdoors, Amy Power Labson is a Teacher Librarian in Elk Grove Unified School District near Sacramento. She is grateful for the learning opportunities conferences bring and is looking forward to returning to San Diego’s beauty.
Arlene Laverde (she/her/hers) is a very recent (July 1, 2024) NYCPS retiree. She has been the school librarian at Townsend Harris High School in Queens NY for ten years and worked in various high schools and elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens. When in school she never considered librarianship as a career. She started as an elementary school teacher and accidentally fell into the role as a school librarian. She hasn’t looked back since. She is currently serving as co-chair for the AASL 2025 National Conference in St. Louis and will be attending the Morris Seminar in Denver, Colorado this September. She’s looking forward to the Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet, as well as not only reconnecting with friends from around the country, but meeting new ones throughout the conference. Now that she is a retiree, all things are possible and looks forward to exploring her many interests, as well as the continued fight for library advocacy. Twitter handle: @THHSLibrary
Catherine Barnes (she/her/hers) is a Teacher Librarian and University Lecturer from South Australia. A member and contributor to the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), IFLA and ALA, she enjoys learning and sharing her experiences. Catherine is presenting on ‘Applying a challenge ready approach to school libraries: the Australian experience’ at ALA Annual. Her passions are diversity, technology and she works hard to ensure students have access to diverse resources which represent themselves, their friends and their community, and technologies that can support them in their current learning and futures. Growing up in a small town, surrounded by bushland, she was a curious child and continues to feed this curiosity in her professional career. The smartest person in town was the local librarian, and Catherine decided at the age of five the Librarian was the career for her. Catherine is looking forward to meeting new friends and collecting interesting conference merch to take home to old friends in Australia.
Celeste Rhoads (she/her/hers) is originally from John Steinbeck’s hometown of Salinas, California, where she read on the beach, in trees, on road trips, and everywhere in between. She moved to Paris in 2005, and immediately found a home at the American Library in Paris. As the Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, she oversees the Library’s collections, policies, and programs for ages 0–18. Celeste has a master’s degree in Library Science from Rutgers University, where she focused on digital libraries, and children’s literature. Celeste enjoys connecting people of all ages with great reads—especially contemporary titles. At the Conference, you might see her munching on chocolate-covered nuts and pretzels.
Elizabeth Hurtado (she/her/hers) is a Children’s librarian at Springdale Public Library. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Elizabeth has lived in the United States for the past seven years. Coming from journalism, her journey in library services began around five years ago when she started working at SPL, and from day one, she fell in love with this career! Elizabeth has dedicated herself to fostering a passion for reading and learning among children in her community. She enjoys writing articles, too, so the opportunity to blog for ALSC during the National Conference will bring her two big passions together! Coming from an island, Elizabeth’s favorite place to be is the beach!! She’s excited to visit one in San Diego this summer because there is no seaside in Arkansas, where she lives. Elizabeth is also happy about her group project presentation as an Emerging Leaders 2024. This is an outstanding achievement on the librarianship path!
Kelley Taksier (they/them/theirs) is a former classroom teacher pursuing a PhD in special education at the University of Florida. Currently their research focuses on students’ access to texts in public schools. As a part of this work, they collaborate with school librarians, who encouraged them to join and attend ALA! They are looking forward to connecting with more school librarians at their first ALA conference in between enjoying all the vegan food San Diego has to offer.
Laura Schulte-Cooper (she/her/hers) is Senior Program Officer for Communications in the ALSC office where she has enjoyed working with the awesome ALSC membership and staff since 2000. She manages the ALSC website, is managing editor of Children and Libraries, and edited the 2022 ALA Editions publication, The Newbery Practitioner’s Guide: Making the Most of the Award in Your Work.
Marilyn TaniguchiI (she/her/hers) was a children’s librarian and library services manager at Beverly Hills Public Library for over 20 years. Since retiring at the end of 2020; she’s worked a stint as a temporary part-time librarian at South Pasadena Public Library. She’s also been an ALSC mentor, and continues to review children’s books for School Library Journal. This will be Marilyn’s first live conference since 2019, and she hope to gain insight into current trends and issues, as well as meet other attendees from a variety of libraries, large and small. She loves to snack on dark chocolate covered California raisins.
Patricia Ballard (she/her/hers) is a librarian in the Metro Detroit suburbs. She has always worked in public libraries and is currently a Tween Coordinator at the West Bloomfield Township Public Library with a focus on school-aged programming. In reality, Patricia does programming for all ages and works with a great team. Outreach and programming are her passion and she is hoping to learn some innovative new ways to get out and about in her community and bring them in too! Patricia is known for her very loud laugh and has been the shushed way more than the shusher.
Soline Holmes (she/her/hers) is a librarian and the Information Services Department chair at Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the Secretary for ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable, co-chair of ALSC’s Children and Libraries Editorial Advisory Committee, and a member of ALSC’s Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee. She also serves on the Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award committees for K-2 and 3-5 and is a Teaching with Primary Sources Network Mentor. She has given presentations on graphic novels, Mother Goose and STEM, Primary Sources, and Global Education at local and national conferences. At ALA, she is looking forward to some of her favorite events: GameRT’s ALAPlay, the GNCRT Magical Comics Tea, and the Newbery/Caldecott/Legacy Banquet. When she was little, Soline wanted to be the first person to direct and star in the first musical on the moon….
Virengia Houston (she/her/hers) is a school librarian at Columbia High School in Columbia, South Carolina. She is looking forward to meeting librarians from around the world. Her favorite snack is popcorn. You can follow her on instagram @vhousto or @skminfo.
Thank you all! I can’t read to read about what you are learning and experiencing!
Over the next several days, check the ALSC Blog for ALA Annual Conference photos and information. You can also check in on social media – just track the hashtag #alaac24. Are you hoping we’ll cover a particular session? Let us know in the comments below!
This post addresses ALSC Core Competency VII: Professionalism and Professional Development