Through generous funding by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), several participants in the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Growing Our Own: A Model for Community Based Librarianship attended the ALSC Institute in Salt Lake City. These first time attendees were enthusiastic about the programs they attended, the author events, and the opportunity to network with children’s librarians from around the country. Comments from five University of Pittsburgh IMLS students and one of their mentors, all of whom are employees of the Free Library of Philadelphia, follow:
Suzanna Urminska said, “Attending the ALSC Institute reinforced current topics in library studies, particularly in terms of what patrons are interested in reading and how those selections relate to today’s youth culture. It was also exciting to learn about blogs and other online forums available to librarians looking for book reviews, program ideas, etc.”
Gabrielle Fulton, a Library Supervisor for the Free Library of Philadelphia, commented, “I just recently joined ALSC and had never attended one of the institutes before and I realized that I was missing out. The workshops were especially useful to me because they were all specifically tailored to children’s librarians.” She added, “I actually feel that I got at least something that I can use from each of the sessions, but my favorites were Web 2.0 and Jump into Science. I wrote down various websites, books, and projects that I would like to try with the kids in the Central Children’s Department.”
Liz Pinder raved, “The conference was amazing. The second seminar gave lists of books and the appropriate age level. This is helpful to me. When the children’s librarian is not available, I can now recommend some of the titles I found interesting. I loved listening to the authors as they discussed the story behind their stories.”
“Christopher Paul Curtis was so wonderful. He brought such excitement to the luncheon. It was a pleasure to meet and take a picture with him afterwards. This brings up a good point about the conference. I felt very relaxed and comfortable in talking with the attendees and the special guests. I was so honored to get the opportunity to meet a Newbery Medal Author. The conversations I had with the other attendees were warm and friendly. I talked to other library school students as well as librarians from around the country and the Bahamas. We shared ideas opinions and emails so that we could keep in contact,” remarked Susan Ben.
Rachel Thomas had the following feedback about the sessions. “Creating a partnership with a Spanish-speaking literacy professional to invite the Latino population to the library through Story hours and programs is an excellent idea. I would like to see more workshops on breaking cultural barriers through literature and programs.”
Susan Strecker mentioned, “This semester, I am doing an independent study for one of my classes on how to run a grant for programming at the library. I found the sessions at ALSC that were about programming particularly helpful for generating more ideas….I think one of the best things about going to conferences is gathering these new ideas. In the future, libraries will have to continue to work to make themselves relevant and I think that programming is a big part of that so I always enjoy hearing what other people are doing.” She added, “It was great being a first time attendee at ALSC Institute. All of the librarians there were so friendly and helpful. I really admired the passion of the people who put together the whole conference. It definitely convinced me that I still want to be a children’s librarian!”
compiled and submitted by Sara Hiller and Elizabeth Orsburn
The Free Library of Philadelphia