“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh?” he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?” “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” from Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne (1926) Sure… In looking up the definition to sure, I found these words in the dictionary: steadfast, reliable, trustworthy, indisputable and these phrases marked by or given to feelings of confident certainty and careful to attend to. The dictionary also described steadfast as “a sure hold” just as in the quote above where Piglet is certain of Pooh’s hand. It has been an honor to serve as your ALSC President this past year and as your ALSC Vice-President/President-elect the year before. When first elected in May 2011, I could never have imagined how quickly the months would go by. And, during these months it has been a challenge to combine the many facets of life and add this layer…
Author: Carolyn Brodie
Don’t You Want to Go? ALA in Sweet Home Chicago!
There’s still time to attend the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago scheduled for June 27-July 2, 2013! With so many exciting events, programs and meetings planned there is certain to be plenty to fill your days (and nights) with opportunities to learn, explore, network and experience all that ALSC and Chicago have to offer. Our ALSC experience has two “bookends” with the pre-conference at the beginning on Friday, June 28 and the Charlemae Rollins President’s program at the other end on Monday, July 1—with lots of great selections in between! Here are just a few! Friday Such an exciting time with the 75th Caldecott Celebration as a center for festivities at our annual conference, it all begins with the Friday, June 28 ALSC Preconference A Wild Ride: 75 Years of the Caldecott Medal even though the event is sold out, there is a waiting list for registration. If you can’t…
44th Arbuthnot Honor Lecture: An Honorable History
If you know the Dick and Jane, then you have already encountered May Hill Arbuthnot, who co-authored these iconic readers. The 44th Arbuthnot Honor Lecture will be delivered on Thursday, May 16, 2013 by Michael Morpurgo. The selected hosts for the event are Nazareth College and the Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association in Rochester, New York. The honor lectureship will be tied to several other significant events for librarians and readers of children’s and young adult literature during Children’s Book Week and will kick off the 38th annual NYLA Youth Services Section’s Spring Conference. Much detailed information about the event, including ticket ordering can be found here. The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award was established in 1969 by the Association for Library Service to Children with Arbuthnot providing the inaugural lecture. As a tribute to this esteemed author, editor, critic, anthologist and educator, the lecture…
Día! Diversity in Action!
Día! Diversity in Action is the 2013 tag line for the celebration of Children’s Day/Book Day. For those of us serving children in libraries, that is every day. We know first-hand the power of the right book at the right time in the hands of a child. We know that reading changes lives. And, we work hard to share this news with everyone! Luckily, we have Día to help us. El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) is one of those robust, flexible campaigns that provides resources to create programs and plan a celebration. Although April 30 is the day most celebrations happen, Children’s Day/Book Day can happen on any day or on multiple days, at any time of the year. A Día! fact sheet provides additional information. It was — and is — an exciting project to learn about. Día grew out of Children’s…
14 Sweet Memories of 2013 ALA Midwinter in Seattle!
Though it has been a little over two weeks since ALA Midwinter in Seattle, there are still (and will always be) so many sweet memories of all the good work that happened, the creativity that continued (and was born), the friendships that deepened and the new ones that began, and how we all worked hard to continue in our journey to create a better future for children through libraries. As your President, here are just a few (14 since it is Valentine’s Day) of my highlights on your behalf, if you were there I know you have your own list. If you weren’t in Seattle, please know that we need and welcome your contributions through virtual committee work, contributions to ALSC publications, notes on ALSC-L, participation in our online communications via ALSC Community Forums, Facebook and Twitter. Here’s my 14…. One of my very favorite parts of any conference is…
The 2012 ALSC Institute…We Won the Race in Indianapolis!
The theme for our 2012 ALSC Institute was “Libraries Leading the Race.” I am certain that everyone who attended felt like they personally not only led the race but also won it! ALSC Blogger Eva Mitnick’s summed up the experience of the 2012 Institute with the following final note “The ALSC Institute not only supplied practical tips and great ideas aplenty, but it also created an opportunity for attendees to ponder and plan. For a few days, we let our imaginations go wild, playing with all the ways we can make our libraries better than ever.” And, at the airport on her way home ALSC Guest Blogger Jill Hutchison said in her concluding post that “It’s been an energizing, inspiring, idea-sharing fabulous time!” Highlights from the 2012 Institute (of which there were many) are detailed in a series of posts on the ALSC Blog that some of you may have…