Hi everyone. I am a school librarian from Britain who visited the #ALAMW16 as a first -timer this month. I found the conference enlightening and inspiring. Here is my overview of the weekend (without the tint of jetlag). Why did I take part in ALA Midwinter? In the first instance, because an American librarian suggested it. I thought it would be exciting to see what is happening in the US in libraries, and try to get lots of good ideas to bring back to the UK. What were the highlights? The Youth Media Awards! It was my 35th birthday and we got up so early, to get in the queue. It was worth it for a 5th row seat, and I met some lovely librarians in the queue too! It was wonderful to be part of something with such a buzz. I loved how all the committee members were honoured,…
Author: Helen Swinyard
New Leaf Literary with #ALAMW16
Friday night I was invited to an evening reception hosted by New Leaf Literary www.newleafliterary.com @newleafliterary Organised by a great hostess called Susie, it was in a gorgeous hotel room with high ceilings, ornate decor & a overbearing portrait of Abraham Lincoln – where better for authors & their guests to feel special? Boosted by the hand-made crepes, I managed to conquer the jetlag kicking in to meet some friendly US authors & I took a goodie bag home. Can’t wait to read their books in 2016, especially as they were so eloquent about their writing. I also already have a Natalie Lloyd ARC from the exhibition hall – and Melanie Conklin works with www.cookiesforkidscancer.org so I have sustinance today (they’re featured in her book). I did plug the idea of some author tours of London, starting obviously with the wonderful Heartlands High School, London. They seemed to think it was a pretty…
#ALAMW16 Navigating the exhibition hall with @HelenSwinyard
So – the Exhibition Hall is the main draw for the 1st night & for non-librarians too. Not only are there 10,000 of us “libbies” here but students & book bloggers swarming to get ARCs & other free stuff! As a first-timer, I was warned not to go crazy – but I failed… Luckil this means that my school pupils back in London will be getting some great prizes in 2016! What IS great is that there are so many publishers & library companies here, so there is totally something for everyone. Luckily everyone is very friendly – but I am used to everyone politely queuing for things (if moaning about how long the line is) in the UK. Here it is more of a free-for-all. Also, you need super-human eyes to read the exhibition hall layout map properly. My first 10 minutes was very overwhelming due to the buzz – so here…
#ALAMW16 Introducing British librarian Helen Swinyard!
Hi everyone! My name is Helen Swinyard & I’m one of your guest bloggers throughout the #ALAMW16 conference in Boston. I will be one of a team sharing my thoughts about my first ever American Library Association conference! I am very excited to be visiting Boston & finding out a little more about what’s happening in the US library scene – especially in school libraries. Please do tweet me @HelenSwinyard throughout the conference. I am looking forward to connecting with you all – even if you’re #ALAleftbehind ! I’m also hoping to start some school links between my school and some US ones! You can find out more about my day job on our blog https://heartlandshighschoolharingeylibrary.wordpress.com/ or the school website http://heartlands.haringey.sch.uk/curriculum-2/library/ or on @LibraryHHS @HHSHaringey