Hello from day three! This morning kicked off with a chat with Molly Shannon and Cynthia D’aprix Sweeney, and I immediately learned that Shannon’s mother studied library science, and librarians are close to her heart. She survived childhood tragedy with a strength and sassiness that made me really excited to read her upcoming memoir!
Author: Rebecca Ballard
Exploring and Engaging – #LibLearnX day 2
Day two of LibLearnX 2022 has been full of so many engrossing sessions! The day kicked off with U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono in discussion with ALA President Patty Wong. They discovered they had much in common, and Senator Hirono also discussed her memoir Heart of Fire, which I immediately placed on hold at my library.
Excited to jump into #liblearnx 2022!
Hello! I’m excited to be guest blogging here once again, this time for the virtual LibLearnX 2022 conference! I spent several days this past week poring over educational sessions. I have to say, I am really glad that the online content will be available for a month after this conference. There are so many sessions I want to see!
Finishing out #ALSC20 with Muslim Representation, Institute Trivia, and Edible Book Hilarity
The awesome afternoon continued with a panel on Muslim Representation with educator and author Marian Hassan, teacher-librarian Ariana Sani Hussain, librarian Madeline Tyner from Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), and moderator Katelyn Martens-Rodriguez. Muslims are a huge percentage of the global population, and are located all over the world; they are also the most ethnically diverse faith community. The CCBC is a research and evaluation library, and one of its research studies is on diversity statistics in youth literature. The panelists noted that Muslims are most often portrayed in the media in a negative light, while Muslim youth are revered by Islamic adults. Hussain noted that YA and children’s books with Muslim representation are generally more positive than adult titles, but there are fewer titles in general, and many are not created by #OwnVoices. Representation provides windows, mirrors, sliding glass doors, and prisms. It builds positive identity and can be…
ALSC 101 & Play-Based Engagement at #ALSC20
I popped into the ALSC 101 short session to get some background from experienced ALSC members, and to learn more about getting involved in committees. There are tons of awesome ways to get involved! Next I dove into Play-Based Community Engagement with Donna Zick, Caitlin Tormey, and Nate Halsan from Sacremento Public Library. They hold an annual Play-Summit and circulate play kits, so they decided focus library outreach and library areas on family-friendly play spaces. Their outreach areas are wide spaces to play, with comfortable floor seating, and informational tables off on the side. They also staff these spaces with staff members who are ready to get on the floor and play, too! They bring a range of activities for babies and toddlers. This type of outreach gives staff a lot of time to chat with and get to know families. The panel gave examples of awesome toys and play-exploration…
#ALSC20 Awesome Afternoon with #OwnVoices
Authors Kacen Callender, Kyle Lukoff, and author-illustrator Christian Robinson kicked off the afternoon with a conversation about LGBTQIA #OwnVoices stories with moderator Ellie Krug. The panelists discussed how they approach the concept of “mattering” in their work. Lukoff said he doesn’t often outwardly state that, “we matter… because I know we do.” He starts with the assumption that these characters matter, that they know that they matter, and he tells their stories. Callender expressed how they received emotional wounds as a kid, how they still trying to heal; that’s one reason they write for children who are experiencing these, too. Robinson discussed his book “You Matter.” He said that book came out of a question, “what did I most want to tell children? … you matter because you are here, because you exist,” not because of anything a child does. The panelists also offered advice for librarians to help and…
Welcoming Spaces at #ALSC20
Dana Bjerke, Adele Murray, Amy Kennedy Fosseen, and Liz Veaderkpo from Hennepin County Library presented “Collaborating to Create Welcoming Spaces for Children, Youth, and Families.” This was great for me- I survived one library renovation several years ago where the architects never spoke with youth services staff; we made the new space “work,” but it wasn’t designed in a way that was ideal for actual use by the patrons and staff. My county is currently discussing construction of a new building for my current library. The presenters discussed their own renovation experiences, and how they worked on keeping everyone connected, collaborating, and taking into account multiple perspectives. Architects need to talk with library staff to understand how the space works for playful learning in libraries, and how families use spaces. Try to get a liaison to help you communicate with them! Administration answers to the community, county, and board; it…
Saturday kickoff at #ALSC20
We jumped into the morning with a panel discussing “on the ground” experiences from librarians working in communities experiencing trauma. Beth Patin from Syracuse University was a school librarian when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. It was an overwhelming experience for the community; everything in that area was utterly destroyed. Patin was able to start rebuilding her library collection (even with a little computer lab!) inside of a trailer long before the school was rebuilt. The community immediately utilized those services. Anita Montoya from Hennepin County Library works in the area where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis this year. Their community was rocked with protests, and she said they worked hard to be there for the people. Some buildings were damaged, but she said that the community also tried hard to protect the library, too, because they knew the library was there for them. The library also provided constant…