Today, I attended ALSC 101, and let me tell you, this was the place to be! ALSC 101 is a session that answers questions from new and prospective ALSC members and helps members to get the most out of the organization. I’m part of the Membership Committee which planned ALSC 101, so admittedly, I am a bit biased, but I have to say, it was a really awesome session! I especially loved the panel discussion, which featured a wide range of ALSC members with differing levels of experience in the organization. ALSC’s award and selection committees are fantastic, and in fact, many of the ALSC members who participated today had experience serving on these committees. But while they said that they had a wonderful time, when asked what their best ALSC experience has been, they focused on the work that they’ve done while serving on task forces and process committees….
Author: Sarah Hashimoto
Food for Thought #alaac19
Jason Reynolds’ keynote address set the stage for this year’s Annual Conference. I hope to keep these thoughts in mind as I make my way through all that this conference has to offer. Lots to think about after we return to our libraries and our communities, too. His words speak for themselves: “Narrative is what will be used to fortify you. There is another place that shares the same principles. Y’all better know the answer to this one. Another place that says ‘come as you are.’ All are welcome. No one is turned away. You can build family here, and you can use that family to then enact service.” “Imagine what it would be like if young people were the safe havens for their families and friends, for the people around them, for the homeless and all the kids that have less than them. Imagine what it would be like…
Here We Go! #alaac19
Brace yourself, Washington, D.C., there are a whole bunch of librarians coming your way! I love going to conference in big cities and seeing ALA librarians everywhere you look. When I checked into my hotel today, I noticed that I have a special librarian key card—The Princess in Black. How cool is that? Not to mention, it was very fun to laugh with the somewhat shell-shocked staff as they commented on just how many librarians they’ve seen already. And this party is just getting started! I’m getting ready to go the opening general session where author Jason Reynolds will be speaking. What an awesome way to open up the conference! After that, it’s the exhibit opening, and meeting up with friends. In the next few days, I’m looking forward to hearing author Tomi Adeyemi speak, and I’m also planning on attending the Leadership & ALSC Meeting, where we’ll get a…
Seattle Sights #alamw19
I wrapped up the conference by seeing the Seattle sights, and I’m so glad that I had the chance to do so. So often, I have to fly back home before I can see much more than the conference center, but this time it worked out great. And really, having done this, I might make a real point of exploring every time, as I think that I sometimes forget to experience the amazing cities that we visit. This year, I was lucky to run into a dear friend from Chicago (I love it when you run into librarian friends at conference!), and we explored the city together. Of course, we saw the Space Needle, and it was incredible! The weather was fantastic, and we had so much fun looking at the city and trying to identify landmarks. We also had a chance to visit the Chihuly Gardens, located right near…
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! #alamw19 #alayma19
Just got back from the YMAs, and it was just as wonderful/exciting/thrilling/heartwarming as I had hoped. It is such a thrill to see these talented authors, illustrators, narrators, and librarians honored for the work that they do. The atmosphere in the room was amazing, exploding with excitement and passion. As each winner and honoree was announced, I heard shouts, clapping, exclamations of “Yes!,” “Perfect!,” “I’m so glad!.” What an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere. When I attend the YMAs, I’m reminded again of how much I love being part of the good work that we do as librarians. Congratulations to all on a job well done!
Yes, We’re Ready to Code! #alamw19 #ReadytoCode
I’ve gone through many obsessions in my life (knitting, gardening, Pokémon-ing), but currently, I’m all about coding. Coding for littles, middles, and bigs—all of it is fantastically interesting to me. Happily, this year’s Midwinter Conference has had a lot to offer. Today, I attended a really great program led by Claudia Haines of the Homer (AK) Public Library, Paula Langsam of the D.C. Public Library, Juan Rubio of the Seattle Public Library, and Marijke Visser, from the ALA Office of Public Policy who also serves as the Ready to Code Lead. The first part of this session was devoted to a discussion about some important issues that we as librarians grapple with when introducing computational thinking into our programs. It was really cool to listen to these librarians and teachers and get some insight into how they think about the work that we do. Here are some of the questions…
Early Literacy and Computational Thinking #alamw19
Computational thinking…okay, so that’s a big word! I kinda sorta knew what it meant, but I was so interested to see how this might translate into practical information that I could use at my library. And that’s why I was really glad that I attended this afternoon’s session on computational thinking (CT) for young children—“Making the Connection: Early Literacy and Computational Thinking for Young Children,” led by Claudia Haines of Homer (Alaska) Public Library and Paula Langsam of the D.C. Public Library. It was jam-packed with people, tips, ideas, and lots of hands-on activities. Oh, plus dancing! You really couldn’t ask for more. During this session, we learned about several important CT skills, including pattern recognition, decomposition, algorithm design, and abstraction. Again, these seem like really big words, but when you get past that, you start to see how these skills can be taught to young children in some easy…
Anti-Bias Education and Children’s Literature #alamw19
I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to attend this morning’s session, Leadership and ALSC. What a great chance to meet some new people and start having important conversations about the steps that we’ve taken and need to keep on taking in regards to diversity and racial justice. This morning’s keynote speaker, Debbie LeeKeenan, raised so many important and thought-provoking points—it’s hard to know where to start! I would happily listen to the entire presentation again, as it was packed with such important stuff.Here are a few of the takeaways that I will be pondering long after this conference has come to a close:• Being fair is not the same as being equal. Equality is everyone getting the same thing, but equity is everyone getting what they need. This could look different for all of us and the people we connect with, but it’s a vitally important concept for…