- ALA Annual Conference 2022

TikTok and Libraries: A Powerful Partnership…was a Powerful Presentation!

Monday was my last day at #ALAAC2022, and I started it with a really informative presentation about using TikTok in your library. When the pandemic first started, I created a TikTok account but never used it.  (I am not sure I even remember my login information.)  Delving into a new social media platform can sometimes be daunting, so, I was really excited to attend TikTok and Libraries: A Powerful Partnership and to learn how to use TikTok to promote books and my library.  Presentations about TikTok seem to be just as popular as the social media platform itself—it was a packed house in the Convention Center!

- ALA Annual Conference 2022

Escape Room at #ALAAC2022 and Play Virtually from Anywhere!

Looking for an “Escape?” Friday night at #ALAAC2022 is “ALA Play” sponsored by the Games and Gaming Round Table. Visitors can try out all different kinds of games including RPGs, card games, and board games. Can’t make it to ALA but want to join in some of the fun and games? You can! There is a virtual escape room that you can play to win prizes. (Prizes will be sent to winners after the end of the conference.) Escape rooms are great programs for public and school libraries. Patrons can learn about different topics while having fun completing them. You can theme your escape room to particular events, books, or activities happening at your library. Click here to learn more about the ALA GameRT escape room. Or, if you are ready, you can go directly to Mystery Island. Guest Conference Blogger Soline Holmes (she/her/hers) is a librarian and the Library/Technology Department…

- ALA Annual Conference 2022

Comics Challenges with the #GNCRT at #ALAAC2022

I started my #ALAAC2022 experience with the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table’s (#GNCRT) Friday Forum which focused on Comics Challenges. Taking place from 11-3, there were three unique panels comprised of creators, publishers, and librarians. The first panel (which, full disclosure, I also moderated) was about challenges among award-winning books. The second panel focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion in comics. The forum ended with a panel about concrete tips on how to address comics challenges.

ALA Annual Conference 2021

#Newbery and #Caldecott Virtual Banquet at #alaac2021

Usually, on this night, I am dressed up and sitting with a group of librarians to celebrate the #Newbery and #Caldecott Awards. This year, I still wanted it to be special. So, I treated my family to Yogurtland. I wore my “This Is How I Roll” t- shirt featuring a book truck. And, I got to visit the homes of amazingly talented authors and illustrators and listen to their inspiring words from my living room. I loved every minute of it. I encourage you to watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPOrSDaxsaE There are so many favorite moments, but a few highlights… In her Caldecott acceptance speech, illustrator Michaela Goade was truly an inspiration as the first indigenous/BIPOC woman to win a Caldecott. I want to listen to her speech over and over from her beautiful description of her home in Alaska to her discussion of her illustrations for “We Are Water Protectors”…

ALA Annual Conference 2021

Amanda Gorman and Loren Long @ #ALA Annual Conference 2021

On Wednesday morning, #ALA Annual Conference 2021 began with an amazing opening speaker session with Amanda Gorman and Loren Long. They were interviewed by “rock star” (to quote Gorman) Carla Hayden. Really, all three of these speakers are ROCK STARS! Gorman introduced us to her new book, CHANGE SINGS, which will be available in the fall. She has been working on the poem for over 3.5 years and wanted it to come out as close after the Inauguration as possible (before she even knew that she would be the Inaugural Poet). Gorman and Long discussed the transformation of her poem into a children’s book. As Gorman explained, poems are “divisible by units of sound, and children’s books are divisible by units of scene.” In thinking about turning the poem into a book, she had to think about “page turns,” and she wanted to give the huge topic of CHANGE texture,…