Working at the reference desk has become very unpredictable. Stories of unusual, stressful, or unprecedented events are much more frequent. Over this past year, challenges to materials in the collection have grown exponentially. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom reported a 38% increase in the number of titles challenged in 2022 from the previous year. Often the children’s collection is the target of these demands for censorship. Addressing the challenges can be difficult and stressful. It is even harder in a library without collection development policies and procedures. More than ever before, libraries need to have collection development policies, have procedures in place, and have staff trained to address challenges. The ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee and the ALSC Managing Children’s Services Committee have prepared a two-part webinar to support librarians to effectively and less stressfully address book challenges.
Category: ALSC Online Courses
#Newbery100: Celebrate – and Educate!
Moderator Edith Campbell of this past week’s ALSC webinar, “Problematic Award-Winning Texts: Daniel Boone, the Newbery Award, and Children’s Librarianship,” concluded a terrific program by noting that there is no go-to list of problematic texts. It is the responsibility of all to “formulate our understanding,…to educate ourselves.”
ALSC Competencies for Librarians Serving Children
Maybe you are a new children’s librarian starting their first job, maybe you are approaching retirement, or maybe you are somewhere in between. Regardless of where you are in your library journey, at some point you have likely asked yourself some version of these questions: What do I do in this job? What is the role of a children’s librarian? How can I improve my work? Discover answers to all of these questions in the ALSC Competencies.
ALSC: Serving Immigrant & Refugee Children and Their Families
I love August. Nice and hot so that dip in the pool or lake feels refreshing and invigorating, not cold once we slip into September. Not a whiff of the melancholy I feel once the hot weather leaves for another year. I hope you are enjoying August as well and looking forward to the conclusion of another successful Summer Reading/Learning. In case you think ALSC sits back and relaxes in August, I wanted to be sure to tell you about some exciting news and upcoming events.
ALSC Resources for Everyone
I am currently serving my second year on ALSC’s Membership Committee. It’s been an enlightening experience, and I’m so excited to see what the next year will bring. When I first began my tenure, I was under the impression that our duties consisted only of sending out welcoming postcards to new members and planning the ALSC 101 meeting for the Annual Conference. Yes, we do both of these (and they’re both awesome!), but since then, I’ve discovered that we do so much more.
Postmodern Picturebooks: Changing Minds for Life
Did you know we recently began offering this new course: Postmodern Picturebooks: Changing Minds for Life? Reading practices may limit reader potential and significantly impact life choices. Wait… What? As a librarian or educator working with young readers, you are in a position to change minds for life through guiding reader engagement with postmodern picturebooks. In this five week online course, you will explore the potential of several postmodern picturebooks to draw children in and excite their imaginations. You will develop practical resources for using these books with young readers by examining specific features of the books, generating storytime plans, and preparing parent guides for several exciting postmodern picturebooks. Registration is open! According to our evaluations, students have mentioned that they learn better when there are more participants in the course. Register today and tell a friend or colleague! Learn more about this course/instructor and take a look at the course syllabus….
ALSC Spring Online Courses
We have three online courses open for the Spring! NEW Course ALERT! Postmodern Picturebooks: Changing Minds for Life: Reading practices may limit reader potential and significantly impact life choices. Wait… What? As a librarian or educator working with young readers, you are in a position to change minds for life through guiding reader engagement with postmodern picturebooks. In this five week online course, you will explore the potential of several postmodern picturebooks to draw children in and excite their imaginations. You will develop practical resources for using these books with young readers by examining specific features of the books, generating storytime plans, and preparing parent guides for several exciting postmodern picturebooks. Learn more about this course, instructor, and how to register. Other featured courses: STEM Programs Made Easy Storytelling with Puppets Each of our online courses are limited to 30 students and begin April 2nd. Members receive a reduced rate…
Get Involved with ALSC!
ALSC is a large organization with thousands of members, dozens of committees, and an abundance of projects, programs, and initiatives. Whether you have been a member for years or you are new to the organization, figuring out how to find your own place within ALSC can feel overwhelming. To address this need, the ALSC Education Committee has developed a webinar, Get Involved with ALSC: Navigating Opportunities within the Organization, scheduled for Wednesday, November 8th. The webinar is intended to 1) help members who want to become involved in ALSC but aren’t sure where to start and 2) inform those who want to learn about additional opportunities within ALSC. To maximize the webinar’s relevance to ALSC members, the Education Committee developed the content based on feedback and suggestions provided in a recent survey. Topics include: Communication venues such as the ALSC-L electronic discussion list, social media, community forums, and conference sessions…