As we kick off the ALSC year, and the school year, it’s time to fill out the all important volunteer form.
Category: Blogger ALSC Membership Committee
Back to School? Back to ALSC
As students around the country prepare to go back to school, it’s time to think about beginning our new ALSC year together.
Catching Up with a Previous Bechtel Fellow
Applications for the 2024 Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship will open shortly, making summer an excellent time to think more about a research topic in children’s literature that might interest you.
ALSC Meet-Up at ALA
Last summer I attended my first ALA Annual Conference. I was excited but immediately felt adrift in a sea of conference-goers representing every field and aspect of librarianship. How did I find the children’s librarians? At the ALSC Meet-Up event! On Friday afternoon, 40 ALSC members took a break from the conference bustle and hoofed it to Planet Word, a literary museum in D.C. We reunited with old friends, made new connections, and had a blast playing and learning together in this interactive museum.
Camaraderie & Connections
Despite their atrociousness, book bans are on the rise in school districts and libraries across the United States. In these times of uncertainty and volatility, I believe now more than ever in the importance of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the American Library Association (ALA). Organizations like these, and especially their members, are invaluable to those serving children and their caregivers. Besides just being an excellent resource, ALSC is a community that supports library staff who work with the youth. Being a part of ALSC has been a huge help for me to grow and succeed as a children’s librarian.
ALSC and YOU!
Looking to make worthwhile connections AND contributions? Seeking summer fun and enrichment? Perhaps you just want to familiarize yourself with the ALSC community. Join us May 18th for a virtual networking opportunity to discover the power of #weareALSC. There will be four different networking sessions built into this one virtual afternoon!
Membership Committee Service Through the Pandemic
As I write this, I am currently the co-chair of the Membership Committee, in the second year of my two-year term. Before this, I served a two-year term as a member of the Membership Committee. Over the course of my four years on the committee, I have written six blog posts for the monthly Membership Committee slot. Each of those blog posts has focused on the amazing work of the committee, including impressive pivots made by ALSC to keep membership engaged during the early days of COVID, promotions for upcoming member engagement events, calls for ideas for new ways to engage with each other when faced with Zoom fatigue, and a three-part series highlighting some of the BIPOC New Members cohort that the Membership Committee has been supporting for the last two-plus years.
Ways I’ve Used My ALSC Membership (So Far)
I joined ALSC in 2016. I was just a first semester graduate student with very little idea of what to expect as a children’s librarian. One of the coordinators in my grad school program had mentioned that ALSC had a fantastic student rate, so I went for it. (It’s only $20!) Turns out, it was a great choice. I took several (as you may have guessed) children and youth specific courses in grad school that heavily used ALSC data and research. At this point, I was somewhat familiar with navigating the website and finding what information I needed to find.