Category: Blogger Elizabeth Serrano

Blogger Elizabeth Serrano

Another Membership Touch Point

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Our Membership Committee does a really wonderful job of using the ALSC Blog as a channel to inform ALSC members on ways to engage and maximize their membership. They approach their committee work with experience and intention, and as a staff member, I rely heavily on their perspectives as members of ALSC. They help me figure out what the questions and concerns are and how we can address these questions and concerns in new and innovative ways! To further support this journey in getting to know our members and to learn what their questions are, we’re introducing ALSC Member Office Hours! These office hours are very informal one-hour Zoom sessions for members to literally drop-in for a minute (or for the whole hour!) to ask any questions you have related to ALSC and your membership. I will be present during all of these office hours (sometimes also joined by colleagues…

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ALA Annual Conference 2021

Concluding our 2020-2021 service year! #alaac21

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The end of ALA’s Annual Conference usually marks the end of ALSC’s governance and committee service years, with the next one beginning July 1. We’ve had a year like no other. ALSC’s division report to council can be found on the ALA website. It covers ALSC activity through May 2021. It’s a long one, but I hope you’ll take an opportunity to browse it and learn about our accomplishments and challenges faced as a division. You can also check out the recording from our membership meeting or view the slides that provide a brief overview of what ALSC has been up to (During our meeting, Liz McChesney, our 2021 Distinguished Service Award recipient gave her acceptance remarks! Check it out!) THANK YOU to Kirby McCurtis for leading ALSC with confidence and flair! THANK YOU to our outgoing Board members: Cecilia McGowan, Elisa Gall, Africa Hands, and Sujei Lugo for their…

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ALA Annual Conference 2021

ALSC Award Ceremonies and How to Watch #alaac21

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While we miss celebrating our awards in person, staff, members, award recipients, publishers, and many others have worked incredibly hard to bring life and joy to our virtual ceremonies happening this week! Below is information on how to watch! Information is also available on the ALA conference scheduler and ALSC website. Odyssey Awards When: Thursday, June 24, 6-7:00pm CST The Odyssey Award is jointly given and administered by ALSC and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine. Hear from the producers, authors, and narrators behind the 2021 Odyssey Honoree and Award recipients! These recorded Zoom calls offer insight into the production process, and even feature some exclusive readings. Register in advance to attend this virtual ceremony. After the live session, it will be available on the ALA Annual Conference Scheduler as an on-demand session. Pura Belpré Celebración When: Sunday, June 27, 1-2:30pm CST…

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Blogger Elizabeth Serrano

Sharing Our Impact #wearealsc

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Members of the Association for Library Service to Children engage communities to build healthy, successful futures for all children. This is ALSC’s vision statement, but what does the work look like to achieve it? We recently published our 2019-2020 Annual Report, which covers our Association’s work from September 2019 – August 2020 (fiscal year 2020). This report includes a message from 2019 – 2020 ALSC President, Cecilia McGowan, strategic plan progress, initiatives, and much more! It’s a 20-page wrap-up of important activity, and each year I’m amazed at the amount of work accomplished by our members and staff in fulfilling our vision. Below, I’ve highlighted two sections from this report, but I hope you’ll explore the report in full and share it with others. Membership and Involvement At the time of publication of this report, March 2020 membership statistics showed ALSC having 3,932 total members. Since then, estimates show we…

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ALA Virtual Midwinter 2021

ALSC Membership Committee at #alamw21

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With every conference, I like to give a shout out to ALSC’s Membership Committee. From planning informal gatherings to coordinating and participating in other engagement opportunities, this committee truly blows me away. For Midwinter, the committee planned a Pre-YMA ALSC Mixer, which you can read about in Abby’s blog post. Amy Seto Forrester and Allison Knight from the committee also participated in a virtual student networking session in the “Librarian Lounge”. Amy and Allison offered their insight on children’s services and gave advice to students pursuing their MLIS degrees. So much of the welcoming events and initiatives come from the creative minds of those on the Membership Committee and I am grateful to experience their passion for youth services and ALSC. If you are a member interested in volunteering for an ALSC process (non-book award) committee, please fill out a volunteer form as ALSC Vice-President, Lucia Gonzalez, will be making…

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Blogger Elizabeth Serrano

Tough Conversations – Resources to Share

| Elizabeth Serrano|3 Comments
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In my personal networks over the past few months, the question, “How do we talk to the kids about this?” has repeatedly surfaced as these continue to be challenging and unjust times. Every time I read or heard this question, I was reminded of the value of being a part of ALSC. Every time I read or heard this question, I was able to share an ALSC booklist, resource, or an article developed by (or which featured) our members. Below are the resources I’ve shared with friends and family, incase it is also helpful to you in supporting your own families and communities: Tough Topics booklist (grades K-8): Personally, what I appreciate about these lists is that, in addition to the titles, they also include trusted resources for adults to explore. Unity and Justice booklist #LooktoLibraries Resources: In particular, I have shared the Tough Conversations Tip Sheet. (A warm shout…

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Blogger Elizabeth Serrano

Big Acts of Kindness

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I think the phrase “small act of kindness” is interesting. How can any act of kindness be considered small? What does “small” mean? Small to whom? In a recent blog post, I highlighted the ways ALSC, as an organization, has delivered on our core values. I’ve also highlighted some of the ways in which I’ve seen members of our ALSC community share with one another this year. Now, similarly, through an ALSC lens, I’d like to list some of the big acts of kindness I’ve seen: Being the staff member tasked with monitoring the @wearealsc Twitter is sometimes challenging, but it’s so worth it when I see our community exchange ideas and encourage one another in and outside of #librarylife. From a “good luck” tweet on an upcoming job interview to a “that looks amazing” tweet when someone bakes a yummy looking pie– these are big acts of kindness to…

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ALA Virtual Conference 2020

ALSC at #ALAVirtual20

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Misty and Kirby at ALA Virtual Event

One of the things I loved about ALA’s Virtual Event today was that I saw and heard mention of some of our ALSC leaders! We saw ALSC President-Elect, Kirby McCurtis, in conversation with Opening Session speaker, Misty Copeland! Wasn’t that a nice surprise? I also briefly attended the Serving the Transgender Community: It’s More than Just Bathrooms! session where a panelist mentioned Immediate Past-President, Dr. Jamie Naidoo, and his work and training’s on serving LGBTQ+ families in the library. Here is a peer-reviewed Children & Libraries article by Jamie published in 2018.   I thought it was really powerful to see our ALSC leadership present in these conversations on equity, diversity, and inclusion. With a new service year coming up, I think this is a good time to remind ALSC members that our board meetings are open to all. We always post our schedules, links to register, and documents online…

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