Be inspired by youth library advocate Alizdair Ray, whose earliest library memory (storytime at age 3) led to his role as a student library ambassador.
Know Your Library Advocates: Alizdair Ray, Student Library Ambassador
Category: Blogger Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee
Forming Partnerships along the Way…
Attending the American Library Association’s Annual conference is always refreshing and inspiring. I get new ideas and meet new people as well as visit with friends and colleagues from across the country. After getting back home, I always make sure to take some time to reflect on the panels and presentations I was able to attend. This past June, I was honored to take part in a panel sponsored by the Library Instruction Roundtable (LIRT) for the President’s Program. I honestly did not know much about the LIRT before I joined this panel and had assumed that it was mainly for academic librarians. But, the mission of the LIRT is to “empower…librarians, from all types of libraries, to become better teachers through sharing best practices, leadership and professional development, and networking.” On Saturday, June 28 at Annual, Brad Sietz and Alicia Vaandering, co-chairs of the LIRT Conference Program Committee moderated…
What Do You Do All Day?
Many library staff make what we do look easy, but it’s not easy. We are just really good at what we do.
Learning About Partnerships Through “We Are ALSC Chats”
A feature of ALSC that I (regrettably) just discovered is the “We Are ALSC Chats.” Truthfully, the only reason it came to my attention is because our Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee hosted one. I’m glad I was finally introduced, though, because I found it inspiring. So, when thinking about what to blog about, I decided I should write about these chats for some of you that, like me, might not have heard about them. It also provides me with a great vessel to share some of the awesome partnerships mentioned. The first question is naturally, what are “We Are ALSC Chats?” They are informal, non-recorded, chats held via Zoom that are open to all members and even non-members. Most importantly, they’re designed to build community and foster networking amongst library professionals in children’s services. This feels especially important these days! Each chat is hosted by one of the ALSC…
Sustainability is Kindness
Libraries around the country are taking on sustainability initiatives. These initiatives can include building improvements to make them more efficient, implementing new policies and procedures to minimize waste and increase equity, and increasing library resiliency efforts in the face of natural disasters. These are all big, library wide and even community wide efforts. Where does children’s services fit in? To get us started, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. When I think about sustainability, I think about the Triple Bottle Line, which is the definition used by ALA and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative: To be truly sustainable, an organization must embody practices that are environmentally sound AND economically feasible AND socially equitable. Learning about sustainable habits early on is the best way to make them stick. How many kids automatically buckle their seat belts as soon as they sit in a car? Hopefully all of them, because they…
We Are ALSC Chat!: Identifying Community Stakeholders and Forming Partnerships
Partnerships are a key component to fostering and strengthening our library communities. They take time, but once you have them, those partnerships can grow into a wealth of resources and shared commitment. Where do you start and how do you build a sustainable, reciprocal relationship? Last year my library received a grant to create an inside play space for young children (0-5 years) and their caregivers. Prior to the pandemic, our children’s programs were not highly attended and library staff tried a number of things to both meet the needs of the community and their schedules. For the grant, we decided we needed to take an active role in meeting our community’s organizations and take the initiative to form relationships. We created a community asset map using Google Maps. We focused on identifying schools, businesses, non-profits, and so on. From there, we narrowed down our initial contacts to those who…
Resolve to be an Everyday Advocate
I am the kind of person who likes to create New Year’s resolutions. Things like: stretch for 10 minutes after working out, make one night per week phone free, or solve the global climate crisis. After creating these resolutions, I immediately forget about them and go on living my life without stretching. This year is different though. Why? Because this year my #1 resolution is to be an Everyday Advocate. What does that mean? An Everyday Advocate practices Everyday Advocacy, of course! Everyday Advocacy is an ALSC initiative to give all ALSC members the tools to feel comfortable advocating for libraries to any and all members of their community, and realize that advocacy efforts come in different shapes and sizes. You may picture advocacy efforts as writing letters to legislators or marching for a cause. However, it can also include going to community events to share the importance of library…
Librarians as Community Helpers
Sharing the Library and Its Resources with our Two-Year-OldStudents and Their Teachers Last week, one of the teachers of our school’s two-year-old program asked if she could bring her class to the library because they were studying “community helpers.” At my school, while the library serves all of the faculty with books and resources, students do not come to my library classes until they are in pre-kindergarten. I was thrilled to be able to show them around and to talk about the library and what it means to the community.