Tired of the same ol’ voices presenting every conference? This morning, a group of 6 youth services library folks got the chance to present for the first time ever at a national conference. The catch? They only had five minutes each. And they brought it. The session, reminiscent of past Ignite sessions, was proposed by Brooke Newberry as a way to bring new voices to national attention. Brooke, with other veteran colleagues Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, Amy Koester, and Kendra Jones mentored the 6 participants through the process of developing and delivering a conference presentation. Jo Schofield talked about using the P21 framework in robotics programs. Robotics can foster creativity, problem solving, communication and collaboration. An estimated sixty-five percent of children will have a job that hasn’t been invented yet, so it’s important to develop skills that are useful in a variety of fields. Robin Sofge spoke on positive professional growth. She…
Category: ALA Annual 2018
New Voices with Fresh Takes #alaac18
This morning I was honored to speak about my passion for diverse storytimes as part of a group of first time national presenters in “Fresh Takes in Youth Services.” It was the scariest 5 minutes of my life but I loved every second of it! This Ignite style program was a great way to introduce new voices in our field and provide conference speaking experience to novices. Each presentation highlighted a very timely and relevant topic to Youth Services such as robotics, leadership, Comic Cons, LGBTQIA advocacy and STEAM partnering. I’m in awe of my co-presenters Jo Schofield, Robin Sofge, Molly Virello, Connor Flan Joel Park and Jamie Naylor! I’m especially thankful to Brooke Newberry and Amy Koester for their mentorship during this process. I really hope ALA continues to host programs like these that provide rookie presenters an opportunity to share their passion on a national stage in an accessible…
French Comics Panel Discussion #alaac18
Yesterday was an amazing start to my weekend in New Orleans at the 2018 ALA Conference! Not only did I have the distinct pleasure of co-presenting for the first time at ALA (Shout-out to fellow live blogger Soline Holmes for her post about my session) but I attended some great programs and discussions! I particularly enjoyed the panel discussion “French Comics Kiss Better: Bande Dessinee 101” which took place at the Graphic Novel and Gaming Stage in the exhibits hall. This program, sponsored by the French Comics Association, included some of my favorite creators of youth graphic novels- such as Aurelie Neyret, author of Cici’s Journal. Other creators on the panel were Eve Tharlet (Mr. Badger & Mrs. Fox), Cati Bauer (Four Sisters) and Barroux (Alpha). These authors and illustrators discussed their work process, the challenges of getting their works into the American market, translations and more. They also shared…
Libraries Support Immigrant Families: News from #alaac18
On June 19, a “Resolution on Cessation of Family Separations for Refugees Arriving at the United States Borders” was shared on the REFORMA listserv with a call to “distribute far and wide to your divisions, round table, and other library boards” and to “get endorsements for the resolution.” The ALSC Board then reviewed and discussed the resolution on ALA Connect in the days leading up to the ALA Annual Conference. The resolution was entered into the consent agenda for ALSC Board I at ALA Annual, which took place today, Saturday, June 23. At that meeting, the ALSC Board endorsed the resolution, which has been amended and renamed “Resolution to Reunite Detained Migrant Children with their Parents.” The resolution is currently planned to go before Council, sponsored by the Committee on Library Advocacy, on Tuesday at ALA Annual in New Orleans. Because this is an evolving news item, the specifics of…
AASL 2018 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning #ALAAC18
What a great session from the AASL! While many librarians may be aware of the AASL’s annual listing of the best websites for teaching and learning, this session delved into each website giving information about the site, age levels, the standards the site addresses, and even showed short video clips about each site and its application. It was a fun way to learn about new resources, and I plan to experiment with a lot of these and hope to use them in my elementary school library curriculum next year. To check out the AASL’s best websites, here is the list… Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2018 Past recommended websites can be found at: http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/best/websites And now, I am signing off to build my own code using Pencil Code!!! This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: II. Reference and User Services and IV. Knowledge, Curation, and Management of Materials.
STEM for Babies and Toddlers #ALAAC18
What is STEM… Some may think, STEM?! for toddlers?! for babies?! Of course, we think of teaching and using STEM for kids in high school and even in first grade. But, is it ever too early to start STEM? I always knew STEM as “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math,” but two librarians from the Brooklyn Public Library, a librarian from the Everett Public Library, and Early Childhood Literacy Consultant and Expert Saroj Ghoting gave a more detailed definition. The science portion is really a way of thinking, technology is a way of doing, engineering is a way of creating, and math is a way of measuring. Within this new context, it was easy to see that toddlers and babies naturally engage in STEM every day. When they throw their full cereal bowl on the floor, they are practicing cause and effect and learning about gravity. When playing with blocks, a…
The room where it happens #alaac18
Today the ALSC board voted to change the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. It was an epic, historic moment those of us in the room will never forget!
Children’s Literature Legacy Award #alaac18
Today’s ALSC Board meeting was jam-packed with important business, but the final item on the agenda was obviously what the audience in attendance was waiting for; discussion of the ALSC Awards Program Review Task Force Recommendation: Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.