One of my favorite parts of ALA is hearing about all the work that has been going on in other divisions, round-tables, and groups. While it’s easy to get caught up in all the great sessions that directly apply to children’s librarianship, there’s a lot of value in attending other sessions. We, as children’s librarians, are not an island unto ourselves. By remaining aware of issues in other aspects of the library world we can be better advocates for our families we serve, effective team players in serving our library’s overall mission, and better informed research-practitioners. A good way to stick a toe in the water and branch out is by attending one of the many fantastic “News You Can Use” sessions at Annual. These sessions “offer the latest updates from experts on policy, research, statistics, technology, and more, based on new surveys, reports, legislation/regulation, and projects” from across…
Category: ALA Annual 2019
Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet #alaac19
In a large banquet room last night, we laughed, we cried, and we applauded the many wonderful achievements of the Newbery, Caldecott, and Legacy award winners. I, for one, know I definitely cried at least three times – once for each of the incredibly moving speeches by Sophie Blackall, Meg Medina, and Christopher Myers (accepting on behalf of his late father, Walter D. Myers). It feels so important to honor these individuals that have given us books that are cherished and loved by multitudes of children (and adults) across the country. Plus, the handsomely illustrated programs done by Sophie Blackall weren’t too shabby! Keep your eye out on ALSC’s own Youtube channel for some clips of the speeches and reaction videos from honorees.
#ALAac19 is winding down, last chance to enjoy D.C.
As the conference starts to wind down, the exhibit hall is broken down and all the books are quickly claimed, now might be a good time to get some fresh air in D.C. Hopefully, you have felt some of that wonderful D.C. humidity as you have walked around either to different events or maybe starting to explore… If you have time today, I recommend checking out some real D.C. libraries— I love to check out a real-life library when I go to a new city. We have lots of beautiful, award-winning libraries here in D.C. The closest branch to check out (library pun) is the Shaw Neighborhood Library (1630 7th St NW)— just walk about 15 minutes north on 7th street (convention center on your left). I would recommend stopping at Compass Coffee that you will pass on the way for an iced latte or cold brew. This location is…
Dealing with difficult people in the workplace #alaac19
I switched up my conference sessions on Saturday and went to a career development workshop on dealing with difficult people in the workplace. I have found that happiness in a job can be highly dependent on coworkers and Dr. Eileen O’ Grady had most of the answers (they exist)! My top takeaways: Identify who you are dealing with. Bullies, emotional vampires, narcissists- they all have different characteristics and different ways to deal with. Take care of yourself first and your needs. Identify what is non negotiable (eight hours of sleep, exercise etc.) and go from there. Care about yourself enough to assert yourself and advocate for change. Learn the difference between “I statements” and “You statements” and use them when needed. Silent withdrawal is harmful to everything and does not help a situation. I’ll end with this quote O’Grady posted by Cy Wakeman “Your happiness or engagement (at work) is…
Rights to Privacy for Minors #alaac19
Jam-packed in a late afternoon session today, librarians gathered to learn more about minor privacy rights in public and school libraries. Intellectual freedom issues are not restricted to adults, especially with the rapidly changing technology and digital landscape of today. The session was aptly entitled “So, are you going to tell my parents?”. Protection of minor’s circulation records, internet and digital data, as well as their actual physical presence in the library were all up for discussion. Coming away from the session I felt a weighty sense of responsibility for the young patrons I serve and lots of questions to investigate once I come home. For example, what are my state’s laws and statutes that protect minors in the library? Does my library fall in line with COPPA? What exactly did my own library say in their privacy policy and are my co-workers familiar with it? These are the sorts…
#alaac19 Let’s Celebrate!
The Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet is quite an experience. It is crowded and loud and busy, and also wonderful and inspiring and moving. At the banquet, we have a chance to meet new friends, catch up with longtime friends, and hear stories and words of wisdom from the talented illustrators and writers who are recipients of the Newbery, Caldecott, and Children’s Literature Legacy Awards. This year, I was so struck by the mood in the room, which was fairly bursting with encouragement and joy. It was an incredibly powerful atmosphere, almost overwhelming in its energy and love. It was such a pleasure to hear from Sophie Blackall, the illustrator of Hello Lighthouse, who, upon hearing a child say that she didn’t know that girls could be authors, simply answered, “Girls can do anything.” She called out to the many female artists and illustrators who went before her, presenting us with a powerful…
At #alaac19, ALSC Leadership Champions Media Literacy, Computational Thinking and Connected Family Learning
Media Literacy. Computational Thinking. Connected Family Learning. These are the buzzwords that Kathleen Campana, Elizabeth Mills, Marianne Martens and Claudia Haines emphasized at yesterday’s Leadership and ALSC meeting, a gathering of ALSC committee chairs and other leaders. Their presentation, “Positioning New Media across the Evolving Landscape of Children’s Services,” made powerful and lucid arguments for why these approaches are essential for children’s library services. Media Literacy Advocacy for media literacy in libraries has been around since the release of the first iPad in 2010. Since then, librarians have worked to develop best practices, including ALSC’s well-known Media Mentorship white paper. However, not all children’s librarians are comfortable sharing screens with kids. So why bother? “Screens are ubiquitous,” Campana argued. Throughout her portion of the presentation, a live text message poll gauged librarian interest and comfort in media mentorship. Despite some uncertainty, there was strong support in the room for prioritizing…
Leadership in ALSC #ALAac19
You can tell the attendees of the Leadership in ALSC meeting are serious about being a part of the organization because it’s only 8:30 am, and we had to take a shuttle to go to the Hilton co-conference location– about a 20-minute ride from the conference center. The bus is packed with conference attendees like we are on a school trip! Hot take– don’t forget to take the conference bus to get around, cabs and Lyfts can get expensive. The room is buzzing with former ALSC Presidents, current and incoming President, and perhaps a future President or two. The small group discussion allows you to get to know some members better as ALSC is a rather large organization. And then the presentation on computational thinking, digital literacy, and family connected learning added a live voting feature which made the room feel alive, as well. It doesn’t hurt that free coffee…