We’re now a two weeks out from the conclusion of the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, which is a good amount of time for those who were able to attend to be able to let the learning percolate into some major takeaways. As promised, we at the Public Awareness Committee are back to follow up on some of the sessions we were most excited for at ALA. Leadership & ALSC – Lisa Guernsey gave an excellent keynote to tie in with the official release of the white paper Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth. Her talk, titled “Literacy & Equity in the 21st Century: The Critical Role of Media Mentors,” began with the acknowledgement of the “quiet crisis”–that children are struggling to learn to read proficiently. Guernsey quoted data about how two-thirds of American children in fourth grade are not reading at a fourth grade proficiency, and that numbers…
Category: ALA Midwinter 2015
The Beekle Experience
As a member of the 2015 Caldecott committee, making “the call” to Dan Santat on the morning of February 2 was such a thrill. The good folks at ALA make it possible for you to experience it HERE. Once the announcements of the Caldecott awards were made public, the Internet buzzed. One of the first things I saw online after the announcements was this short video from Dan Santat. It melted my heart. I was running on adrenaline, very little sleep, and home-made ginger cookies at this point, and that little clip just really got me. Dan Santat’s first Tweet of that day was “I’m so bummed the Patriots won the #SuperBowl last night. My whole day is ruined.” I immediately thought, “The guy is funny!” You can follow him on Twitter @dsantat. When I got back to my hotel room, I saw this amazing craft from This Picture Book…
Post-Caldecott
Shovels in hand, 15 brave souls entered a room in a hotel in Chicago. We knew there was treasure to be found, we knew that we would have to dig deep into our year of looking at over 500 picture books in order to find the gems. We tried to find the right words (vocabulary, phrases, terms) to express how our favorite books met the criteria. We bravely donned our capes of red wool; we dreamed of art, and lost things, and finding friends. We picked up pebbles of wisdom, like stones at the beach that one summer. Our minds were filled with noisy colors. And together, we did the unimaginable. It has been just two weeks since the 2015 Caldecott Awards were announced, and I still feel the warm glow of that experience. The seven books that our committee chose to receive those shiny stickers have me still reeling….
ALSC’s Next Steps after Day of Diversity
On Friday, January 30, 2015 the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council hosted the invitation-only Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action in Children’s Literature and Library Programming. Recognizing the conversations at the event was of interest to a much larger audience than we were able to accommodate at the Day of Diversity, ALSC and the CBC Diversity Committee sponsored a follow up program at ALA Midwinter. ALSC will continue to share information and outcomes from this event widely. On Monday, February 2nd during their Session II meeting, the ALSC Board of Directors reflected on the Day of Diversity and put together a list of commitments by the Association for the next three months and the next six months. This isn’t the start of the diversity or inclusion conversation for ALSC, nor by any means is it the end. This list reflects the…
Missing You #alamw15
Chicago still has long coffee lines, it’s really snowing, and ALA staff is just an L ride away, but it’s just not the same around here without all of you! (I think most planes, trains, and cars have finally made it out, am I right?) It really was another magnificent Midwinter and my yesterday, Monday, was a great way to wrap it up. The Youth Media Awards, obviously! Congrats & thanks to all of the committees and staff who made it a reality. Well done, also, to the folks on the podium with the early morning responsibility and thrill of telling the world! Afterwards, I was reunited with my ALSC Budget Committee compatriots as we tied a bow on the preliminary proposed budget for FY16, which the Board later approved. We also recommended applying some of the generous Friends of ALSC donations to supporting early literacy work and connecting babies…
Joint ALSC and YALSA Member Reception at #alamw15
After my last meeting of the day, I went straight to my hotel, removed my snow-covered boots and sat down on my bed. Part of me wanted to stay in my cozy spot, but I’d told a colleague I’d meet her at the ALSC and YALSA Joint Member Reception. So I figured I’d better put my boots back on. And I’m very glad I did! In addition to catching up with my colleague, I got to see some other familiar faces and meet a few new brilliant librarians. I loved getting to hear about everyone’s conference highlights and favorite Youth Media Award recipients. Whenever I am in the presence of a large group Children’s and Teen Librarians, I am astounded by their vast knowledge, passion for their work and openness to new ideas. What a perfect a way to end my conference.
Diversity: Special Needs at #alamw15
Lately, I’ve been investigating and thinking about ways we serve young people with special needs, and how it ties in with the heightened focus on diversity. At yesterday’s “Diversity Matters: Stepping It Up With Action!,” publishers and librarians engaged in a fascinating dialogue about practical ways we can include all voices. We should: hire more diverse staff; reach out to authors from underrepresented backgrounds; do targeted outreach; and develop partnerships with community organizations. But, as many audience members pointed out, our efforts should not only address race, culture, and sexual orientation, but should also include people with special needs. Here are a few highlights of special needs resources found/represented at #alamw15: *Remarkable Books about Young People with Special Needs: Stories to Foster Understanding by Alison M. G. Follos (Huron Street Press, 2013) *Children with Disabilities in the Library – an ALSC online professional development course. *Schneider Family Book Award, which…
Bonus Day at #alamw15
This morning I awoke bright and early (read: 5:45am) to line up for the Youth Media Awards. As always, it was an unforgettable experience to be in the room when the honor and award titles were announced! I laughed, I cheered, I tweeted, I gasped, I was in awe of the extremely talented ASL interpreter. After the exhilarating announcements, I quickly checked my flight status only to find that my flight this afternoon had been canceled. Although it took a bit to get everything settled (2 hours on hold with the airline…but who’s counting?), after it was all said and done my flight was rescheduled for tomorrow morning. Even though I’m longing to see my family and get back to work (my to-do list is so long!), I’ve decided to embrace this “bonus” day at the conference. As I type this, I’m once again sitting on the Notable Children’s Book…