In just over two weeks, on Monday morning, January 28th, the Youth Media Awards will be announced at #alamw19. Excitedly, we will all hear what wins some of the most prestigious book awards in the world, including the Newbery Award, the Caldecott Award, the Printz Award, the Batchelder Award, and more. As excitement builds, librarians in schools and libraries around the country offer Mock YMA elections to help stimulate and share the reading enthusiasm and excitement. The ALSC Blog collects results from these mock elections and compiles the results on its Mock Elections page.
Category: ALA Midwinter 2018
Let the Good Food and Drinks Roll- #alaac18
“In America, there might be better gastronomic destinations than New Orleans, but there is no place more uniquely wonderful. … With the best restaurants in New York, you’ll find something similar to it in Paris or Copenhagen or Chicago. But there is no place like New Orleans. So it’s a must-see city because there’s no explaining it, no describing it. You can’t compare it to anything. So, far and away New Orleans.” — Anthony Bourdain (this one’s for you)
Mile High Treasures We Found at Midwinter
What does a copy of Little Bear by Elsa Homelund Minarik (lovingly inserted in the belly of a large homemade stuffed bear), By Space Ship to the Moon by Jack Coggins and Fletcher Pratt (a book about space travel written in 1951), and a signed copy of The Gingerbread Boy by Eric A. Kimmel have in common? They all belong to Denver Public Library’s Children’s Historical Collection: Reference. The ALSC Special Collections & Bechtel Fellowship Committee saw these and many other intriguing items while touring the collection located at the Denver Public Library during Midwinter 2018. Our tour guide, Children’s Librarian Rachel Hartman, curates the collection. The Children’s Historical Collection first began in 1935 as part of the Western History Collection, which was established by local head librarian Malcolm Glenn Wyer at the suggestion of his friend, author Willa Cather. At some point in time, all materials for children were…
ALSC Actions and You
About ALA Midwinter…it’s two weeks later and I am still fueled by the professional development, networking, dynamic work session with the Public Awareness Committee and bold direction of ALSC leadership. Here’s my short list of actions and share outs with my home team.
ALA Midwinter Highlights
Mid-Winter Roundup 2018 At a snowy Midwinter Conference in Denver, intellectual freedom work occurred in small group sessions, cross-committee task force meetings and on the big stage where the question of library neutrality was ardently debated. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the intellectual freedom highlights:
Wrapping up my 1st Midwinter #alamw18
And… it’s a wrap! My first Midwinter experience is officially done! It’s been a super quick five days in Denver. I have had some highs– Bill Morris Seminar, talking storytime, attending my first council session, and many more; and some lows– icy streets, SNOW, way overpacked bags.But all in all, it was a wonderful and illuminating experience to attend the infamous Midwinter Conference. My takeaways: ~Midwinter is mostly meetings and there is not much program– but it is a chance to really get to know committees and what they do. There are also lots of OPEN meetings where you can just drop in and hear about a division or round table. ~Attendance is a lot lower at Midwinter– according to Council documents we were about a thousand people less than last year in Atlanta… and while that may be disappointing to vendors, it is a great opportunity to network! You see…
Forthcoming “Statement of Appropriate Conduct” for the ALSC Institute #alamw18
The 2018 ALSC Institute in Cincinnati will have a clear Statement of Appropriate Conduct/Community Guidelines including procedures for members and attendees to report behaviors in violation of those guidelines.
Youth Media Awards #alamw18
There are not many reasons to get up at 7 am on a Conference day when your first meeting isn’t until 10 am, but then, not every morning is the Youth Media Awards! For those of you not there… allow me to paint a picture. Denver is cold– and the streets remain a bit icy, but yet hoards of library people are up and about– you wouldn’t need to consult your Scheduler, just follow the herd of people to a packed room. The room was abuzz with people chatting about their favorite books of the year and the excitement over what books might win! I had to search for my friend and my saved seat, but it was nearly impossible with all of the excited people. Once I found her, we started discussing predictions and just general excitement over what was to come! Every year I read the results as they…