Category: Institute 2014

Awards & Scholarships

ALSC Institute Reflections

| Nicole Martin|Leave a comment
Oakland farmer's market

Last month I was lucky enough to attend the 2014 ALSC National Institute in Oakland, California thanks to a generous scholarship awarded to me by the Friends of ALSC. I am so grateful for the time spent at the Institute last month and would like to thank the Friends for enabling me to participate in such a stellar weekend of learning and fun. And a huge thanks to everyone at ALSC who worked hard to put together the Institute! Some of my favorite moments from the Institute have to be the wonderful author presentations and panels, especially the hilarious author panel that took place at Children’s Fairyland with Jennifer Holmes, Daniel Handler and Mac Barnett. The crowd was filled with giggling librarians and even a few fairy wings! After our breakout sessions at the park, a reception awaited us in the Emerald City. There was even a yellow brick road!…

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Guest Blogger

You Are Not Alone: My Experience at the 2014 ALSC Intitute

| Gesse Stark-Smith|Leave a comment

I returned from Oakland almost a month ago now, but I’m still processing much of what I experienced at the ALSC Institute and still pondering how to implement what I’ve learned in my own work.  As I look back at the conference as a whole, what comes into focus for me are particular moments when I saw the work we do in a new light.  We’re all so busy at our jobs that it can be hard to take a step back to think about the impact our work has and to be intentional about how we want to support our communities.  When I look at the Live Blogging coverage of the institute it seems like a lot of sessions have already been well-covered, so what I want to share with you are little moments that were meaningful for me.  We’re all having breakfast and listening to incredible authors speak…

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Blogger Nina Lindsay

ALSC Institute … Recap Online!

| ALSC Institute|1 Comment

It was a mere two weeks ago that many of us gathered in Oakland CA for the 2014 ALSC Institute.  And thank goodness you all blogged about it! For those that couldn’t come, or missed a crucial session, here’s your chance to catch up online. From the Guerilla Storytime to the closing session, our live bloggers posted throughout the conference from different sessions, and many of you tweeted at #alsc14 …thanks to S. Bryce Kozla for this Storify version. Many of you have provided wrap-ups at your own blogs: Penny Peck reports on the Institute at BayViews, Marge Loch-Wouters gives the low-down on the Instiute vs. ALA Conferences, and you can find reports on their programs from Amy Commers, Sylvia Vardell, Claudia Haines, and Amy Koester.  Who did I miss?  Tell us in the comments below. There’s more to come, as our two Friends of ALSC-sponsored ALSC Institute Scholarship winners will be posting their thoughts soon: Gesse…

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Books

Science Literacy Moments #alsc14

| Karen Choy|2 Comments

“Pretend the window is a screen,” said poet Susan Blackaby at this morning’s #alsc14 session “The Poetry of Science.” People spend so much time with their eyes glued to their electronic devices that they’re liable to miss what’s going on in their environment. Imagine if people gave as much concentration to nature as they give to their computer screens. How many hawks would they see? What other wonders would they encounter? Author Margarita Engle joined today’s panel, discussing how she uses both poetry and her science background to advocate for animal and environment conservation. As a child, Engle said, “No curiosity was too small for concentration.” She made the point that the phrase “the spirit of wonder” is applicable to both science and poetry. Because of this commonality, it’s possible to interest poetry loving kids in science phenomena and give science fans the chance to experiment with language. Poet Janet…

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Institute 2014

Every Day You Do It! #alsc14

| Gesse Stark-Smith|Leave a comment

Andrea Davis Pinkney’s closing session talk was a great end to the ALSC Institute experience.  In addition to giving us a wonderful peek into her creative process, she clearly identified herself as a lover of libraries and librarians.  She called us “Fairy god-librarians!”  (Time to make new business cards?) And, you know what?  We are.  That’s one thing that I will take home from the ALSC Institute: the pleasure of meeting colleagues from around the nation who are incredibly generous, dedicated and brilliant.  I hope this is something that you already know and that you hear on a regular basis, but regardless, please take a moment to recognize how amazing you are.  You work so hard and your work has a huge impact on the children and families in your community.  As Pickney said “Every day you do it!”

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Early Literacy

Aiming for Inclusion Breakout Session at #alsc14

| Gesse Stark-Smith|1 Comment

At tonight’s Breakout Sessions I participated in Aiming for Inclusion in Public Library Early Literacy Programs.  Tess Prendergast and Kelly Clark, of Vancouver Public Library, discussed strategies that they initially used in special programs for children with disabilities, but then found to be very useful and appealing to a group of children with a wide range of abilities.  For example, children with special needs often benefit from getting to re-tell a story in several different ways.   Guess what? So do typically developing children!  They brought up some barriers that families with children who have disabilities may encounter with library programs, such as group size and program pacing, and discussed ways they’d tried to minimize these issues. We got to meet Moe the Mouse and to sing the Pete the Cat song together.  It was really nice to be in a smaller group where everyone was able to participate in the conversation and…

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Books

Friday Highlights @ #alsc14

| Karen Choy|1 Comment

Friday was a whirlwind of excitement, from start to finish–how can you top a day that begins with Breakfast for Bill and ends at Fairyland? It exceeded all expectations! Highlights included: -Gene Luen Yang’s revelation that as a pre-teen, he smuggled home comics in oversized Egyptology library books. He also had an amazing, hilarious–and pretty convincing–theory about how Superman is really Asian. -Rita Williams-Garcia read aloud parts of her childhood diary, which included a prophetic letter to William Morrow (which later became her publisher). -Tim Federle’s astute observation that kids don’t classify books and authors as “GLBT” or “Asian.” To them, “books are books.” -Pam Munoz Ryan said that she personally didn’t become an avid reader until she was in 5th grade. She pointed out that sometimes it just takes some kids a little longer than others and that books enter a person’s life at the right time. -Author Ginger…

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Institute 2014

Taking a moment to rest at #alsc14

| Gesse Stark-Smith|Leave a comment

I have already learned so much at the ALSC Institute and my brain is buzzing with new ideas to take back to my library system.  Thanks to our fabulous presenters I’m thinking about ways to advocate for the importance of the work we do, ways to collaborate with community partners, ways we could better welcome children with special needs into our branches….and so much more!  I know this afternoon will bring even more great new ideas, but sometimes it’s important to take a step back and collect yourself for a moment.  How do you keep yourself feeling energized at conferences?  (Or during your work week?!)  Whether it’s catching up with a colleague over lunch, taking a little walk to explore your surroundings or taking a nap with the stuffed llama in your ALSC gift-bag, I would recommend fitting a little self-care into your conference experience.   It will help prepare your brain for all the…

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