It was totally worth it to wake up early to hear Raul Colon, Mike Curato, and Margarita Engle talk about creating books for kids. #alsc18
#act4kids Breakfast for Bill
Category: Institute 2018
#alsc18 Cincinnati – So Much to See and Learn
The city of Cincinnati offers a lot of cool and educational sites for those who visit. If you weren’t able to come to ALSC Institute there are still lots of reason to come visit and things to experience.
The Day I Made a Room of Librarians Dance at #alsc18
I have always loved presenting. I did forensics in high school and was a theatre kid all my life. Standing in front of a crowd of like minded souls (#act4kids) is thrilling, inspiring, and a little intimidating. My journey to presenting at the 2018 ALSC Institute began about a year ago. Today, it was announced that ALSC 2020 will be in Minneapolis. I highly encourage anyone with the inkling of an idea to start thinking about program proposals. It is so worth it. Last September, I submitted a proposal. You basically fill out a long form to flesh out what your program will be about. You write a description and outline, include your bio, and provide some learning objectives for the possible attendees of your program. The committee reviews all proposals and, if selected, you receive a lovely email to confirm your commitment. I jumped for joy, told my friends,…
Grown-ups Are People Too. #alsc18 #act4kids
Do you work with small children and their caregivers? Then this presentation is for you! Julie Crabb from Anythink Libraries showed off her tricks to engaging caregivers and making them WANT to attend your programs. Step 1: Make slight adjustments to what you are currently doing. Can you add in a pop song or one that caregivers will recognize? An excellent suggestion from the audience was that just about every nursery rhyme can be set to the song We Will Rock You. The Jbrary YouTube channel has a great example of All the Little Babies set to the tune of All the Single Ladies. You may ask why to do something like this. Grown-ups will leave your program with ear worms, which will lead to more grown-ups singing in their homes. Step 2-Research your city and events. What’s hot for parents? Does your community offer a coffee story time? How…
Found my **tribe! #alsc18 and #act4kids
ALSC has confirmed my belief that I’ve finally found my **tribe. 400+ children’s librarians in the same place at the same time = (creativity + energy + service) * love. Today, here, among people like me, I’m not a shy wallflower. Please sir, I want some more. **It has been brought to my attention that the word “tribe” is non-inclusive and my use of it may have been hurtful to others. That was certainly not my intent. I was trying to find a single word that conveyed my profound sense of belonging, and words such as “family” and “people” simply do not resonate in that way to me. I’m sorry for hurting anyone’s feelings. In future I will be more careful with my word choices.
A is for Advocacy #alsc18 #act4kids
First, this session was recorded and will be on the ALSC web site at some point. I highly recommend taking an hour to watch it with your staff. Some takeaways that I wrote down from this session include: -Who is not being represented in the books that you share? -When doing outreach to diverse populations, focus on what’s working, rather than what’s broken. Look for sustainable solutions. -Check your pronoun usage in programs, policies, interactions, and when sharing books. -Whose childhood matters? African American children are thought of as more adult than white children at a younger age. This means that people may let a 10 year old white child go for doing something childlike, but not an African American child for the same action. -Know your community. Know your library. Who are the community leaders? Do they visit your library? Why not? -You are a change agent. Connect with…
It’s time for the ALSC Institute! #alsc18 #act4kids
Hundreds of children’s librarians are now in Cincinnati, Ohio for the ALSC 2018 National Institute. Held every other year, this year’s National Institute offers a wide variety of programs, keynotes, vendors, “Big Ideas” sessions and many opportunities to network with other children’s librarians. Are you #leftbehind and wish you knew what was going on at the Institute? We’ve got you covered! Eight participants have agreed to live blog from the Institute. They are: Elizabeth Serrano Evan Kendrick Gretchen Schulz Julie Crabb Kim Engle Lisa Mulvenna Maria Schmitt Mary Schreiber Check back often to see what’s going on in Cincinnati, and don’t forget to follow #alsc18 and #act4kids on social media. This post addresses ALSC Core Competency: VII. Professionalism and Professional Development
The Journey Begins
It’s a beautiful day to travel to Cincinnati from Chicago. Looking forward to going to the ALSC Institute for my first time, and sharing all about it on this blog.