Four days, eight hours of travel, and 4,482 miles later, the #PLA2024 conference ends. I was able to attend this conference because I had the honor of being awarded the PLA conference scholarship for library students. With these funds, I could participate in my first-ever PLA conference. As a #PLA2024 conference scholarship awardee, I was given a year of ALA and PLA membership, paid complete conference registration, and $750 to help pay for the conference expenses. For this year, there were more than 100 award winners. Check out my fellow peers with this link.
Category: PLA 2024
Knowing our value(s) at #PLA2024
If you had asked me just a few years ago, I would never have dreamed I’d be geeking out over sessions on data analysis or communication at the Public Library Association conference this year. This children’s librarian tends to feel the most comfortable in the sunshine-y part of libraries, but the reality is that in these past few years, all librarians have found themselves amid challenges they may never have expected in the past. To me, that means that I need to learn how to place the (perpetually lovely) world of rhymes and readiness amid its (often tricky) wider community context. Digging into disagreement So on the final day of this conference, I attended two sessions: Communicating During Controversy: How to Lead with What You Believe and Data Analysis for Equity and Opportunity: Analytical Frameworks in Action. Each session was led by a panel of experts in their field. There…
Networking at a Table Full of Beads
I am here to attest to the absolute joy and calm that the Boulder Public Library’s Library Lodge brought to so many #pla2024 attendees, particularly the Friendship Bracelet area. A huge thank you goes to the staff who came to Columbus, and to their colleagues back home who kept the library running. Three days of sessions and exhibits is a lot to take in, and knowing this space was here as a respite helped many an attendee regroup and process the ideas and information heard, whether inside our own heads or more often, in conversation with others at the table.
Serving our Youngest Patrons: Two presentations from #PLA2024
For this post, I thought I’d focus on two presentations that use a research-based understanding of early learning to boost learning and build community.
Making Friends at #PLA2024
Wow, what a whirlwind of activity! Attending a conference can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you’re among 7,000 attendees. But fear not, because # PLA2024 is all about fostering connections and friendships. With its diverse range of sessions, exhibit booths, and services, the conference offers numerous opportunities to meet new people and find your conference buddy!
Rocking the How-To Stage at #PLA2024
By my final day at this year’s Public Library Association conference, I had somehow not made it over to the how-to stage, so I was grateful when I checked in for its closing session, called “How to infuse musical magic into your storytime: learn an easy ukulele song.” I’m a children’s librarian who offers storytimes but I’ve never really felt comfortable with an instrument, let alone playing one in front of my storytime families. This is where the format of the how-to stage is genius. Imagine a tiny TED talk: a few rows of chairs and some informal standing tables surround a small stage. The presenter only has 20 minutes to introduce a topic and send their audience home with practical skills we can immediately apply. The idea that I could get through all my musical jitters and learn an instrument in two-thirds of my typical lunch break? Sign me…
Experience the Magic of Ukuleles at #PLA2024
Music is a valuable part of storytime. Singing is one of the Five Principles of Every Child Ready to Read. On the How-To Stage at #PLA2024, Christiana Congelio showed librarians how to play the ukulele to take their storytime songs to the next level.
Supporting Struggling Elementary-Aged Readers using the Science of Reading
Chicago Public Library and San Francisco Public Library staff shared some great insights into the Science of Reading during Wednesday morning’s #PLA2024 session. I had heard of Decodable Books and the Science of Reading, but I didn’t really understand what the excitement was all about until today.