Category: Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger

#alsc26 Attendee Highlight: Q&A with Ariana

| Jen Woo|Leave a comment
A librarian with a beige head covering and dark blue shirt, smiling and looking directly at the viewer.

In my continuing series on tips from random ALSC National Institute attendees, our fourth interview is with ALSC President, Ariana. Here’s her take on 10 rapid fire questions. My goal in this series of “Attendee Highlights” is to interview random ALSC Institute attendees and get their take on conference tips and tricks, including their takeaway from the day. But also, I’m hoping to share other little tid-bits of random answers pertaining to librarianship. My hope is to highlight members who are attending the conference and get their feedback. (Feature image at top of page is courtesy of guest blogger, Jen Woo.) Today’s Conference Blogger is Jen Woo (she/her/hers). Jen is the Family Engagement Coordinator at San Francisco Public Library (the unceded Ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples). With ten years of youth services librarianship, she is most looking forward to the Bill Morris Seminar, meeting folks, sharing ideas and later…

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Guest Blogger

#alsc26 Attendee Highlight: Q&A with Steve

| Jen Woo|Leave a comment
Male with pulled back hair and wearing glasses and Pokemon emblem on polo shirt stands in front of a Pokemon Club vertical flag.

In my continuing series on tips from random ALSC National Institute attendees, our third interview is with Pokémon Club representative, Steve. This is his first ALSC Institute. Here’s his take on 10 rapid fire questions. Find out more about the AASL and ALSC partnership in Pokémon Clubs and how you can get involved. My goal in this series of “Attendee Highlights” is to interview random ALSC Institute attendees and get their take on conference tips and tricks, including their takeaway from the day. But also, I’m hoping to share other little tid-bits of random answers pertaining to librarianship. My hope is to highlight members who are attending the conference and get their feedback. You can read the first interview here. and the second interview here. (Images are courtesy of guest blogger, Jen Woo) Today’s Conference Blogger is Jen Woo (she/her/hers). Jen is the Family Engagement Coordinator at San Francisco Public Library (the…

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Guest Blogger

Manga from the Mouth of Teens at #alsc26

| Amrita D'Arco|Leave a comment

I have a confession to make: I don’t read manga.  I know! As a teen librarian, this seems like a major faux pas. I do my best to read as much as I can, but there’s never enough time. (A problem that we can all relate to!) And as a result, manga has slipped lower and lower on my priority list as I try to keep up with the latest in The Grandest Games trilogy or Sabaa Tahir’s newest book. And this gap in knowledge makes growing and maintaining my manga collection overwhelming at times. When I saw Manga from the Mouth of Teens on the schedule, it was an immediate yes to attending. In this panel, presenter Alicia Abdul shared quotes directly from teens about what they enjoy reading, broke down suggestions by genre for new titles to order, and gave helpful tips for collection maintenance.  Overall, when it…

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Guest Blogger

Sketches from #alsc26

| Guest Contributor|Leave a comment

Sketch # 4 Our guest contributor today is Erica Siskind. Erica loves her job at the Oakland Public Library, in Oakland, California, and recently celebrated 30 years as a Children’s Librarian at the Rockridge Branch. Erica is most excited about making time and space for kids to write, illustrate, and perform their own stories – encouraging them to finish projects and share them with others, which she knows is the hard part! She’s looking forward to picking up tips about conducting joyful learning programs through play. Sketching helps her focus – so if you see her with her sketchbook and you want to be included, act natural, but hold still for just a minute. Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging…

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Guest Blogger

What It’s Like to Be a Special Guest at Buffalo’s Central Library

| Elizabeth Hurtado|Leave a comment

It was about 5:30 p.m., and I was walking down Main Street from the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, heading toward the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library’s Central Library. According to my phone, it was only an eight-minute walk—but after a full day at the ALSC Institute, that short walk felt like a little transition between the conference and whatever the evening had in store.

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Guest Blogger

I’m still learning from Reading Rainbow

| Meredith Bazzoli|Leave a comment

The opening “Big Idea” session set the tone for my entire day. It created a framework that I brought to each of my subsequent sessions. The program featured the co-writers of the book, Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series. Two of those writers, Tony Buttino Sr. and Pam Johnson, Ph.D.,  were a part of the team that created Reading Rainbow. 

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Guest Blogger

Three Resources I’m Bringing Home from ALSC Institute

| Elizabeth Hurtado|Leave a comment

One challenge I gave myself at the ALSC Institute was to find three new resources to bring back to my library; resources that could help us continue our mission at Springdale Public Library: to entertain, inspire, connect, and inform our community. But now that I’m writing for the ALSC Blog, I’m thinking beyond my own library. I’m thinking about your community, too.

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