My first post started with the opening session and ended with the prediction that “it goes by so quickly!” That proved to be true. I’m writing this from the line (and then seat) for the closing session. My highlights from the past few days were the “Making an Impact: A Spotlight on Scholastic Picture Books” luncheon and the Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy dinner – and not just because I love food! At the first, it was fascinating to learn about the making of On the Tip of a Wave: How Ai Weiwei’s Art Is Changing the Tide by Joanna Ho and Cátia Chien (pictured below). I’m sad to say it doesn’t come out until 10/31, but still – mark your calendars. It is an impactful and relevant (not to mention beautifully and artfully crafted) book and one of my favorites from the entire conference. Another book discussed was I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest…
Category: Live Blogging
StoryTeen at Brooklyn Public Library #alaac23
On Sunday afternoon, Karen Keys, Rachel G. Payne, and Jessica Ralli from the Brooklyn Public Library shared their experiences with StoryTeen, a teen internship program focusing on early childhood education.
Some Final Thoughts from #alaac23
It’s hard to believe that we’ve wrapped up another annual conference. While some are already looking forward to LibLearnX in January 2024 or even next year’s annual conference in San Diego, I’m still trying to digest everything from the last five days. With so many opportunities for learning and connection, how can I even start to summarize them? There are tons of wonderful posts here on the blog recapping some of the great sessions this year. So, I’ll leave you with some final lessons from this year’s conference. Download all the conference slides and handouts you can. Download EVERYTHING. For sessions that you attended, it’s a great way to supplement notes that you took or remember key resources from the presentation. In addition, download content that interests you from sessions you didn’t go to. You might get ideas from these resources. Even better, you’ll likely have contact information for the…
Learning Session on Fighting Misinformation at #alaac23
After a full day in the Library Marketplace on Saturday, I started Sunday with a session, “Birds Aren’t Real: How Students Can Work Against Misinformation” by Robbie Barber, an electrical engineer turned teacher librarian from Georgia. She shared how this satirical conspiracy theory came to be, and how we can use it to teach our students to be wiser consumers of information. (Dr. Barber shared her slides here: https://tinyurl.com/BirdsALA23.)
Creating Welcoming Spaces at #alaac23
Immigrant and refugee communities are a large portion of our communities and our libraries. But are we doing everything we can to make our libraries a welcoming environment for those families? Sarah Polen and Jacquie Kociubuk outlined actionable strategies for libraries in their session Welcoming Spaces: Creating Welcoming Environments for Immigrant and Refugee Families.
Leading Wholeheartedly at #alaac23
This year’s ALSC’s president’s program was all about wholehearted leadership. The session, entitled Leading with Your Hands and Your Heart: A Conversation about Leading from Wherever You Are, was AMAZING. The panelist discussion featured Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng, Ellen Oh, and Linda Sue Park, with conversation expertly guided by Amy Koester. Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng Dr. Jeng spoke about the power of leadership even in invisibility. While many of us feel invisible, often these are the moments where we have the greatest potential to impact change. Some key thoughts: Ellen Oh Ellen Oh spoke about the power of problem solving as a path to leadership. Looking for ways to find solutions often leads us in new directions. Some key thoughts: Linda Sue Park Linda Sue Park spoke about the power of leadership from the role of an everyday worker. We don’t have to be queen bees in order to enact…
New Ideas from Poster Session at #alaac2023
This was my fourth Annual ALA Conference, but my first time attending a Poster Session at #alaac2023. This year, I had a colleague who was presenting a poster, and I am so glad that I discovered the poster sessions.
Chatgpt at #alaac2023
On Saturday, I attended the Core Top Technology Trends where a panel of experts discussed ChatGPT in particular and AI in general as they examine how these emerging technologies impact the LIS field. I don’t attend many sessions that aren’t child based and it was interesting to learn about ChatGPT from varying lenses. There was a lot of discussion on how AI has actually been around for a while (hello Google), but is just changing from and how individual institutions need to determine their policies for working with chatGPT and AI. One thing I realized from this session was that I should actually spend some time playing around with chatGPT and see how it worked, instead of just hearing about it. So, my library is currently in a trial on Librari and I decided to ask some questions. Here’s an example using the basic ALSC: What is ALSC?The Association for…