Category: Our Organizational Support

Work of ALSC Priority Group IV and other items that deal with organizing the members of ALSC and our various projects

Our Organizational Support

Engagement Connections

| Elizabeth Serrano|Leave a comment
ALSC Conversations Image

The ALSC Membership Committee does a wonderful job at connecting members to meaningful engagement opportunities. I’m here to add a few upcoming items to the list! Below are recently announced opportunities for ALSC members to apply for or engage with over the next few days and month. Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award Applications for this grant are being accepted through this Friday, April 22! We’re grateful for our friends over at Simon & Schuster for funding this annual grant that is exclusively available for ALSC members to apply for. If you’ve ever wanted to host an author or illustrator visit, here’s your chance to apply for funding to make it happen! Submit your Committee Volunteer Form Now is the perfect time to submit volunteer forms for a process committee appointment! All of our committee members play a significant role in furthering ALSC’s impact to achieve our vision of building healthy, successful…

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ALA Midwinter 2019

Let’s do better #alacouncil #alamw19

| Amy Steinbauer|10 Comments

It’s a somber time at council this last day of #alamw19 We have been voting over the last few days to make the work of libraries more supportive for civil rights of diverse genders, disabilities, sustainability, and the social justice of fines at libraries, etc. All huge and giant issues for the library and the issues that we see in our daily lives of work.   But, by now you may have heard that there was a violation of the code of conduct at an ALA Council forum on Monday afternoon. If not– check twitter. And this morning– more than 100 people are in this room– sitting in the aftermath of failing a person… and failing ourselves. If we can’t guarantee a safe space to discuss council issues for all people– not just the majority being white persons– I wonder how are we failing in our libraries?   This is…

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ALA Midwinter 2018

Wrapping up my 1st Midwinter #alamw18

| Amy Steinbauer|Leave a comment

And… it’s a wrap! My first Midwinter experience is officially done! It’s been a super quick five days in Denver. I have had some highs– Bill Morris Seminar, talking storytime, attending my first council session, and many more; and some lows– icy streets, SNOW, way overpacked bags.But all in all, it was a wonderful and illuminating experience to attend the infamous Midwinter Conference. My takeaways: ~Midwinter is mostly meetings and there is not much program– but it is a chance to really get to know committees and what they do. There are also lots of OPEN meetings where you can just drop in and hear about a division or round table. ~Attendance is a lot lower at Midwinter– according to Council documents we were about a thousand people less than last year in Atlanta… and while that may be disappointing to vendors, it is a great opportunity to network! You see…

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ALSC Online Courses

Get Involved with ALSC!

| Guest Contributor|Leave a comment

ALSC is a large organization with thousands of members, dozens of committees, and an abundance of projects, programs, and initiatives. Whether you have been a member for years or you are new to the organization, figuring out how to find your own place within ALSC can feel overwhelming. To address this need, the ALSC Education Committee has developed a webinar, Get Involved with ALSC: Navigating Opportunities within the Organization, scheduled for Wednesday, November 8th. The webinar is intended to 1) help members who want to become involved in ALSC but aren’t sure where to start and 2) inform those who want to learn about additional opportunities within ALSC. To maximize the webinar’s relevance to ALSC members, the Education Committee developed the content based on feedback and suggestions provided in a recent survey. Topics include: Communication venues such as the ALSC-L electronic discussion list, social media, community forums, and conference sessions…

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Guest Blogger

How the ALSC Student Gift Membership Program Enlisted 100 New Members

| Guest Contributor|Leave a comment
Photo of open book, reading glasses, and ALSC badge ribbons

Early one morning during ALA Annual 2015, some of the ALSC leadership including Andrew Medlar, Starr Latronica, and Aimee Strittmatter, were pondering the question of how they could grow membership in ALSC. They wondered, “If we offered gift memberships to students, would there be significant interest? What are the motivations for new graduates to join their professional organization?”

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Blogger Nina Lindsay

Open Forum on Diversity, Inclusion, and Our Work, Post-Election

| Nina Lindsay|4 Comments
Because the World Is At Their Fingertips and the World Can Be a Scary Place

It has been a tumultuous week for all of us who work to create a better future for children through libraries. We know, from the responses to the Unity. Kindness. Peace. booklist shared last week that you are stepping up to support your community in the face of violence witnessed or enacted, and in response to fear, trauma, and confusion.  And we know that we as librarians, and as ALSC, have much more to do. Our work as an organization must firmly defend the rights of all children and forge paths to equity for marginalized communities.

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