Today I’m thrilled to share two programs selected by the ALSC Programming Committee for the 2023 ALA Annual Conference! I can’t wait to attend both of these sessions and I hope you will join me!
Category: Professional Development
work of ALSC Priority Group VIII and other items pertaining to professional development of youth services librarians
Manager Mistakes:
and some tips to try to solve them. In my system, a lot of children’s librarians become managers. It makes a lot of sense, as children’s librarians are constantly juggling multiple priorities, have to deal with a high level of work, and are invested and passionate about library work. In fact, I think children’s librarians make great managers for all those reasons (but maybe I am biased)! If you are thinking of becoming a manager or are just starting out in management, check out these classic management mistakes and learn how to avoid them.
Meet Allie Genia – ALSC’s 2023 Emerging Leader
Aanii boozhoo kina wiiyaa, mino giizhigat. Allie Genia ndizhinikaaz. Waganakasing Odawak ndadibendaagwaz, mshiiken ndodem. Nkwejanong ndoojibaa, Virginia ndidaa. Hello everyone, it’s a good day. My name is Allie Genia. I belong to the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, my clan is Turtle. I’m from Lansing, Michigan and I currently live in Northern Virginia. I’m a Children’s Librarian for the DC Public Library at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, and I’m ALSC’s 2023 Emerging Leader! You were selected as one of only forty-six people who will be participating in ALA’s 2023 class of Emerging Leaders. CONGRATULATIONS! How do you hope this opportunity will enhance your work as a librarian? Miigwech, thank you! I’m thrilled to be a part of this cohort. My hope for participating overall is that I’ll be able to build good relationships with other Emerging Leaders and further the profession in a good way….
Happy Birthday, Children and Libraries!
What were you doing 20 years ago? In the spring of 2003? We won’t talk about ages, but,twenty years ago, I was playing Pippi in a touring production of Pippi Longstocking: the Musical. Always a devoted patron of libraries wherever I went, my path to librarianship did not come untillater in life.
Save the Date: Monday, June 26, 2023!
What’s happening in the afternoon on Monday, June 26? We’re so glad you asked! That’s the day Newbery Award-winning author Linda Sue Park; author, co-founder, and CEO of We Need Diverse Books Ellen Oh; and Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng, professor and director, School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University will be gathered in one place for a conversation about the many forms leadership takes in children’s services, kidlit, and beyond. This amazing discussion is one element of current ALSC President Amy Koester’s ALSC President’s Program “Leading with Your Hands and Your Heart: A Conversation about Leading from Wherever You Are” at ALA Annual 2023 in Chicago. We hope you will join us for this interactive program exploring ways to identify and activate leadership skills and areas of potential at all levels of library work.
Want to talk about the Newbery and Caldecott 2023 titles? Join an ALSC YMA Book Chat!
If you, like me, are still riding high on the excitement of the 2023 Youth Media Awards announcements, there’s a good chance you’re feeling an urge to talk about these terrific titles with fellow kidlit enthusiasts. I’m delighted to share that you can now indulge your desire to talk about this year’s Newbery and Caldecott winners and honorees in the company of fellow library workers in an ALSC-led group. That’s right, you can participate in an upcoming ALSC YMA Book Club!
Easy Puppetry From the Shadows
So, coming up this Friday I’m going to be in Ocala for the 2023 TBLC KidsLit MiniCon. For the first time, I’m doing a workshop all about shadow puppetry. Of course, it’s made easy! Moreover, I’m bringing my own brand of shadow puppetry, one that combines many styles and forms of this ancient art. Taking your show on the electronic highway Shadow puppetry enjoys a history that stretches back to time immemorial. Today, we have theability to create, share and present wonderful shadow puppets and entire shows utilizing 3-D printingmethods in person and online. Shadow puppet creation used to take hours of painstaking work withscissors and exacto knives and result in workable but fragile products. The average professional handpuppet today costs upward of $30, while a 3-D printed shadow puppet costs pennies. Here are two (2) I’ve printed: Since most shadow puppet screens/theaters are big rectangles, just zoom in on…
Highly Recommended: Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong
I don’t need to tell you that it is a challenge to match a child with a book they will love on their reading “level”. I don’t need to tell you about the numerous conversations that I’ve had with adult caregivers reassuring them that their child can check out books above or below their reading “level”. Or that they can check out graphic novels or comic books or magazines and still get practice with reading. This practice is frustrating for librarian, child, and caregiver. On the recommendation of an educator, my team recently listened to the Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong podcast by APM Reports. I was shocked to learn that the reading programs that have been just a nuisance to me, are actually harming children. Essentially, a 60-year-old unscientific theory on how children learn to read has been turned into a multi-million dollar industry and it…