I have been a Teen Services Librarian for over 15 years, and a member of YALSA for 13 years. Recently I decided to expand my youth services knowledge and joined ALSC. I have found the resources in ALSC to be helpful in my professional growth. In honor of ALSC and YALSA’s reunification, here are three amazing resources available to ALSC members that have helped me as a Teen Librarian! Online Course and Webinars Just like YALSA, ALSC offers exclusive free access to webinars and online courses. While the content of these recordings are more focused on children’s services, there are many that are relevant to teen services as well. Webinars I found helpful include Training Frontline Staff to Deal with Book Challenges Effectively and Out-of-School Time: How to Plan STEAM Programming in Your Library. Notable Children’s Book List and Recommended Book Lists ALSC’s Notable Children’s Books is a curated list…
Category: Webinars
So You Want to Co-Chair an ALSC Committee
One of the most rewarding aspects of my time as an ALSC member has been the opportunity to serve as committee co-chair. I have served as co-chair of what was once the Public Awareness Committee, then stayed on as the committee merged with Advocacy, now known as the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee. I am now in my second year as co-chair of the Membership Committee. Committee chairing is not for everyone. You can get so much out of ALSC membership without stepping into a leadership position. Webinars, We Are ALSC chats, and committee work are all incredibly beneficial. For those interested, here are some things I have gotten out of my time as co-chair. Co-chairing a committee is a great way to gain professional leadership experience. When applying for my current management position, I was able to use my ALSC experience to prove my leadership abilities. Duties such as…
Professional Development: Making Your Fall Plans
Summer Reading may be winding down at your library as we move into the last month of the season – so now it’s time to look forward to your fall plans! Is Professional Development a part of them? eLearning and professional development resources are integral to ALSC – here is what we’ll be offering this fall, as well as other eLearning resources to explore!
Building Literacy in Every Library: How to Develop Fun Programs that Support Reading for School-Age Children
The School-Age Programs and Services Committee proudly presents our upcoming webinar series intended to give you information and creative methods to support the early readers in your lives!
Honoring Infancy: Upcoming Webinars!
In April and May, the Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee will be hosting a series of free webinars on the topic of working with infants in the library. Here’s what’s coming: The first is Honoring Infancy: Growing the Garden – Nurturing a Play and Early Learning Space on Tuesday, April 14th at 3:00 PM Eastern. “Let’s Do It” you proclaim. As a youth professional you have established the importance of play. But how do you get there and create a space supported by the library and your community? Join Mike Rogalla and Tori Ogawa from ALSC’s Early Childhood Programs & Services committee as we explore library play and learning spaces for the youngest of patrons. Whether you’re working with a small budget or looking to redesign your space you can create a play and learning space. Register here. Next, we will offer Honoring Infancy: Libraries Welcoming Babies on Thursday,…
Cookies and Conversation: Early Childhood Programming
On Sunday, June 23 at ALA Annual, ALSC’s Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee (ECPS) hosted a Cookies and Conversation chat in the Networking Uncommons. The goal of this chat was to hear from children’s librarians across the country about what support they would like from ECPS in order to help ECPS plan their next project. We highlight a handful below, but check out the ALSC Connect page for the full set of topics covered.
Early Childhood Expertise Beyond Libraryland: Upcoming Webinars!
Starting next month, the Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee will be hosting a series of free webinars presented by experts outside of the library world. The webinar topics were selected based on your feedback from our survey last fall. The first is “Early Childhood Expertise Beyond Libraryland: Spaces & Behavior Management” on Thursday, December 6th at 3:00 p.m. EST. Education Consultant, Tommaso Lana will talk about sensory experiences, behavior management and programming environment set up; about ways to improve your room setups to create a more welcoming, engaging, and inclusive environment; and how to relate to either one over-excited or upset child or a room full of them — without completely interrupting your regularly scheduled programming. Click here to register! On Tuesday, February 26th at 1:00 p.m. EST, Dr. Michelle H. Martin will provide attendees with strategies for using children’s literature to engage readers of all ages with questions of…
Advocacy Resources: Helping You Tell Your Library’s Story
Midterm elections are right around the corner. For many of us, that means library advocacy is at the forefront of our minds. The ALSC Advocacy and Legislation Committee wants to make sure that you feel empowered and informed so you can advocate for yourself, your library, and the children and families you serve. Yes, it can seem daunting. But advocacy is something we library folk already excel at: sharing information and building relationships. Advocacy is all about helping your patrons and elected officials better understand your library’s role and value to community. But how do you start organizing all of that information? How do you tell your library’s story in a clear, engaging way? There are so many wonderful resources available to help you get started. However, it can feel overwhelming to slog through everything to find what you need. ALA’s Everyday Advocacy focuses specifically on library services to youth…