Visiting the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library’s Central Library was an #alsc26 highlight. There were mocktails. There were sweet treats! There were opportunities to tour—and learn from—the teen space, children’s room, maker space, and recording studios. Since we’re heading into Banned Books Week, my favorite experience was a visit to the library’s Mark Twain Room, home of the original handwritten manuscript of the continuously challenged Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The library’s rare books curator shared stories of Twain’s time in the city and the excitement of how a once-forgotten part of the manuscript was found. In anticipation of our visit, she prepared a “Baby’s First Banned Book” exhibit that featured children’s versions of the novel, which included comics and coloring books created in the late 19th and 20th centuries. She noted that, in these titles, “the racist language has been removed and the sharp edges have been softened” and,…
#alsc26 Being a Social Manager Influencer (Middle Manager)
In 1941, the “middle manager” was born. Well, at the very least, there was a defining name for the challenging work of being in the middle, between administration, policy makers, and a team of staff who do the frontline work in the Library. Merriam-Webster defines middle management as: management personnel intermediate between operational supervisors and policymaking administrators. Attending Leading from the Middle: Building Consensus Through Influence, Not Authority, by Kristin Williamson and Emily Williams, resulted in three personal reactions: With entertaining gifs portraying middle management (similar to but more awesome than these gifs), Williamson and Williams challenged future middle managers, current middle managers, and soon-to-be-retired middle managers in the room to make five commitments. I invite you to be my accountability partner in building positive relations at the Library by: Not a middle manager? Never fear! You too can have a positive impact on your workplace community and be known…
#alsc26 Attendee Highlight: Q&A with Ariana
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…
Final Thoughts from #alsc26!
I came into #alsc26 with a very short list of things that I wanted to accomplish:
#alsc26 Attendee Highlight: Q&A with Steve
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…
Manga from the Mouth of Teens at #alsc26
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…
Sketches from #alsc26
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…
What It’s Like to Be a Special Guest at Buffalo’s Central Library
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.