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.
I’m still learning from Reading Rainbow
The opening “Big Idea” session set the tone for my entire day. It created a framework that I brought to each of my subsequent sessions. The program featured the co-writers of the book, Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series. Two of those writers, Tony Buttino Sr. and Pam Johnson, Ph.D., were a part of the team that created Reading Rainbow.
Three Resources I’m Bringing Home from ALSC Institute
One challenge I gave myself at the ALSC Institute was to find three new resources to bring back to my library; resources that could help us continue our mission at Springdale Public Library: to entertain, inspire, connect, and inform our community. But now that I’m writing for the ALSC Blog, I’m thinking beyond my own library. I’m thinking about your community, too.
A little of this, a little of that at #alsc26
At the end of a long day of attending conference sessions, my mind is swimming with ideas; being at the ALSC National Institute is exciting, but it can also be overstimulating. In the quiet of my room, I look over my notes, scan my photos, and look through the variety of flyers I have accumulated over the course of the day. Reflecting on the day, I ask myself what did I learn about that I actually plan to bring back to my library? Did something I hear about spark an idea for an entirely new program? Was there a session that helped me to understand issues I’m grappling with or want to pursue as part of my professional development? Was I able to network with people that are working on the same kinds of new ideas that I am? All of these are things that can happen during the ALSC…
Welcome to Buffalo and ALSC National Institute!
Greetings from Buffalo, the location of this year’s Morris Seminar and National Institute–yay, #alsc26! Outside, it’s a little wet and overcast but inside, it’s a-buzz with talk about books for youth and innovative ways to serve them. This Institute’s theme is “Play. Learn. Connect.” And it’s happening all around me. We connect at home with our library patrons and colleagues. Here it’s about meeting up with librarians from around the country to boost our energy and go home with new ideas whether it’s for how to reorganize your collection by genres, work against book bans, or promote play as a vital tool for learning.
Escape (Room) Your Book Club at #alsc26
This afternoon was full of play at #alsc26 as I learned how to transform my book club into an engaging tabletop escape room for teens and tweens!
Sketches from #alsc26
Sketch # 3 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…