ALSC Institute 2024

Reflections on Program Challenges Post-ALSC Institute #alsc2024

This blog post is about my experience with program challenges, book challenges, and how I responded to these things personally and professionally. Before I start, I know that many other libraries are facing similar challenges, threats of violence, and legislative action, which leads to burnout, trauma, and leaving the field all together. We all know this is happening, so I want to provide some resources before I begin:

ALA Annual 2022

Comics Challenges with the #GNCRT at #ALAAC2022

I started my #ALAAC2022 experience with the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table’s (#GNCRT) Friday Forum which focused on Comics Challenges. Taking place from 11-3, there were three unique panels comprised of creators, publishers, and librarians. The first panel (which, full disclosure, I also moderated) was about challenges among award-winning books. The second panel focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion in comics. The forum ended with a panel about concrete tips on how to address comics challenges.

Blogger Intellectual Freedom Committee

Respect

Respect is a theme that kept popping up in my recent reading. I’m catching up on some middle-school fiction and dealing with demeaning, diminishing and disrespectful behavior from peers and adults is a motif that recurs over and over. Of course, it’s an issue that persists into the adult world. How people communicate on social media and in the comments section in traditional media has gotten lots of attention recently.  Freedom of speech is easier to love if the speech isn’t directed at you.