In their recent book Your Name is a Song, author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrator Luis Uribe tell the story of a young girl who is saddened by her teacher’s (and classmates’) inability to pronounce her name correctly. Eventually, the girl’s mother helps her to see the musicality in her and others’ names, empowering the girl to speak up and stand up for the beauty of her own name, but one does hope the teacher in the book will do things differently going forward to create a more inclusive classroom community. As adults working with children, we should not put the young people we work with in such uncomfortable situations. As a whole, the librarian and teacher professions are overwhelmingly white. And while we all agree that the children in our classrooms and programs deserve to be seen, heard and respected, we may spend more time worrying about curriculum, or finger…
Tag: EDI
How to Avoid Being #ALALeftBehind
In the past, if you were one of those poor, unfortunate souls watching on social media as friends enjoyed an ALA conference in some exotic locale (not counting the times Midwinter was in Boston, Chicago, or Philadelphia), you may have lamented being #ALALeftBehind. As someone who suffers greatly from FOMO, I have felt the sting myself. How many books did I miss out on getting signed in the exhibits? How many conversations while waiting in an obscenely long line for coffee? How many amazing sessions? It can be pretty discouraging! Luckily, the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation is working to “create an online networking and resource space for the three Youth Divisions to engage around EDI-related topics” (quote taken from committee charge). So while we can’t send you signed books, and you will have to provide your own caffeinated beverage of choice, we will soon have an online…
Long (Inter) Division
Besides having the longest committee name in ALSC, the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation has an important task: to foster partnerships between library workers in all types of library agencies. Consisting of members from all three of ALA’s youth-serving divisions (AASL, ALSC, and YALSA), the Interdivisional Committee’s unique make-up is ideal for the collaborative work we do. This year, the Interdivisional Committee has received our charge from the AASL, ALSC and YALSA Presidents-Elect. We are to develop a shared online space for the three divisions to share the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) work done by our members. Ideally, this will be a resource clearinghouse where library staff serving youth in school and public libraries can network and brainstorm together around EDI topics and best practices. While I personally can’t wait to get to work on this project with the members of the Interdivisional Committee, I recognize that…
Noteworthy ALSC Booklist Committees!
Today I would like to highlight the work of several committees whose work is used on a daily basis by ALSC members, parents, teachers, librarians, and many others looking for excellent book recommendations. ALSC booklists help fulfill our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by highlighting books that feature children in our communities and our lives.
Looking Ahead – to Summer: ALA Annual, Leadership Development, and EDI Work
Spring is here in full bloom and summer is just around the corner. When many of you think of summer, I’m sure you begin to get excited about all the wonderful programs, outreach activities, and events that you’ve planned as part of your library’s summer reading or summer learning programs. The opportunity to engage with diverse children and their families during these events is indeed something to look forward to! Another exciting event this summer is the ALA Annual Conference and the potential for networking, professional development, and celebrating award-winning children’s media. 2019 ALA Annual in Washington DC – Happenings and General Information Annual Conference will be held June 20-25th 2019 in Washington, DC, are you attending? There will be a variety of opportunities for attendees to attend educational programs, free awards ceremonies (such as the 2019 Pura Belpré Award Celebración and the 2019 ALSC Awards Presentation of the Batchelder,…