Thursday, February 17, 2011
Friday, August 21, 2009
At this conference, after two years of preliminary activities, the Blue Crab committee that I was on reached it’s final destination; the Blue Crab author talk conference session and presenting the award plaque to the author of the award winning book. It was our turn to invite the fiction authors and Wong Herbert Yee (Mouse and Mole series, Fireman Small series and many others) graciously accepted our invitation and traveled to Ocean City from Detroit, Michigan to receive the award.
Besides my Blue Crab duties, I heard Phyllis Reynolds Naylor receive the Maryland Author Award and give a beautiful and moving speech. She and I both live in Gaithersburg and I think I’ve seen her in the grocery store.
In the general session, Paul Holdengraber told about his amazing, dynamic program series called Live from NYPL in which he interviews a high profile public person or invites one person to interview another with very interesting results. He’s had some amazing match-ups. He aims to give the ‘talent’ a chance to do something different from what they usually do; make it interesting for them and an interesting interaction will follow.
He’s a lover of obituaries and the essay form and mentioned an interesting/odd book I’ve recently read(listened to) called, How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard, which of course we all do all the time to some extent.
His recommendations for programming are to know your distinct community, who they are, what they want, start a collection of customer emails right now and use (sparingly) to announce upcoming events, have one or two big stars at the beginning of a series. Find an artist in residence – one way to give your events an afterlife. Partnering is essential – we can’t do big things alone.
(“Digression is the sunshine of communication’)
Emerging Technologies Librarians – Three staff with this title have been hired in the last year at the Cook Library of Towson University. They presented strategies for launching a successful blog. Their blog, librarytechtalk.wordpress.com was started to acquaint the Cook Library staff with new technologies and how they can be used in the library. They have opened their blog to outside readers, so you can go to the above website to subscribe.
Among their recommendations when starting a blog – make it engaging, interesting, and relevant, fill a need (instruct, inform, educate or entertain), define the scope, know your audience, market, and evaluate.
The Heart of Maryland Libraries Quilt is beautiful! The MCPL square shows the word ‘welcome’ is many languages similar to what you see on the glass entrance to Rockville library. Great job, Carol L., Ginger W., Beth I. and Anne G. Overall the quilt is stunning. It will travel to some upcoming events, visit the contributing libraries and then be on display at MLA headquarters in Baltimore.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
MARYLAND LEARNING LIBRARIES 3.0, 2007-2008
- Shared Vision -- a shared sense of purpose and group commitment
- Personal Mastery -- using one's skills, knowlege and talents or taking responsibility to master the needed skills and talents to support the mission of the library
- Team Learnng -- group of people who are personally committed to work together as a team to accomplish a goal
- Systems Thinking -- Libraries are a system that have many functions and these functions are all interconnected. Changing one function will cause change in another. We have to realize that our decisions and actions will affect each of us in the system.
- Mental Models -- Perceptions or beliefs that we have about the world that affect our decisions and actions
These principles provided us with the necessary tools and skills to develop, promote and implement a year-long project that would improve services to library customers.
Below is a summary of the Project:
The Montgomery Team Project
Carol Legaretta, Project Sponsor
Joe Tucker (Team Leader), Rosemary York, Nancy Chiu Sillcox, Mary Crim, and Catherine Garland
The Mission
Montgomery County has a very diverse population and its libraries serve many new residents with limited English proficiency. We felt that we would serve our recent arrivals better if basic information on education, health and welfare were in one location, accessible on our library website. The translation of our library website and the creation of links to additional resources were seen as a way to accomplish this goal. If this effort proved successful, we would move forward with translations and links in other languages.
The Process
We decided that we would first test the effectiveness of the translation with our Spanish-speaking customers. We looked into several different state/county library systems that serve large Spanish-speaking populations to see how their websites were designed, what information was included and how accurate and effective the Spanish translations were. We met with our stakeholders to map out a strategy. After a couple of meetings with our stakeholders, we decided that the scope of our project was a bit ambitious and that we should concentrate on translating the web page only. We began to look into different translation software programs. And finally, we conducted an exhaustive search for project funding.
The Results
After a few months passed, we discovered that a Spanish translation of the library website, virtually identical in every respect to the English version, had been completed. Furthermore, the translation program that was used was more accurate than previous programs. And while it’s still too early to gauge the effectiveness of the translated website, we expect this tool will play an integral role in promoting greater awareness and inclusiveness among the county’s non-English-speaking residents.
Learning Library Principle
Through trial and error, our team realized that we were experiencing the principle of Team Learning. As we moved forward with our project, we learned who our stakeholders were, what areas of the project we needed help with and how to go about resolving such issues. In the end, we were able to achieve our desired goals by learning, as a team, and discovering the ins and outs of our library system.
LL3.0 included 15 Other County Teams: Allegany, Baltimore City, Enoch Pratt, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Eastern Shore, Frederick, Hartford, Prince Georges, St. Mary's, Southern Maryland Regional, Washington, and Wicomico. In November 2008, we all met to present our projects. The projects covered:
Teen Services
Services for English Language Learners
Outreach and Marketing
Customer Service Philosophy
Strategic Plan Communications
Intranets
Risk-Takers' Network
Interdepartmental Teamwork
Maryland Learning Libraries project, 2007-08 is sponsored by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Library Development & Services (DLDS)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Beth Isaacson’s (Embarrassingly Über-delayed) Report on ALA Annual
Friday 6/27: Slept in.
Lunch with our own Chris Borawski. We discussed a few details re: which sessions to attend. (And I remembered I’d eaten at this restaurant with my family during a family visit back in elementary school!)
4 PM – ALSC Making Connections. This program wasn’t exactly what I hoped for – there was heavy focus on a bingo-like game; we played to “make connections” with one another. I discovered I preferred chatting with others w/o such guidance. That said, once we were through the game, various presenters and a Q&A period gave us great information about what not to miss at ALA, as well as opportunities (aside from the awards committees!) to get involved with ALSC. As a result of session, I modified my plans for the week to include attending part of one of the ALSC Board meetings, a best read panel or two, and the all committee meetings. You’ll notice as I progress that my plans continued to change.
Evening – Former Bookseller Reunion Dinner with a friend and old colleague from Politics & Prose, who’s now a student at UT-Austin library school. w00t!
Saturday 6/28: Began w/ Exhibit Floor, 9-10:15 AM. Aisle after aisle of publishers, service providers, and professional associations; crowds and crowds of people. Overwhelming and invigorating. I would highly recommend planning your exhibit floor exploration as much as you do your session attendance. Have a plan of attack – and be open to whim. (Head’s up: some publishers give away freebies first thing while others release them incrementally. Still others wait until the last day to foist their goods on you so they don’t have to schlep them back. Seven Up: If you plan on mailing back any purchases/galleys/etc., go to the exhibit floor post office earlier than later or be prepared to wait in a loooong(er) line.)
10:30AM -12 PM Bestsellers of a Different Color: Ethnic Writers in America. Heeding advice received before arriving in Anaheim, I jettisoned my original plans (Dewey or Don’t We?) for this panel presentation by six authors. Tracy Brown, Bich Minh Nguyen, Nikki Turner, Yxta Maya Murray, Nina Revoyr, and Wahida Clark shared their experiences as writers, read from and signed copies of their books. While I’d heard of Nguyen (Stealing Buddha’s Dinner), the others were new to me. I particularly glad to get to hear from the three urban lit authors (Brown, Turner, and Clark); each spoke passionately about how the need for books reflecting their own life experience led them to become writers.
(Lunch Tip: If you’re like me and abhor ridiculously long lines and yet insist on eating near the exhibit floor, find a place off the beaten path, at one extreme end of the floor or another. It worked (somewhat) well.)
1:30-3:30 PM - Teens @ Your Branch Library. The panel of teen experts comprised two librarians from Multnomah County (OR) Public Library, one from Cleveland Public Library, and another from Queens PL. The overwhelming word of advice in their discussion was staff training, staff training, staff training. The more we know about teen cognitive and behavioral development, the better we will understand and be able to serve this population. One description that remains with me on this: just as a toddler is fundamentally compelled to push that chair across the room, so is a teen bound by her brain chemistry to behave as she does. They have no choice – we can’t take it personally.
Another gem from this session: teens are living, breathing lie detectors. They have an innate sense of what’s fair and what isn’t. And they can smell fake. In other words, don’t ask a teen to quit any behavior that you wouldn’t ask of ANY other patron (talking on a cell phone, working in a group at a computer, speaking loudly, eating). And be yourself. Model the behavior you want from the youth and don’t be afraid to enforce boundaries. Under all that bluster, these kids need limitations and consequences.
Finally, learn teens’ names in as respectful and normal a way as possible. Names are powerful tools – you can gain a teen’s attention as effectively with the wrong name (used on purpose) as the right.
3-4 PM ALSC Board Meeting – I left the Teens @ Your Library panel early so I could attend a smidgeon of one of the ALSC board meetings. I arrived during ALSC Awards Eligibility Task Force presentation of its final report. This group was appointed by then ALSC president KT Horning after the annual conference in 2006 “to examine existing terms for ALSC award committees concerning publisher and author/illustrator eligibility; to make recommendations to the ALSC Board to clarify and/or change existing terms.” Ultimately, three categories were clarified: Eligibility of Publisher, eligibility of book, and eligibility of Author/Illustrator. It was a fascinating discussion to witness – the approved changes will be incorporated in to the relevant manuals on the ALSC website.
6 PM – Disney/Hyperion Cocktail Party. Thanks Fran Ware’s generosity, I was able to attend a Disney/Hyperion party/book signing held in celebration of Mo Willems’ Caldecott Honor for Knuffle Bunny, Too and his Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal for There is a Bird on Your Head! I spotted Nikki Grimes, Jon Scieszka, Mo (and Trixie!!), and Jon Agee. I also ran into Edie Ching, children’s literature consultant and former librarian of St. Alban’s School and our own Kathie Weinberg.
The serendipitous point of the evening though was meeting Jacqueline Woodson. During my final semester at UMD-CLIS, I wrote a 40-page paper on the Underground Railroad in children’s literature. As part of that paper, I read and evaluated Woodson’s Show Way – a book that manifests many controversial UGRR details for librarians and teachers. I pounced on Ms. Woodson, asking her about the book, how involved she was in the illustration process, and how she responded to critics who say quilt codes weren’t used on the UGRR. She was generous, articulate, friendly, and inspiring. I left feeling I could revisit my paper and set right several pieces I’d been uncomfortable with.
Sunday 6/29: 9-10AM – Visited the exhibit floor post office. The line was tolerable – not nearly as long as I’d seen it the afternoon before nor so long as it became on Monday, the last full day of the conference. Staff help you pack and seal your boxes – if you handle the tape gun, be prepared to have it taken from you!
10:30AM-12PM – Making It New: Innovation in Children’s Book Publishing Past, Present, and Future. DC-area children’s lit consultant and adjunct UMD faculty Maria Salvadore introduced this panel presentation. Leonard Marcus began the session (Publishing Past) with a review of the history of children’s publishing, from the first horn books used in colonial America to establishment of the first children’s room in a library – his most recent book, Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children’s Literature, covers the topic in depth.
The second panelist, George Nicholson, founded Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers and Yearling Books and now works as an agent for children’s writers and illustrators. He described the scope of Publishing Present, referred to Le Guin’s February piece in Harper’s, the disappearance of the mentoring process between editors and writers, the Business of Publishing and the need for writers to be familiar with it in order to succeed, and suggested a change for the industry: namely, to tease literary publishing from commercial publishing.
The presentation concluded with Tim Ditlow, former publisher of Listening Library, who joined Amazon’s Brilliance Audio in January 2008. Ditlow’s view of Publishing’s Future fixed its gaze on the potential of digital media (eBooks and audio downloads). With the development of the G3 network (spurred on in no small part to the iPhone), Ditlow said it’s only a matter of time before we can download an audio book directly to our car/Kindle/iPhone without downloading to a computer first. And lest we should despair the loss of the book as artifact (that bunch of paper bound and covered), he shared the experience he had with his Kindle: mere months after getting the device, Ditlow caught himself while reading on a plane, utterly absorbed in the manuscript he was reading, transported. Regardless of the technology used to present it to us, we will be transported. (And lest we should despair again, he thinks we have a bit of time before this gets too too popular – text books first, once video, 4-color, and audio elements can be included, then commercial publishing.)
1:30-3:30PM – Hey! I Want to Do that Too!: Gaming and the Elementary Age Child. (presented by ALSC’s Children and Technology Committee, which is chaired by the aforementioned Sr. Borawski)
I attended only a mite of this presentation, ultimately sacrificing full attendance to spend the evening with some SoCal family* I don’t see but every few years. I wish I’d been able to stay for more as Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review, promised to be a knowledgeable authority on the topic. (Chris wrote about this presentation in his ALA summary, too.)
(*Yes, this means I also by-passed the chance to hear the Caldecott and Newberry speeches. The ticketed banquet opens to non-banquetty conference goers after diners complete their meals and in time for the acceptance speeches. *scribbling in Important Notes Notebook: Must make a point to attend in the future….*)
Monday 6/30: First task of the morning: drawn like moth to flame (or myself to donuts) by I scurried to the exhibit floor to have Jacqueline Woodson sign a copy of Show Way. (Had I read After Tupac and D Foster yet, I’d have snagged a copy of that, too. If you haven’t yet, I can’t recommend it enough.)
10:30 AM-noon: ALSC awards ceremony and membership meeting. I stumbled across this event last year in DC and made a point to find it again this year. So many other award ceremonies charge to attend, while this one sits quietly in the middle of a Monday morning, ushering in the ALSC membership meeting, and with yummy breakfasty goodies to boot. Mo Willems was hi-larious – he gave an “easy read” acceptance speech – and Peter Sís was equally charming.
I spent the afternoon with my ALA roomie, a classmate from UMD-CLIS, then ran back to our room to get ready for the AIYLA reception.
5:30 PM - AILA Youth Literature Awards Reception. Fangirl that I am, when I saw Sherman Alexie would be awarded the American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I knew I had to be at this reception. The ceremony included a grass dance, jingle dance, and a fancy bustle dance, performed by a 10 year old, a 6 year old and a 5 year old respectively. Alexie and the other winners, Tim Tingle (for Crossing Bok Chitto) and Joseph Medicine Crow (for Counting Coup), each spoke with passion and not a little humor. And ultimately, hands down, this reception was the highlight of the conference for me.
Tuesday 7/1: 7:00 AM – Coretta Scott King Awards Breakfast. I knew from attending this breakfast at ALA last year that this would be a great event. Poets Charles R. Smith, Jr. and Ashley Bryan gave wonderful speeches, with Bryan including the audience in a call-and-response of several of Langston Hughes’s poems. I snuck out early to be sure of catching my flight home and missed Christopher Paul Curtis’s acceptance – aggravating! – I ought to have known better and next year I’ll definitely be sure to schedule my flight home so I can stay for the whole thing.
All in all, the annual conference invigorated me. So many library-loving, service-minded professionals in one place made for an electric and inspiring atmosphere. I’m looking forward to Denver and Chicago in 2009.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Ready@Five Symposium, Children and Science
Annapolis Sheraton
“Children and Science: A Natural Fit”
Jeffrey Winokur and Karen Worth
Center for Science Education
Presenter’s Opening Humor: In a ranking of preschool educational priorities, science education places about ninth behind literacy, math skills, literacy, literacy, literacy, literacy… and finally, down the list…science.
Why Science is Appropriate for Preschoolers: children are naturally curious and exposure to science offers a framework for thinking, talking, figuring out math ideas. Science is engaging. It gives a ‘real’ setting that researchers say is important to learning.
Science inquiry is well-suited to second language learners as entry into science inquiry is through experience and action, not language.
Characteristics of Science for Preschoolers: hands-on, allows for observance of cause and effect, questioning, sensory experiences, takes advantage of natural occurrences, teacher acts as facilitator, exploration of properties, noisy, messy, etc.
Inquiry Diagram delineates the steps of the scientific inquiry cycle, e.g., notice/wonder, focus/observe, plan/predict, observe/record, share/discuss/reflect, ask new questions… and the cycle goes on.
Inquiry develops skills that children will need in their lifetime of learning: raise questions, explore objects, observe, describe, use simple tools, make simple investigations, work collaboratively, share, discuss, learn new perspectives.
Criterion for Appropriate subject matter: draws from preschooler’s real/actual experiences, is developmentally appropriate, can be directly explored (not dinosaurs or planets, e.g.), open to deep exploration over time, builds science concepts.
Some possible subjects to study with preschoolers:
characteristics of living things, needs of living things, life cycles, diversity, habitat.
Applications to library and library programming:
displays of small animals, temporary displays of wild things (“they have to go back outside”) rigid tubes filled with interesting items to observe. And programming that includes science inquiry.
At the symposium, I talked to Connie Wilson, Programming Specialist in Carroll County, who told me about their science programming for preschoolers. They have regular science programs for preschoolers and use kits and ideas from The Vermont Center for the Book and a science related Mother Goose Program. (That Mother Goose is EveryWhere!)
I’d be happy to share any of the Symposium materials, if you’re interested.
Afternoon Meeting with State Library staff (for the first time!)
After the Symposium, in the afternoon, the DLDS staff convened library folks from the symposium at a nearby public library. Louise J. Corwin, the Director of Ready@Five came to this meeting and gave a presentation about their mission and resources in addition to offering these symposia. Check out their website.
Ready@Five is a state-wide, not for profit endeavor that offers no direct services to children but develops materials and programs for parents and educators. They collect and make available state-wide data relating to early education. Their work is in coordination with the Maryland Model of School Readiness.
One interesting statistic: This year, for the first time, we have state-wide longitudinal data comparing the relative school readiness of PreK students and the accomplishments/success of those same children at 3rd grade. It showed that only 1% of the PK students who were not assessed to be “fully prepared” in Pre-K made it to the “advanced” group in 3rd grade.
As the group discussed, the difference for a given student could be as ordinary as the availability and effectiveness of the library/media center services the child receives. (No pressure!)
Library experience ties to the Voluntary State Curriculum.
Examples of their products for teacher/parents/para-educators:
1)Read-Aloud scripts kits developed by Center for Applied Linguistics,
2)Learning Party materials, boxes for play/study that are centered on the 7 domains of learning as set out by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Their materials are available for purchase or download and are being developed in Spanish and other languages.
The rest of this meeting was a discussion of various topics or programs that offered to staff and the public in the counties represented. Some tidbits: MMSR training, Head Start reauthorization mentioned libraries this time for the first time so Ready At Five is preparing to highlight Head Start during Month of the Young Child in 2009, First Card programs, Sharing the Gift program, Peer Coaching wiki in Carroll County, and changes over the past few years in Howard County. Very interesting! Susan Modak
Saturday, August 30, 2008
2008 MLA Annual Conference
of the
Maryland Library Association
May 2008
Ocean City, Maryland
Patricia O’Callaghan
White Oak Library
The Maryland Library Association Conference in Ocean City from 14 to 16 May 2008 was foremost an occasion for librarians to meet and exchange experiences about their work and lives. In particular, the conversations at breakfasts, lunches and dinners engendered a sense of community with colleagues from around the state. They helped increase my understanding of how counties in Maryland articulate, and reinforced my perception of the great natural beauty and diversity of the state.
Professor Pier Forni’s presentation based on his book, “Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct,” was relevant to our interactions with customers. The three workshops I attended on telecommuting, on how different temperaments and personalities can affect the workplace, and on legislation affecting Maryland libraries were intellectually stimulating. A reception at the new Ocean City Free Public Library offered ideas on how libraries can be planned and built for beauty and efficiency.
In all, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the MLA Conference held at a hotel where the staff was friendly and helpful, and adjacent to the ocean which was refreshing and relaxing in springtime.
Monday, July 21, 2008
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 2008 Annual Conference - June 26-30. Anaheim, California
On June 26 - 30, 2008, I (Angelique Simmons) attended the 2008 American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Anaheim, California.
Friday, June 27, 2008
8:30 – 1:00 PM
Careers in Federal Libraries:
This program was presented by members of FAFLRT. As a member of FAFLRT, I wanted to learn, gather tips, and network with federal librarians. Many of the federal librarians I met were based here in the DC Metro Area. There are many options when it comes to working in federal libraries. I was able to hear experiences from six different federal librarians. Even though they all work for the federal government, each person had a unique job, and each job was different from the other. I especially liked the experience of Steven Kerchoff. He is currently an Information Resource Officer with the US Embassy in New Delhi, India. I have always enjoyed traveling and experiencing different cultures. Wouldn’t it be nice to continue my passion as a librarian and also my passion for traveling? That would be a dream job! J
Friday, June 27, 2008
1:30 – 2:00 PM
International Relations Round Table:
As a member of IRRT (International Relations Round Table), I stopped by their table to gather any new information and also to meet fellow members of the round table. I offered to volunteer and welcome international librarians coming from various countries, but their volunteer roster was already full. It was amazing to see librarians from different continents coming to ALA to share, gain and acquire new knowledge and skills.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
8:30 – 10:15 AM
Official Opening of the Exhibits:
I was present as then, ALA President Loriene Roy, cut the ribbon to officially open the exhibits. There were over 2,000 exhibitors present. I was able to make my rounds and walk past many of the exhibits. I also picked up a few ideas and some nice giveaways. I visited the exhibits everyday at ALA.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
10:30 – 12:00 PM
Getting What You’re Worth Salary Negotiation Workshop:
This session was very informative and interactive. We had the opportunity to role play and try to “negotiate” our salary! One of the librarians I was sitting next to mentioned that when she applied for her first job right after graduation, she didn’t negotiate her salary. She had applied at an academic college and just took the offer she was given. Some of her friends, who also recently graduated at the same time as she, negotiated their salary at the same school and started out on a higher scale! They both do the same job, but since one negotiated and the other didn’t, one will make more money in the long run. We were given examples of how much money you “could” have made if you negotiated your salary when offered a job. Some of the key points mentioned were:
1. Be prepared – benchmark salaries – What are you worth?
2. Learn the institutional culture.
3. Learn about the library’s budget.
4. Be calm!
5. Don’t talk yourself out of asking!
6. Anticipate objections.
7. PRACTICE NEGOTIATING
8. Thank the potential employer.
9. When you get an offer – Wait!
10. Share your story with others.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
1:30 – 3:30 PM
Creating Readers Theatre at your Library with Top Quality Children:
The authors M.T. Andersen, Shannon Hale, Linda Sue Park and Eric Rohmann performed an excellent readers theatre from their latest books. Shannon Hale was extremely funny when she performed the character from her book, “Rapunzel’s Revenge”. Having readers theatre is a fun and pleasurable way of sharing stories. It helps to deepen comprehension, increase fluency, develop expression and encourage language appreciation. This also gives older children an opportunity to perform for younger children. Readers theatre builds children’s reading and confidence. It allows them to have the experience of presenting in front of a group. I would love to develop a readers theatre program for children at the library.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
3:00 – 5:00 PM
Diversity & Outreach Fair:
I really enjoyed the Diversity & Outreach Fair. I was able to pick up many handouts and brochures from other libraries across the country. The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County has a program “Amigos de la Biblioteca” which is a tutoring program (affiliated with the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County) which trains high school students to tutor elementary school ESL children once or twice a week in the library. The tutors help children with reading, writing, and general homework needs. Parents and children also have an opportunity to explore the library services and resources available. I thought this was a great collaboration between schools and public libraries. This is similar to the National Dog Therapy Program we have here at Quince Orchard.
Another idea I had picked up from the fair, was from the University of Illnois Urbana – Champaign. In 2005, they began an annual series of library tours in languages other than English. With multilingual volunteer staff, they were able to host library tours in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, and Thai for their international students and for students interested in learning about the library in a foreign language. I thought this was a really neat idea. Montgomery County is so diverse; I know our patrons would be happy if we hosted multilingual library tours. The Diversity & Outreach Fair was very informative and gave me many new ideas!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
4:00 – 5:30 PM
Serving Latino Children and Families through El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros:
Having held my first “El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros Celebration this year, I was very enthusiastic about attending this program and seeing how other libraries held their programs each year. “Dia” was founded by Pat Mora 10 years ago. Every year on or around April 30, Dia brings families together and emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The speakers of this program gave us tips on how to prepare for our Dia celebrations and how to get media and other organizations involved. A Dia celebration does not have to be just Spanish; you can have Dia celebrations celebrating ALL cultures in your area. This gave me an idea for Quince Orchard’s 2nd Annual celebration in 2009. As librarians we are educators and it is our job to inform everyone about the many different resources out there to help people.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
5:30 – 7:00 PM
OPENING GENERAL SESSION:
During the opening general session, 3 librarians Pat Mora, Effie Lee Morris, and Dr. Peggy Sullivan were presented with ALA Honorary Memberships. Verizon Wireless also presented a 1,000,000 dollar check to ALA for gaming. Ron Reagan was the guest speaker for the opening general session. His presentation was informative and kept your attention, but it seemed more like a political campaign then about libraries.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
8:00 – 10:00 AM
PR Forum - Diversity @ your library: Broadening Your Audience and Engaging Communities:
“Using Communications Techniques to Engage Your Communities”. I found this session to be very informative and I was able to take many tips and techniques with me. Why does multicultural communication matter? More ethnics will be moving into the U.S and the business ownership is becoming more minorities and women.
1. Check Your Assumptions @ the door. – Begin with yourself.
2. Understand the cultural context of your audience – Do your homework.
3. Invest Before You Request: Create community centered partnerships – treat leaders, organizations and community members as partners with whom you wish to engage, learn about the community needs and assets, and stay in touch.
4. Build Authentic Relationships: Maintain a Long-Term Perspective – Go to the community, work with trusted allies, don’t become a one-hit wonder, and become an ally. Collaboration – work with others in the community
5. Build Shared Ownership: - Engage don’t just involve, make sure there are seats @ the library.
6. Walk Your Talk – Lead by Example: acknowledge the reality of your organization, do what you say you believe others should do, deliver on your promises.
7. Relate, Don’t Translate: Place communication and creative into cultural context – determine if existing creative message, frame, copy, imagery works for the audience based on cultural context, relate the existing concept to the needs of your priority audience, establish clear translation protocols, and don’t forget to implement.
8. Anticipate Change: - Be Prepared to Succeed – recognize that your process and approach to the work may change, continue to build infrastructure to support multicultural success.
9. Build upon these 8 strengths by inviting patrons from diverse backgrounds to advance their vision for their community by investing in their library as a partner, advocate, donor or volunteer. If you distribute for them, they should distribute for you. Make connections with those in your community and build meaningful relationships.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
10:30 – 12:00 PM
Prime Time Family Reading Time: Bilingual Programs Expand Nationally:
Prime Time and Bilingual Prime Time provides a unique 6-8 week program of reading, discussion and storytelling. In the 90-minute session, a storyteller demonstrates read-aloud techniques and then discusses the readings. The books/discussions are based on humanity themes such as: fairness, greed and dreams. This program brings families together for “prime-time” family reading. I loved how they said at the end; the librarian would give a “5-minute” commercial about upcoming library events. Their target audience was to bring in those under-served and under-privileged. Another goal of the program was to successfully train students and parents to bond, encourage book discussion and discuss issues.
Families who were apart of the program were more apt to come to the library on a regular basis and felt more comfortable and familiar with staff members. We should all embrace any chance we get to offer bilingual programs. As I mentioned from the diversity program I had attended that morning, our country is becoming more diverse by the minute.
This program motivated me to try and see if I could visit all of Quince Orchard’s 10 elementary schools in our area and promote our library services to their ESOL PTA groups. I had previously visited Diamond Elementary School this past March and the ESOL parents were very excited about the library and all the services and resources we could provide them.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
1:30 – 3:30 PM
Programming Your Way Through Dewey: Insects, Dinosaurs, and Gross Biology @ Your Library:
The authors in this program, Kelly Milner Halls and Nic Bishop, were very enthusiastic and very informative. Kelly was very funny and likes to write quirky nonfiction titles. Everyone has that secret yearning for something gross and kids are so remarkable and they need a connection. I liked how Nic Bishop took his time to take remarkable up-close pictures for his books. His stories on how he tries to get the picture shot were just amazing; that someone would take all this time out just to get the “perfect” shot. I thought this was just remarkable. This program was packed to capacity. All the presenters were remarkable and showed many ways to get those kids interested in nonfiction titles. They also mentioned highlighting certain parts of the collection so that children can easily find the books better.
When I was a school media coordinator, I had purchased these shelf dividers to highlight favorite parts of the collection for kids. The company liked how I purchased these easy to read shelf dividers for my entire library, so they came and took pictures of the library and me and it’s still used to advertise their product on their website. http://www.libraryskills.com/
Sunday, June 29, 2008
4:00 – 5:30 PM
Alphabet Soup? Librarians in the European Union:
Having lived in Europe before and traveled back on a few occasions, I thought this program would be of interest to see how libraries in Europe are. During my trip to Greece last April 2007, I not once saw a library nor heard my family members (who live in Greece) speak of the library. Libraries in Europe operate with “some” similarity to US libraries. European patrons are not able to check out as many books and they have more “rules”. It is difficult for all public libraries in Europe to work together because there are many languages and many cultures to take into consideration.
Similar to other libraries from various cultures they do have professional library associations you can join and hold various conferences throughout the year. IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) holds conferences every year to bring international librarians together to learn, gain and acquire skills and knowledge. This year’s conference will be held in Quebec, Canada, which is a very beautiful city. Next year’s conference (2009) will be held in Italy and I am making plans to attend this international conference.
One thing that you could see from all the libraries in various countries and the US is that they are ALL striving for the same goal. You can meet a librarian from any country and you will be able to share so many ideas and gain so much knowledge from each. Everyone has experiences and stories to share. When I travel to Greece next year to visit my family, I am definitely going to look up and go to the nearest library.
Monday, June 30, 2008
8:00 – 10:00 AM
Mexican Libraries: Socially Shaped Institutions:
I love to hear about how libraries are in other countries, so as my last program of ALA, I decided to come to this one. Dr. Lau first presented the overall history of how libraries began in Mexico. The first book to arrive to Mexico from Europe was the year 1511. In 1539 their first printing press was established. 1555 was the year of their first published book, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y Mexicana by Alonso de Molina. 1788 marked the opening of their first public library.
Mexico has 10 schools that offer library science degrees on campus, 2 schools that offer web-based study and 1 school offers archives studies. They have 10 professional library associations that librarians can join. They also hold special and general library conferences each year. They also hold several international book fairs each year.
After this session ended, I went back to the hotel and packed and got ready to leave for LAX Airport. My time in California was very rewarding and I was able to take with me many new ideas, thoughts and not to mention a suitcase full of “extra” things. No wonder everyone was at the Post Office located behind the exhibits mailing things home. I had looked at them like they were crazy, well guess not anymore. There I was walking in the airport after I checked my baggage, (which I had to take out 20lbs worth of “extra”) and because of the weight of my two shoulder bags I fell right out in the middle of LAX. I bet those security guys are having fun hitting “replay”. I left LAX Monday at 6:00 PM and got back to Dulles Airport, Tuesday morning at 5:12 AM!
Overall I really loved my ALA experience in California. I learned so many new things and got to meet some really cool and innovative librarians from all parts of the US and various countries around the world. There were so many programs/sessions to attend, I found it hard trying to narrow down my programs. I just only wish I could have stayed for the entire duration of the conference; maybe next year in Chicago! See you in the windy city!