2012 ALSC National Institute - Reflections

After attending PLA 10 years ago, I finally made it to another national conference - ALSC's 2012 National Institute. Even though I hope to retire in a couple of years, I'm still interested learning more about my profession and in finding ways to improve as a youth services librarian. So I took advantage of my part-time status to take a week off to visit family and attend the Institute.

Since I was attending on my own time and my own dime, I chose programs that I was interested in rather than those which would be helpful to my library (OK, I did attend one program simply to bring back information for my library.) For example, I know little about copyright so I attended "Quick and Easy Copyright." I love picture book art but know little about graphic novels so I attended "Viewing the Picturebook and the Graphic Novel as Sequential Art." There were other programs I would have loved to attend but there were conflicts. (It seems to be a law of conferences that all the programs you want to attend will meet at exactly the same time.)

The best part of the Institute for me was hearing the authors talk about their art - words and pictures. Every single one was fantastic. I do not collect autographs but I value authors as artists. It was such a pleasure to hear them speak. They were entertaining, inspiring and thoughtful.

I learned to deal with technology on the road. I even managed to get a couple of blog posts up using Blogsy. I missed my full-sized keyboard very much. I can type so much faster on it. The younger librarians were definitely way ahead of me - I was very impressed with the tweets and live blogging that went on during the programs.

It's always nice to meet librarians from around the country but I was particularly impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of the younger librarians I met. It's nice to know that the future is in good hands.

In a couple of years I may be leaving my job but I won't be leaving the profession. I'm looking forward to seeing how youth services librarians meet the challenges of the future. I will probably be retired when the 2014 ALSC National Institute takes place but that doesn't rule out my attending.

Road Trip - PA Turnpike

Day 3 - 2012 ALSC National Institute

"Quick and Easy Copyright" Professor Tomas Lipinski, Indiana University School of Library and Information Science, presented an overview of coyright law and how it affects libraries. The group attending this program was small so we were able to have an interesting discussion about copyright issues. This turned out to be my favorite Institute program probably because it was a small group and definitely because Dr. Lipinski not only made a complicated subject understandable but his genuine interest in helping libaries and librarians in this area was clearly evident.

"Closing General Session: Exploring Nonfiction though Authors and Illustrators" This panel discussion by three very different authors of non-fiction books for children was excellent. Bryan Collier, Doreen Rappaport, and April Pulley Sayre not only talked about how they research and write their books but also about why they write non-fiction.

Notes: The Institute ended Saturday (Day 3) so these comments are a bit late. I had hopes of posting Saturday evening but it was not to be. Sunday was my big travel day (8 hours) and I was very tired when I got home so again blogging was not going to happen.

Day 2 - 2012 ALSC National Institute

"Breakfast for Bill: Caldecott Celebration" This event honors the memory of William C. Morris, the first recipient of the ALSC Distinguished Service Award. This year's event celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal. A panel of past medal/honor winners talked about their reactions to winning. Kevin Henkes, Denise Fleming, and Eric Rohmann were joined by Ben Sapp of the Mazza Museum of International Art from Piicture Books who talked about the museum's collection of original art. Because it was the Caldecott's 75th, Ms. Fleming brought birthday hats for the panel and moderator Floyd Dickman to wear.

"What Difference Does It Make? The Impact of Early Literacy Training on Youth Services Staff" The Hedberg Public Library (Janesville, WI) demonstrated how effective their early literacy workshop was in showing staff how to integrate literacy tips for parents into their programs.

"Planning for Excellence: Developing Best Practices for Youth Services" Celia Huffman of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library emphasized the importance of planning programs that keep the library's mission and, more importantly, the community's needs in mind.

"Author Luncheon with Gary Paulsen" Mr. Paulsen was humorous but his talk was far from light entertainment as he told us about his journey to become the writer he is today.

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Day 1 - 2012 ALSC National Institute

After a brief welcome the programs began.

"It's All About the Money: Corporate Partnerships in Children's Programming" Cheryl Lee of the Palo Alto City Library emphasized the importance of building relationships with donors and of keeping detailed contact lists.

"Viewing the Picture Book and the Graphic Novel as Sequential Art" The focus of this presentation by Erin Reilly-Sanders of Ohio State University was on looking at graphic novels and picture books as art rather than literature.

Author Peter Brown was the keynote speaker. He gave us insights into his creative work with a very entertaining presentation. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak - go!

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Indianapolis

After a nice visit with my uncle in Ohio, I left today for Indianapolis to attend the 2012 ALSC National Institute. I attended the ALSC happy hour at a nearby restaurant, joining a group of librarians from Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library on the way. (Thank you for letting me tag along!) It was fun meeting youth services people from around the country and I'm looking forward to tomorrow when the Institute officially starts!

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Road Trip - Family and ALSC

Last year I took a trip on my own to Ohio to visit my uncle. The visit had special meaning since my dad had died a little more than a year before. We had hoped to get the brothers together for a visit but my dad became too ill before that could be arranged. Since my uncle is not in the best of health, I decided to go visit him. I spent a lovely long weekend with him and found out that he had become the family historian. I learned a few things about my grandfather that were quite surprising. In his youth my grandfather was evidently very much the opposite of the quiet, gentle man that I knew growing up.

I had hoped to go back to Ohio this spring but life got in the way. Then I happened to notice that the 2012 ALSC National Institute is going to be in Indianapolis this year. Road trip! I will drive to Ohio to visit my uncle, continue on to the Institute and then make a short stop back in Ohio on the way home to New Jersey.

I'm usually very picky about the conferences and programs that I attend. Since I am a children's librarian, I like programs that focus on youth services. New Jersey has a Youth Services Forum every year. It is a one day program and covers topics of current interest to youth services librarians. It is probably the one conference I have attended most often over the years. The ALSC Institute has a similar focus only on the national level. Now that I am part-time, I have the freedom to take off to attend the Institute. (If I were full-time, I would be doing storytime that week.) I'm looking forward to meeting with librarians from around the country and to attending the scheduled programs and events.

Although I usually blog about storytime ideas, I intend to blog about my experiences attending the Institute. I am going to try some mobile blogging as well so readers may be subjected to views of the Pennsylvania Turnpike since that will take up a large chunk of the trip. It shall be interesting to see if this senior citizen librarian can deal with technology on the road. I'll be bringing these as back-up: