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The ALSC Board of Directors and ALSC President Andrew Medlar will be hosting an ALSC Community Forum live chat on the topic of summer reading & learning. This forum will include a live text discussion with the newly appointed ALSC Summer Reading & Learning Task Force.

Join us to discuss how libraries across the country are finding new and engaging ways to keep kids reading and learning in their communities and explore ways in which ALSC can help assist members in their work.

ALSC’s next forum will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at:

• 2pm Eastern
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Members are invited to check out the National Summer Learning Association’s new Summer Learning Policy Snapshot in preparation for this discussion.

Accessing the Forum

ALSC Community Forums take place on Adobe Connect. A few days prior to the event, ALSC members will receive an email with a URL link to the forum. You can also find a direct link to the forum from the Community Forum site (member login required). A recorded webcast of the forum will be available after the live session has completed.

Participate via Twitter

Members who cannot participate in the live chat can participate via Twitter using the hashtag #alscforum. Questions and answers will be submitted to the forum as time allows.

Questions? Contact ALSC Membership and Marketing Manager, Dan Bostrom or by phone, 800-545-2433 ext 2164.

The post Join the ALSC Community Forum on Summer Reading & Learning appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The topic of the next forum is the newly revised ALSC Core Competencies (photo courtesy of ALSC)

The ALSC Board of Directors and ALSC President Andrew Medlar will be hosting an ALSC Community Forum live chat on the freshly updated ALSC Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries.

Join us to discover how these recommended professional standards, newly revised to reflect our ever-evolving field while honoring our best traditions, can support you and your colleagues in providing the best service possible to the kids in your community. This event will be co-hosted by the ALSC Education Committee.

ALSC’s next forum will be held on Monday, November 9, 2015 at:

• 2pm Eastern
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Members are invited to logon to learn more about the revised competencies and to discuss their implications on the field.

Accessing the Forum

ALSC Community Forums take place on Adobe Connect. A few days prior to the event, ALSC members will receive an email with a URL link to the forum. You can also find a direct link to the forum from the Community Forum site.

Questions? Contact ALSC Membership and Marketing Manager, Dan Bostrom, or by phone, 800-545-2433 ext 2164.

The post Participate in the Next ALSC Community Forum appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Earlier this week ALSC held an online forum to continue the Day of Diversity conversation from Midwinter. I chair the committee, Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers, so I thought about the conversation in terms of special populations served by our libraries. “Special populations” is rather weird terminology (“underrepresented” may be a better term). What is considered a special population really depends on each library’s community. A special population in Richmond, CA may not be a special population in Nashville, TN. Even within a city, special populations may vary from branch to branch.

Forum attendees generated lots of suggestions about how to make our libraries more diverse, welcoming places for everyone in the community. This is a huge task – one that requires ongoing assessment to learn who is underrepresented in your community and at your library, one that requires ongoing training of library employees. To this end, I searched library-related continuing education websites for upcoming professional development opportunities focused on services or resources for diverse or underrepresented populations.

Here are some upcoming professional development opportunities:

Library Juice Academy
Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca
March 2-27, 2015 $175
“Participants will discover new books, rhymes, songs, plans and resources that they can immediately put to use in their bilingual storytime programs.”

Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Technology Planning for Patrons with Disabilities – Where Do I Start?
March 12, 2015 FREE
“Learn about resources…including low-cost or free basic assistive equipment [to] download immediately.”

University of Wisconsin – Madison
Library Services for the Hmong Community
March 10, 2015 FREE
This webinar will discuss “barriers that prevent Hmong from using libraries and share the Appleton Public Library’s successful outreach strategies for reaching out to Hmong patrons.”

ASCLA
Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities
March 2-29, 2015 Registration fee varies
Attendees “will review the current level of service to people with disabilities then explore materials and sources that provide additional support or new ideas.”

RUSA
Spice it Up with Pura Belpre!
April 30, 2015 Registration fee varies
In this session attendees will learn about these award-winning titles and “discover how they enhance multicultural collections as well as contribute to instructional strategies.”

These are but a few online opportunities for you to learn more about diverse populations that may seek library services in your community. Another way to learn is to get out of the library and into your community. Attend cultural meetings, local chapter meetings of the (insert special population here) association, and special events. Think about who you don’t see in your library and find a way to learn more about that population. Then make a plan for proactively invite them in.

Africa Hands is chair of the Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers committee and author of Successfully Serving the College Bound (ALA Editions). She’s @africahands on Twitter.

The post Professional Development Opportunities for Serving Special Populations appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC President Starr LaTronica will present the next ALSC Community Forum (photo courtesy Starr LaTronica)

The ALSC Board of Directors and ALSC President Starr LaTronica will be hosting two ALSC Community Forum live chats on the topic of the topic of adding STEAM to your Summer Reading Program.

The forum will include live audio from ALSC President Starr LaTronica followed by a discussion led by the School Age Programs and Services Committee. ALSC members are invited to attend to discuss these topics and what their libraries are doing to meet these needs.

Your two opportunities to join in the discussion are:

• Monday, April 28 at 11 am EST
• Wednesday, April 30 at 3 pm EST

ALSC Community Forums take place on Adobe Connect. Later this week, ALSC members will receive an email with a URL link to the forum.

Visit the ALSC website for more information about using Adobe Connect. There are also links to previous ALSC Community Forums chats. Questions? Contact Dan Bostrom or by phone, 800-545-2433 ext 2164.

Taken from the ALSC Community Forum – August 2012

It has been sixteen years since the last ALSC dues increase….

At the 2012 ALA Annual Conference, the ALSC Board of Directors discussed a proposal by the Budget Committee to implement a dues adjustment. There was a discussion on the proposed dues adjustment that took place during the ALSC Membership meeting in Anaheim.

To address the Budget Committee’s proposal, the Board held ALSC Community Forums on August 8th and 9th. During the second half of these open meetings, we opened the discussion to members to give us their input on a possible change in the ALSC dues structure.

In early August, the ALSC Budget Committee released the Dues Structure Change FAQ (log-in required) to introduce our members to the proposed dues increases and the new proposed member categories. To better understand the dues adjustment…please take time to read the thoughtfully prepared FAQ which includes considerations and cost thoughts provided by the Budget Committee.*

Some background information on the dues adjustment. One of the ALSC Budget Committee’s charges is “to review for the ALSC Board, on a regular basis, the dues structure.” The Budget Committee recently reviewed the structure and has recommended adjustments to the ALSC Board. If the Board agrees with the recommendation, they will vote to have the recommendation placed on the 2013 ALSC ballot for the entire ALSC membership to review and to vote on the recommended changes.

ALSC currently has only two personal membership categories:

• Regular $45
• Student $18

The proposal provides for four new personal member categories: Support Staff; Non-Salaried; Retired; Advocate. These new category areas carry the same definitions as ALA membership category areas.

The proposal would slightly increase the two current categories and expand the personal categories:

• Regular $50;
• Support Staff $35;
• Non-Salaried $35;
• Retired $35;
• Advocate $25 (authors, teachers, parents, etc.);
• Student $20

Even though the August Community Forum has concluded, the conversation can continue on ALA Connect. Whether or not you are able to join a live Forum, you can always add your thoughts by leaving a comment. The ALSC Budget Committee will post questions on ALA Connect regarding the ALSC dues adjustment proposal. For information about ALSC Community Forums or if you need help logging in please visit the ALSC Community Forum site. The August transcripts are posted.

We hope that you’ll come to the Community Forums to give us your thoughts. Through your participation, we can gather more input into how this proposed dues change will affect members and how it will shape the future of ALSC membership.

In closing, one of the questions asked of our members during the dues adjustment proposal discussion on the August Community Forums was “What aspects of your ALSC membership do you value most?” Some of the member replies are displayed in the word cloud at the top of this blog. Please feel free to add the aspects of membership that you value the most as a comment below.

Thank you for your dedicated service to ALSC and for creating a better future for children through libraries—every day!

*Please keep in mind this is a current proposal as of the annual conference, the ALSC Board has asked the Budget Committee to reexamine the student proposed rate and the existing organizations and corporate rates. A recommendation from the Budget Committee is due to the ALSC Board no later than ALA Midwinter 2013.

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Our post today is from ALSC President Carolyn Brodie. Carolyn is a regular blogger with ALSC.

ALSC is hosting two Community Forums this week and all members are invited to attend!

At the 2012 ALA Annual Conference, the ALSC Board of Directors discussed a proposal by the Budget Committee to implement a change in the ALSC dues structure. The Board of Directors and ALSC President Carolyn Brodie would like your input. Please join them at one of two Community Forums on ALSC’s ALA Connect site. Your two opportunities to join the conversation are:

• Wednesday, August 8 at 2 PM EST (1 PM CST, 12 PM MDT, 11 AM PST)

The first half of the discussion will be a Board update from the 2012 ALA Annual Conference. The second half will include a discussion of a possible change in ALSC dues structure.

Members are encouraged to attend at either of these times or both. Can’t make it to either time? Even after the Forum ends, the conversation continues on ALA Connect. ALSC will be posting other questions and a transcript from the live Forum. Whether or not you can join in the live Forum, please add your voice by leaving a comment. To read more information about the proposed changes, please check out the Budget Adjustment FAQ (log-in required).

Need help accessing the ALSC Community Forum? Visit the Community Forum section of the ALSC site for more information about getting logged on to ALA Connect. There are also links to previous ALSC Community Forums chats. Questions? Contact Dan Rude by email, [email protected] or by phone, 800-545-2433 ext 2164.

Log-in now to find the Community Forum chat room (log-in/password required).

Please save the date!

Join ALSC President Mary Fellows and the ALSC Board on Wednesday, February 22 @ 10 AM ET for a ALSC Community Forum. This one-hour live-chat will take place on ALSC’s main page on ALA Connect. Board members will share ALSC division news from the Midwinter Meeting in Dallas and respond to questions. One of the main topics covered will be the possible re-structuring of the Membership Meeting at Annual Conference. You won’t want to miss it.

ALSC Community Forum
Wednesday, February 22
10 AM ET, 9 AM CT, 8 AM MT, 7 AM PT
http://connect.ala.org/alsc

Can’t make it? No problem! Post questions or comments for the board in the “Add a new comment” section of the Connect post. During the Forum, the ALSC Board will try to answer your question and afterward, a full-transcript of the chat will be posted.

This is a call to all old, ex, present and future Denver Westsiders, or anyone whose heart still rings from the Westside's history and culture. You know who you are.

The Alma Rec Center, located in Lincoln Park, not far across from Speer Boulevard from Downtown Denver, sits on the sight of the oldest Chicano neighborhood predating Denver as a city. The neighborhood had much of its vitality cut out when the state chose it as the site for construction of the Auraria Higher Education Center. But the Westside did not die.

Now, Denver's Mayor John W. Hickenlooper has submitted his 2010 budget with all manner of budget cuts and reorganization, but his plans for La Alma Rec Center amount to shutting it down, and possibly privatizing it to the Boys Club, or some other entity with political ties to Denver's good-old-boy club.

Rather than finding sufficient money to keep La Alma open, Hickenlooper is attempting "to transition four recreation centers that serve few residents (including Globeville and La Alma recreation centers) to organizations who can offer more valued services to the community." Once that step is taken, it's unlikely it will ever be reversed. The community rec center will become a business where the bottom line, not community service, will prevail.

The entire rec center: Gym, Meeting Room, Pool (Outdoor), Showers, Weight Room, Playground, Amphitheater, Outdoor Pool, Horseshoe Pits, Multi-purpose Field (Lacrosse, Rugby, Soccer), Tennis Court, Volleyball Court; all the programs offered: Senior Art Class, Thanksgiving Senior Luncheon, Su Teatro Live Theatre Program and Performance, Bridge Project Art Class, Art Museum Tour and Lunch, Mural Art Class, Denver Zoo Educational trip, Botanic Gardens Visit Day, Frontline Nutrition Program, Fitness, Health and Wellness Programs, like the Adult Yoga/Aerobics (6 weeks), Senior Low Impact Aerobics, Summit Cancer Solutions, Senior Coffee & Card Games, After School Snack Program, Idaho Springs Cave Pool Day Trip, Community Meeting for La Alma, Halloween Community Party, Pre-Season Basketball Clinic--all of this and more could become things of the past. They are excluded from the Mayor's "core services that are most critical to our citizens."

This is more than a Chicano issue, as it will detrimentally affect all age groups, nationalities, income levels, though of course, those least able to afford a privatized service, will be denied the most. Please forward this to anyone you know who has their roots, hearts or at least minds in helping to prevent the loss of a center that has served to make life more livable and meaningful since before the founding of Denver.

Below is the informational flyer being circulated by Westside residents: