Today I'm over at the ALSC Blog talking about a new idea we implemented for our tween and school age programming. Come visit me and tell me about how your library is reaching tween patrons through programming!

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ALSC announced that it will hold a live New Member Forum on Wednesday, April 23 at 3pm Eastern. This hour-long event is free and open to members and non-members. Registration is now open.

As part of the forum, ALSC Membership Committee Chair Amanda Roberson will examine ways of getting involved in with the division. Attendees are invited to discuss these topics and their experiences as members. The forum will take place on Adobe Connect. A recorded webcast of the event will be available following the live session.

ALSC encourages current members to participate in the forum as well. There will be time provided for questions and discussion. The event is free, but registration is required.

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Today I'm over at the ALSC Blog talking about great reads for Star Wars fans. Come join me!

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I've been slow to get back to blogging since my vacation.  I'll get some new posts up soon.  Books I've read recently include The Final Present (the upcoming finale to Wendy Mass' Willow Falls series), The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand, Simon's Cat vs. the World by Simon Tofield, Shark Girl and Formerly Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham, and the Boxers and Saints set by Gene Luen Yang. (I met him at BookExpo this year - he seemed like a really nice guy!)  I'm in the midst of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (love it!) and a long awaited copy of Hit by Pitch by Molly Lawless.  I'll have something to say about all of them - either here or on LibraryThing.

If you're waiting to hear about any of these in particular, let me know and I'll move it up on my list.

Today, however, I'm over at the ALSC Blog, the official blog of the Association for Library Service to Children.  My post is directed to librarians and concerns librarian humor.  If you're a librarian or would like a peek at what many librarians find humorous, hop over to the ALSC blog and read "Librarian Laughs."

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What an honor. Thank you, American Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children.

Want to see what other books are included? Click through!

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Congratulations to all the winners!

 Caldecott Medal Winner 

Caldecott Honor Books

 

Newbery Medal Winner

Newbery Honor Books

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I served on the 1995 Newbery and 2002 Caldecott committees. These remain two special moments in my career. Like dessert, it was sweet. But I can't have that diet all the time - that's why I love the meat and potatoes of the many "process" committees I serve on. I wish the experience of being on an award committee to each and every ALSC and YALSA member at least once in their careers and I hope that each member, having served once or twice on a prestigious award committee, makes room for others who wish to have the experience.

It's the night before the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards announcements. By now the discussion, the deliberation, the voting and the annotations are done.  The frisson of excitement within each committee as the top honored book, recording or film has been determined is palpable. The committee members are as proud as new parents at their award titles and honorees. But it's still secret.

Roommates teasingly pry; spouses look for hints; colleagues wonder and give an extra squeeze to hands and shoulders of committee members, knowing the intense work of the past year. The committee members, though excited, appear serene. The decision that will echo through youth literature down through the ensuing years is done. It's finished. Often committee members spend some time together after the final meeting just to have people to talk with. Hearts are very full.

The ALA Public Information Office has kicked into high gear. They are reaching out to obtain phone numbers; writing press releases and press conference scripts; determining if there are immediate media opportunities for winners; scheduling committees for their Monday morning phone calls - yes, the honorees are called by the committee chairs backed by their committees prior to the press conference. In Seattle, it will be at a blessedly decent time - when at an east coast ALA midwinter, west coasters often get the call pre-dawn.

There is a little note of trepidation in many a committee person's heart on this night. How will the crowd of 500 librarians, publishers and booksellers present at the press conference and the audience of teachers, librarians, book creators, and makers and sellers around the world react to their committee's choice - with screams of approbation or the gasp of in-taken breath? I have heard both. That moment when the committee stands to face the dais, back to the audience, and have their choices announced is nerve-wracking.

But that's tomorrow. Tonight, there is the sweet feeling of a job well done; a challenge met and and the camaraderie of a group of people who have read, pored over, reflected and discussed books together in a rarefied atmosphere to winnow and seek that golden best. And that is enough.

For more insights on the award process, stop at this Nerdy Book Club post and read Monica Edinger's outstanding post myth-busting the Newbery Committee process 

Image: 'Poesia'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/58929717@N00/93235624 Found on flickrcc.net
.

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With all the Newbery and Caldecott talk and predictions out there I thought it would be nice to take a look at not only what may be the next winner, but what has won in the past. If you have a favorite title you are rooting for post it in a comment. I would love to hear about it! Next week I will post my favorite book of the year that I think is Caldecott deserving in every facet of picture book brilliance.

PAST

From Publishers Weekly, with great interviews of winners from the past 5 years.
The Call That Changes Everything- or Not.

From The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) a look at the past.

Newbery Honor and Medal Books, 1922- Present
Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present
2012 Newbery-Caldecott Awards Banquet

From Through the Studio door, an interesting look at what PW dubbed in 1963 "...a pointless and confusing story."
Before They Were Classics

PRESENT

For predictions for this years award winners check out:
ShelfTalker
A Fuse #8 Production
100 Scope Notes
The Horn Book- Calling Caldecott 
Country Bookshelf
Random Acts of Reading

FUTURE

75th Anniversary Logo by Brian Selznick

Mark your calendar for the Caldecott Medal 75th Anniversary!

The ALA will announce all the awards at 8 a.m. PT on Jan. 28 from the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The awards include the esteemed John Newbery Medal, Randolph Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Book Awards and Michael L. Printz Award.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced that John Rocco will participate in a Caldecott 75th Anniversary Facebook Forum at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Rocco won a Caldecott Honor in 2012 for his picture book Blackout.

Want to learn more about the logo 2008 Caldecott Medal winner Brian Selznick created especially for the 75th Anniversary celebration and the characters in it? Just click here.


And for a little more fun, read Brian's acceptance speech for The Invention of Hugo Cabret  here and watch the illustrated sequence that played on huge video screens during the speech here.

 

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The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is inviting librarians to register their 2013 El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) programs in the 2013 National Día Program Registry.

By registering their Día programs held throughout the year in the national registry, libraries build a national database that showcases all types and sizes of Día programming. The information will display on the website, in both the map and database format, allowing you to share program information with other librarians and the public interested in learning more about Día programs happening around the country. Libraries that register will also receive Día stickers and bookmarks (while supplies last).

ALSC also is pleased to announce this year’s slogan Día: Diversity in Action. Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures.

“As the most important celebration for multicultural children’s library services, Día truly is Diversity in Action,” said ALSC President Carolyn Brodie. “We’re proud to offer this registration as a way of promoting local events on a national level. With every registration, we’re showcasing the reach of Día, allowing ALSC to expand the experience and support of this great initiative.”

“Literacy is essential in democracy and what a diverse country we are,” said Día founder Pat Mora. “Those of us lucky enough to be readers and wanting to share bookjoy can help link all children to books, languages and cultures through Día, day by day, día pro día. Promote your April Día celebration on this helpful ALSC registry. Help illustrate and generate Día excitement nationally.”

Libraries can register at the Día website, where ALSC also offers a resource guide, booklist and logos for download.

The Día celebration was founded in 1996 by children’s book author Pat Mora, who proposed conceptually linking the exisiting El Día del Niño with literacy. The founding partner of Día is REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. For more information on Día, please visit http://dia.ala.org.

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit www.ala.org/alsc.

Filed under: Diversity Issues, Programming Tagged: ALSC, dia d, dia de los libros, Programming

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I am blogging at the ALSC blog today.  Please stop by and find out why I think "Nobody does it better" than librarians.

Here's the link: http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2012/12/nobody-does-it-better/

Have a wonderful weekend!

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If you want to know why this old brown sheet is so special to me, please hop over the ALSC blog.  I've penned "Ode to an Old Brown Sheet" for Poetry Friday. I don't usually participate in Poetry Friday, but I was feeling inspired this week.  Today's host is On the Way to Somewhere.


In other news, don't forget SYNC's continuing offer of two free YA audiobook downloads each week during the summer.  This week's offerings (available until 8/8/12) are:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone By Laini Taylor
Read by Khristine Hvam
Published by Hachette Audio

and

A Tale of Two Cities By Charles Dickens
Read by Simon Prebble
Published by Blackstone Audio

A Tale of Two Cities has long been one of my favorite classics.

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ALSC recently sent out a survey from their Emerging Leader team on being mentored and being a mentor. This tells me that our division is deep in thought on setting up what I hope will be a truly valuable opportunity for all the members: to be a mentor or a protege.

I seldom meet youth librarians who haven't been profoundly affected in their careers by the advice, good counsel and wisdom of a mentor who has guided, suggested - and sometimes pushed - them in the direction of doing better work and opening doors to better opportunities.  We all know those people who give and share and help others reach a higher level of understanding and leadership because of their support.

Mentor/protege relationships don't always involve an oldster and a young thing. Peer-to-peer mentoring works well and is often most visible between cohorts on social media sites (Twitter, Friendfeed, ALA Think Tank on FB among others).  As someone in the twilight of my career, I can say that mentors still guide me and are often younger than I am.  I get inspired by their enthusiasm and learn much in the way of new tech tips and ways to re-look at work through new eyes.

Without mentorship and encouragement, I would never have stepped so far up in ALSC or been awarded the WI Librarian of the Year honor, or been given the opprtunities in my career that I have been given. The wise counsel of my peers, colleagues, veteran librarians (in all fields and disciplines) informed my work and gave it a richness that I could never have achieved on my own.

I have been fortunate in being asked to be a mentor for much of the last fifteen years.  I find that I learn as much as I share.  There is never an end to what can be discovered on any given day, at any given time, from any given person working with youth in libraries.  I find it humbling, energizing and exciting. I hope I have been encouraging to folks in the profession and helped them step up and out in leadership positions within their libraries, communities and the profession.

Informal mentoring/proteging has been the path I've mostly taken. But there are more formal relationships. My state association has a great mentoring program for new leaders, WeLead, that I have been a mentor for. ALAConnect has a mentoring platform, MentorConnect.  And now ALSC is going to step up with opportunities. I hope ALSC members keep an eye out and volunteer both as mentors and proteges.  The benefits are amazing!

Image: 'I wanna hold your hand'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10488545@N05/1865482908


*Sorry about this title. It's the old Latin conjugator rearing its head and I am never able to resist joking around with this!

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Just a reminder that tomorrow is the day that the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced at ALA Midwinter in Dallas.

ALA will host a live webcast of the event, beginning at 7:30am CT.

I can't wait to hear the winners, and hope I've read them all.  Next week, I'm planning a storytime based on Caldecott Medal winners.  I'm hoping to share the winner with my storytime crowd (unless, of course, its a behemoth like The Invention of Hugo Cabret  - you never know)

While you're waiting for the winners to be announced, feel free to enjoy this video which "captures Newbery Award-Winning authors Virginia Hamilton and Jean Craighead George talking about how those awards (for Julie of the Wolves and M.C. Higgins The Great respectively) changed their lives."


Video provided courtesy of Open Road Media.   

Tomorrow is also Nonfiction Monday and the roundup will be here.

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Tooting a little horn for The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester and The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis.

Both are on ALSC's (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Early Elementary Reads list.

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By Stefan Kühn (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/),  CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

In other Thursday news, time is running out to nominate works for consideration for the 2012 ALSC Notables lists for books and DVDs. December 15th is the deadline, so click on over if you’re interested.

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Random House established a Memorial Scholarship in honor of Kate McClelland & Kathy Krasniewicz, for a librarian or library student attending ALA. The first recipient has been selected!

From the Random House Press Release:

Congratulations!

Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova is the first recipient of the Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarship to attend the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC this summer!

Nominated by Miriam Budin of the Chappaqua Library, Chappaqua, New York.

Of Yelena, Miriam writes, “I was impressed by Yelena’s enthusiasm, her interest in current children’s literature, and her resourcefulness in availing herself of this discussion by local librarians. I could see she was a remarkable up-and-coming-librarian…Yelena has juggled her courses, student teaching, and work at our library magnificently…she is vibrant, brilliant, outgoing, responsible, and increasingly well-grounded in children’s literature. She reads incessantly, voraciously, and widely…I have no doubt that Kate and Kathy would have recognized Yelena’s genius and sparkle. I can almost hear Kate telling her, ‘You’re a star!’”

For those readers outside the library world, Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz were children's librarians from Connecticut who were actively involved in ALA and the children's literature community. McClelland was vice-president/president elect of ALSC. They attended the ALA Midwinter 2009 in Denver; took a taxi back to the airport; and that taxi was hit by a drunk driver. Both women died from their injuries.(School Library Journal).

The drunk driver was recently sentenced to 36 years. See: Centennial woman gets maximum 36 years for drunken crash that killed two librarians from the Denver Post. See also the Greenwich CT coverage, Jail sentence a sigh of relief for Greenwich community.



Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Children’s Day/Book Day, also known as El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), is a celebration of children, families, and reading held annually in the USA on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Founded by author Pat Mora in 1996, Día is now hosted by the Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC) along with founding partner REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.

Visit the ALSC’s  Dia Celebrations website to see what is planned this year. You can register your library’s Día program, print brochures, use the interactive map to see what other communities are doing to celebrate as well as access the updated list of books and list of Web sites for Día 2010.

Other great ways to get into the Día spirit are to visit Pat Mora’s blog Bookjoy! and also to read Pat’s book Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day: Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Illustrated by Rafael López and dedicated to the members of REFORMA and ALSC, “who connect children and books,” Book Fiesta! is a vibrant bilingual homage to the importance of reading and books in children’s lives. The book includes a letter from Pat about why she founded El día de los niños/ El día de los libros, and suggestions for celebrating the occasion creatively and with gusto. Read PaperTigers’ review Book Fiesta here.

Interested in learning how you can get a Día celebration organized in your community? Click here for information on upcoming educational sessions such as the one to be held June 28, 2010, during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. entitled “Día is Diversity in Action”.

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It's that time of year!

ALA Elections. Voting ends April 23; and results are announced April 30.*

I am running for the NonFiction Committee; that is, the Committee that selects the YALSA Award for Excellence In Nonfiction for Young Adults. I am really excited about this opportunity to run for this Committee!

Here are the slates for YALSA and ALSC:

YALSA's 2010 Slate of Candidates

ALSC's 2010 Slate of Candidates

And, also, YALSA Members running for ALA Councilor at Large.

If you click through, you will recognize quite a few names from around the blogosphere.

And if you're here because you're looking up information on candidates and found me and my blog, welcome!




Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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The ALSC Notable Children's Book List for 2010 is posted at the ALA Website. Below are links to the books on the list I've read and reviewed.

Younger Readers

...

Gracias * Thanks. By Pat Mora. Illus. by John Parra.

...

Middle Readers

...

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. By Jacqueline Kelly.

...

When You Reach Me. By Rebecca Stead.

...


Older Readers

...

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. By Tanya Lee Stone.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. By Phillip Hoose.

...

Leviathan. By Scott Westerfeld. Illus. by Keith Thompson.

...


All Ages

...




Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Not to go on about it, but for anyone who might have wondered just what a professional librarian is supposed to be able to do, and why it's not just about loving books, the Association for Library Service to Children has updated their competency requirements. School Library Journal reported about the update earlier this week. Librarians serving children should be up to snuff on everything from

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In some respects, rather well. I mentioned that ALSC had begun this wiki back in February and I was curious to see if it had changed significantly since then. I was impressed by the Research portion and even the selection discussing Websites for Learning or Improving Computer Application Techniques. But with others, as with the Legislation page, I worry that good information is erased and edited by people wanting to sell their wares. This is the fear of any wiki page, of course, but it's a pity it had to happen here. And what an odd site for them to try and take over too!

Mind you, by the time you see it it'll probably change again. Ah, the sweet shifting Internet.

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I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all YALSA members. The results of the 2007 election are in, and -- drum roll, please -- I am a member of the Michael L. Printz Committee!! This is the Committee that will select the 2009 winner, so I don't start reading until 2008.

Congratulations to all; but a special shout-out to my fellow New Jersey librarians, Sarah Cornish Debraski who is Vice President/ President Elect, and new Margaret A. Edwards Committee member Sharon Rawlins.

Links: YALSA Blog

I cannot find the ALSC election results, but will edit and post once I do.

The ALSC Election results. Once again, congratulations to all, with a special shout out to Ed Spicer, (09 Caldecott Committee) and to NJ librarian Carol K. Phillips (09 Sibert Committee Chair.)

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Thanks to Kids Lit our attention has been shifted to the all new ALSC ChildTech Wiki. And what a good idea it is too. With the ever shifting Web out there, permanent lists of online resources tend to become outdated in a year or less. Says the site, "Please feel free to add information regarding technology within the realm of library services for children." It's still in the early stages without many resources listed, but add your two cents if you've a yen to do so and watch it grow.

Even more fun, Kids Lit also linked to the recent Edgar nominees.

• Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison (Penguin Young Readers - Sleuth/Dutton)
• The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl Publishing)
• Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
• The Bloodwater Mysteries: Snatched by Pete Hautman & Mary Logue (Penguin Young Readers - Sleuth/Putnam)
• The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer (Penguin Young Readers - Philomel/Sleuth)

I'm pleased as punch to see the inclusion of Nancy's Springer's Enola Holmes. To my mind this was one of the too little appreciated books of 2006. A really fun mystery with an exceedingly strong grasp on the whole Holmes mythos. Read it if you've a moment to spare. I give it to all the kids looking for mysteries.

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