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Howdy, folks.  I have news for you.  Did you have any idea that a children’s literature online show called KidLit TV was in the works?  Nor did I until I stopped by Roxie Munroe’s studio the other day.  She informed me that man-about-town Rocco Staino had been by with an honest-to-goodness film crew to talk to her about this new series. Calling itself, “The video resource for the greater kidlit community” it’s launching this fall.  Here’s the first video so far:

Okay. I admit it. I’m a sucker for cute kids.  Thank goodness they don’t do many lemonade stands in my neighborhood or I’d be without a dime in my pocket.  So when I saw this video about the Dr. Seuss Wants You! Indiegogo campaign, I was hooked.  These gals are trying to raise funds so that their school library can have its very own librarian.  Resist their cuteness if you can!

Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

You know what I love?  Shakespeare.  You know what I love even more than Shakespeare?  Graphic novels.  You know what I love even more than Shakespeare and graphic novels?  Book trailers.  Now all three of the things I love have combined in this trailer for The Stratford Zoo Presents MacBeth.  I have read and loved the book (Lady MacBeth as a spotted animal = brilliance).  Originally premiering on Watch. Connect. Read., do be so good as to enjoy it.

Many of you have probably seen this but the IKEA BookBook ad is rather charming.

Which, in turn, is not too dissimilar from this faux Amazon Prime Air Launch ad.

Thanks to Michael Stusser for the link.

As I was sitting in the Philadelphia airport, waiting to fly home from Midwinter 2014, I checked my email to find something rather startling: an invitation to be the keynote speaker at a symposium on library services for children and teens sponsored by the National Library for Children and Young Adults (NLCY) in South Korea. According to the email, my book Young Adults Deserve the Best: YALSA’s Competencies in Action had been translated into Korean and distributed to libraries in Korea, and they wanted me to come to the symposium and share my “experience and expertise in youth library services”—all expenses paid! 

The 8^th International Symposium on Library Services for Children and Young Adults was held on June 19-20, in Byeonsan, South Korea. I left San Francisco on Monday morning, June 16, and arrived at Incheon Airport, near Seoul, on Tuesday afternoon, June 17, after a 12-hour flight and a 16-hour time difference. At Incheon, I was greeted by my hosts and we met up with two of the other international speakers, Carolynn Rankin from England and Wiebke Dalhoff from Germany, whose flights were arriving at about the same time. Later that day, we met the other international guests: Kate McDowell, from the University of Illinois iSchool; Sazali Pakpong and Huey Bin Heng, from Singapore; and Inci Önal, from Turkey. 

For the first two days, we stayed in Seoul, where we visited the National Library of Korea as well as the National Library for Children and Young Adults. These libraries indicate that South Korea is deeply invested both in preserving the country’s cultural heritage and in using the most modern techniques possible to do so. Their digital library was quite impressive. The NLCY contained a wonderful display of artifacts from Korean children’s authors.

In addition to the tours, I had the opportunity to meet two print journalists, who interviewed me for the Segye Times and the Seoul Economic Daily. I was amused to find that Korean journalists had the same concerns American journalists: they wanted me to talk about whether smartphones were causing teens to read less! While in Seoul, we also had the opportunity to have some tourist experiences, including visiting the Gyeonbokgung Palace and Insadong, a market street. Plus we had some wonderful Korean food! Then we moved to Byeonsan, a three-hour drive south, to the seaside resort complex where the actual symposium was held. Each year, the Symposium is held in a different part of the country, to encourage local participation. The Symposium’s theme was “Reading Towards a Broader World.” In addition to the international speakers, all of whom presented in English, several Korean librarians presented sessions. Simultaneous translation was provided in both English and Korean. Topics included:

• A program to train grandmothers to read to children
• An historical overview of picture books
• A program for providing books to “alienated” teens
• An early literacy program in England
• A program to provide literacy and literature apps on iPads for children in an underserved neighborhood
• An online community of children and young adults in Singapore
• Cooperative programs for reading development in Germany

About 250 librarians attended the Symposium. For my keynote speech, I talked about YALSA’s Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth, but I focused on the first competency area, Leadership and Professionalism. In particular, I described the ways in which young adult librarians need to understand the needs of their managers in order to effect real change. Those of you who follow this blog will recognize that I took a similar approach last year in the series of posts I wrote on What Your Manager Wishes You Knew. In addition to the keynote, I was asked to prepare a session speech on one of the areas covered by the symposium’s theme. I chose the topic “Engaging Young Adults in Reading” and took the opportunity to highlight some successful reading programs for teens. For this presentation, I drew heavily from my YALSA colleagues. Among others, I shared the details of:

• Dawn Abron’s MAE-winning “Book Concert” program
• Kristin Pelfrey’s MAE-winning “Revolution” program
• Sharon Grover and Laurie Bartz’s “Book Club Formerly Known as Printz”
• Stacy Katz’s “Divergent Book Club”

I was pleased to be able to share these examples of engaging teens in reading, especially since most of the other speakers focused more on topics related to children. Going to Korea was a wonderful experience. The NLCY were outstanding hosts and meeting the other international presenters broadened my library network. It was fascinating to talk with library folk from around the world and discover the similarities and differences in our experiences. The Korean librarians were eager to learn from the best that the rest of the world has to offer. In 2015, the NLCY will host the 9^th Annual Symposium. The call for papers will go out in late 2014 or early 2015, and I would encourage YALSA members to consider submitting proposals. IFLA usually posts the call for papers, and I will link to the information on the YALSA blog as well.

iLEAD (International Librarians Enhancing Access and Development) Fellowship Opportunity

The Department of Library and Information Studies (DLIS) at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) invites applications from international students to its iLEAD Fellows Program. An iLEAD Fellow will be an international student taking the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) Program, supported by an International Graduate Assistantship (IGA) (stipend with tuition waivers requiring 20 service hours/week). More information about graduate assistanships can be found at the “Financial Support” tab at: http://lis.uncg.edu/prospective-studentsadmission/

The iLEAD Fellows Program is one of the Department’s international initiatives http://lis.uncg.edu/academic-programs/diversity-and-community/.  Application form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEJWVmpyQ3NRNDl6UjV2SG5Nb0xzaXc6MA

The application includes an essay of 750 words or less on applicant’s experience with and plans to enhance library and information access and development in your home country, especially to diverse and underserved communities.

Up to two iLEAD Fellows will be selected from the new incoming international students, starting in Fall 2013, on the basis of demonstrated academic ability, evidence of commitment to enhancing library and information access and development in their home country, and financial need. To be considered for the iLEAD Fellows Program, applicants must submit both a UNCG Graduate School application for admission to the MLIS Program and the Department’s Graduate Assistant Application by the stated deadline.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Lee Shiflett, Director of Graduate Study  [email protected]

Good morning!

There are a couple 2013 conferences that have recently announced their call for proposals. Are you interested? 1.

The 10th IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People ) will hold its regional conference 18020 October in St Louis, MO.

This conference will feature a limited number of simultaneous sessions that address the conference theme and/or feature international children’s literature. All sessions will be one hour and can take one of several forms, including but not limited to:

• Single speaker leading an interactive session
• Multiple presentations on one topic
• Workshop or demonstration
• Roundtable discussion

Proposals should include a title and a description of the proposed session (100-150 words). Also include the following contact information: name, affiliation (if any), address, and email. If the proposal has multiple speakers, please include contact information for everyone listed. Proposals should be sent to [email protected].  Please feel free to contact Susan Stan at [email protected] if you have questions before submitting proposal. Deadline for submission: February 1, 2013

2.

The Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section and Education and Training Section of the IFLA (International Federal of Library Associations invites proposals for papers to be presented at a two-hour session in the next IFLA General Conference on August 2013 in Singapore.

 Theme: Indigenous knowledge and multiculturalism in LIS education and library training: infinite possibilities

 Submission deadline: 15 February 2013. Please visit the following link for the details:

http://conference.ifla.org/ifla79/calls-for-papers/indigenous-knowledge-and-multiculturalism

Filed under: librarianship, professional development Tagged: CFP, IBBY, IFLA

Representing YALSA is a special honor and responsibility. As a representative to IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations), I am the “face” of the organization. When I work with other professional associations, I am the communication lynchpin. I have to listen well to make sure I understand what concerns and trends are emerging, using my experience as a YALSA member as my hearing timbre. How do these ideas potentially impact YALSA? Likewise, I listen for opportunities to insert the concerns, values, and possible contributions of YALSA. I also have to listen to the silence, the unspoken, to make sure that the voice of YALSA and YALSA ideas are heard.

So what does it take to become a representative? First, you need to be a knowledgeable member of YALSA. Participating in YALSA events and serving on YALSA committees gives you the grounding to build credibility within the organization and without – with other organizations. For instance, I served on the YALSA Board, presented, and chaired – or served as a participating member of — several committees over the years.

Usually, you should already be involved in the target professional organization. Perhaps you have been a member, and attended some conferences. Perhaps you have presented or served on a committee. In other words, you like and know both organizations: YALSA and the one that you want to be a representative for.

It needs to be said that usually the role of representative brings access to people and ideas and worthwhile activities, but not material advantage. You have to pay for all expenses, and are expected to fulfill your duties for the extent of your time of duty: usually 3-4 years. YALSA provides you with copies of some of their publications (such as flyers and policy statements) to disseminate at the meetings.

What do I do? As the YALSA representative to the Literacy and Reading section of IFLA, I participate actively in the section business meetings. I make sure that teen reading and literacy is addressed. I volunteered to be a table facilitator for the section’s program. I also volunteered to serve on the research brochure sub-committee. I helped write their proposal, which was approved by IFLA, so now I will be doing research and writing to help others access and use research about literacy and reading, probably 100 hours total spread out throughout the year with spurts of action. I write up a report of the conference for YALSA, and I also look for YALSA activities that might inform the section, and write up for their newsletter.

Obviously, planning and attending the conference takes weeks, and writing up the report takes a few hours. But I keep my representative “job” as part of my everyday mindset. And I feel that I’m making a contribution to both organizations, to myself, and to teens around the world. Such as this post, which I wrote because I have just undergone hip surgery, and needed to let you know about this volunteer opportunity. So tell me what’s happening in YALSA! My email address is [email protected].