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Thank you to everyone for the robust and respectful discussion regarding the status of the 2016 ALSC National Institute following North Carolina’s passage of HB2 one month ago. I’m incredibly grateful to my Board colleagues for their careful consideration and knowledge-based decision making. We heard very loudly and consistently from ALSC members on this issue and while I very much share in the disappointment that we won’t be gathering together in Charlotte this September, I’m proud of how all of us in the ALSC community have handled this challenging, important, and very real issue that led to its cancellation.

Throughout this process, the work of ALSC Executive Director Aimee Strittmatter and of Kristen Figliulo, Program Officer for Continuing Education, has been nothing short of extraordinary, as has that of their office colleagues Laura Schulte-Cooper, Dan Bostrom, Angela Hubbard, Marsha Burgess, and Courtney Jones. Vice President Betsy Orsburn, Fiscal Officer Diane Foote, Division Councilor Jenna Nemec-Loise, and Budget Committee Chair Paula Holmes have also been particularly involved in this process.

If you haven’t yet seen the Board document that outlines the details involved in this decision, please do take a look at it here.

Support from across all of ALA has been tremendous. ALA President Sari Feldman is a great friend of ALSC and of library service to children and I hope you’ll join me in expressing appreciation to her for her advocacy and support, as well as to Mario Gonzalez, ALA Treasurer and Executive Board Liaison to ALSC. ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels and Senior Associate Executive Director Mary Ghikas, along with the Public Awareness Office and Office for Library Advocacy have been there for ALSC at every step along the way. And a very special THANK YOU to our good friends at the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table, especially Chair Peter Coyl, Chair-Elect Deb Sica, and Immediate Past-Chair Ann Symons.

Please also help me express our incredible thanks to the Institute Planning Task Force, who have put so much dedication, care, and excitement into their work for many, many, many months. Thank you to Chair Emily Nanney and members Seth Ervin, Catherine Haydon, Jesse Isley, Karin Michel, Rebecca Thomas, and Priority Group Consultant Julie Dietzel-Glair. For those of you who will attending the ALA Annual Conference in June, please plan to attend the ALSC Membership Meeting on Monday (June 27) at 10:30 a.m. in the Orange County Convention Center Room W308, as we pay special tribute to the Task Force.

It was important that we took these weeks to make such a careful and considered decision, and while some elements of its implementation are still in progress, here is the latest information:

• Our Quicklists Committee has compiled a Transgender/Inclusion Advocacy & Information resource. The aim of this list is to educate and support both library workers and the general public regarding the legislation and the issues of transgender rights. It includes several organizations to contact regarding advocacy, donating time and money, and a bibliography of related books, including picture books, fiction, and nonfiction.
• Those who were registered for the Institute will receive a full refund of registration fees without penalty.
• For those who had already booked airfare, ALSC has created a memo to airlines (including American Airlines, for which Charlotte is a major hub) requesting they waive the change fee or offer a full refund, in the spirit of solidarity, to those who booked travel to North Carolina over the Institute dates.
• ALSC is now planning to hold a one-day workshop immediately prior to the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, January 20, to accommodate as much of the Institute’s creative programming as possible.
• ALSC also plans to offer much of the Institute’s educational content in an online format.

Specific details around which content will be offered, as well as its timing, pricing, and format, will be available in the coming weeks as ALSC works through the details, and Betsy and I will have additional information in our upcoming May ALSC Matters! columns. So stay tuned, and if you have any additional questions or thoughts, please feel free to share them in the comments section below or via e-mail at [email protected].

The post Update on the #ALSC16 Institute appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Give us your feedback on how to move forward with the National Institute (image courtesy of ALSC)

I’m reaching out today, International Transgender Day of Visibility, to share information regarding the 2016 ALSC National Institute and last week’s passing of North Carolina’s HB2 legislation, with the objective of gathering more member feedback within the next few days.

Thank you to everyone who has already expressed thoughts, concerns, support, and questions regarding this extremely important situation.

This is not an abstract issue. In addition to this law’s conflict with ALSC’s core values, purpose, and diversity work, in the past week ALSC leadership has heard from members who are personally affected by it in a very real way. During this time we have been consulting with ALA management and President Sari Feldman; ALA Conference Services; the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT); the ALA Public Awareness Office; the Institute Planning Task Force; the North Carolina Library Association; the Charlotte Marriott City Center; and, most importantly, as I mentioned, ALSC members on ALSC-L and via e-mail and social media.

With the Institute less than six months away and an ALSC calendar scheduled literally years in advance, unfortunately moving the event to another state is not a viable alternative even with a change of date. The alternative to moving forward with the Institute as scheduled in Charlotte is to cancel it.

We are working with GLBTRT on a continuing course of action and to prepare should the Institute proceed in Charlotte, a city with a culture of inclusiveness and library support. Indeed, it was Charlotte’s transgender-inclusive, nondiscrimination ordinance which was subsequently and egregiously reversed by the state’s HB2 legislation. We have already sent a letter to Governor McCrory urging him to support a swift repeal of HB2, however please be aware that we are a 501(c)(3) organization and must be very conscious that actions such as calls for boycotts and electioneering may put ALA at risk.

The Institute schedule does include programs specifically on equity and inclusion for all and we are actively looking to develop further programmatic content to help raise awareness and share resources. We have begun speaking with local LGBTQIA organizations in Charlotte on how we can actively support their work, and welcome suggestions of any of which you’re aware.

We continue to monitor and assess the situation closely and want to hear from you as your immediate feedback will help us plot our course moving forward and make a decision regarding the Institute within the next two weeks. To respond, please leave a comment below. If you would like to reach out to me privately, please feel free to do so at [email protected].

The post Share Your Thoughts on the Institute and HB2 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Jacqueline Woodson will present the Closing General Session at the National Institute (Image courtesy of Jacqueline Woodson)

Woodson was recently named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. She is the author of more than two dozen award-winning books for young adults, middle graders and children; among her many accolades, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a three-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner.

Other confirmed special events include a Breakfast for Bill program with Phil and Erin Stead, Laura Dronzek and Kevin Henkes. On Thursday, September 15, David Shannon will present the Opening General Session. Attendees will benefit from an on-site bookstore where they can buy books to have signed by their favorite speakers.

The Closing General Session is free for all individuals registered for the 2016 ALSC National Institute. All special events are included in the cost of registration. Registration fees include Thursday dinner, Friday breakfast, and Saturday breakfast. For more information and registration details please the visit the 2016 ALSC National Institute website.

The post Jacqueline Woodson to Present Closing Session at #alsc16 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC announced a very special Breakfast for Bill at the 2016 ALSC National Institute. This keynote celebration will include authors and illustrators Phil and Erin Stead, Laura Dronzek and Kevin Henkes. The National Institute takes place September 15-17, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This star-studded panel includes two husband and wife pairs – Phil and Erin Stead, and Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek – who have two Caldecott Medals between them. They will discuss their latest collaborations, and give insights as to how the process of working creatively with a spouse differs from the process of creating individually. This event is sponsored by HarperCollins Children’s Books and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

The breakfast will honor the memory of William C. Morris, former vice-president and director of library promotion at HarperCollins Children’s Books by bringing librarians together with children’s book creators. Morris was a long time ALSC member and friend, recipient of the first ALSC Distinguished Service Award, and an advocate for children’s librarians and literature.

Other Special Events

Other confirmed special events include the Opening General Session on September 15 with David Shannon. On Saturday, September 17, Jacqueline Woodson will present the Closing General Session. Attendees will benefit from an on-site bookstore where they can buy books to have signed by their favorite speakers.

The Breakfast for Bill event is free for all individuals registered for the 2016 ALSC National Institute. All special events are included in the cost of registration. Registration fees include Thursday dinner, Friday breakfast, and Saturday breakfast.

Registration for the 2016 ALSC National Institute is open! For more information and registration details for the 2016 ALSC National Institute please visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/institute

The post Breakfast for Bill at #alsc16 Announced appeared first on ALSC Blog.

ALSC announced that award-winning author David Shannon will present the Opening General Session at the ALSC National Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. This event will take place at the Charlotte Marriott City Center on Thursday, September 15, 2016 and is sponsored by Scholastic, Inc.

David Shannon will present the Opening General Session at the 2016 National Institute (photo courtesy Scholastic, Inc.)

David Shannon is the internationally acclaimed creator of more than thirty picture books, including No, David!, a Caldecott Honor Book and his second New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. In addition to three more David picture books, Shannon’s bestsellers include:

• Too Many Toys
• How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball
• A Bad Case of Stripes
• Duck on a Bike
• Alice the Fairy
• Good Boy, Fergus!
• Jangles: A Big Fish Story
• Bugs in My Hair

A native of Spokane, Washington, Shannon and his family live in Southern California.

Other confirmed special events include a Breakfast for Bill program on Friday, September 16 with Phil and Erin Stead, Laura Dronzek and Kevin Henkes. On Saturday, September 17, Jacqueline Woodson will present the Closing General Session. Attendees will benefit from an on-site bookstore where they can buy books to have signed by their favorite speakers.

The Opening General Session is free for all individuals registered for the 2016 ALSC National Institute. All special events are included in the cost of registration. Registration fees include Thursday dinner, Friday breakfast, and Saturday breakfast.

“Having David as our opening speaker will be a terrific way to kick off an awesome two-and-a-half days,” said 2016 ALSC National Institute Planning Task Force chair Emily Nanney. “David is not only an incredibly talented artist, he’s also an engaging speaker who will bring a lot of joy to attendees. We couldn’t be more excited to have him.”

For more information and registration details for the 2016 ALSC National Institute please visit www.ala.org/alsc/institute.

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