Explore service beyond library walls on Bookmobile Saturday

For Immediate Release
Fri, 05/04/2012

Contact:

John Amundsen

Communications Specialist

Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS)

1-800-545-2433 ext. 2140

jamundsen@ala.org

CHICAGO — Library outreach services continue to transform to meet the needs of 21st century patrons. Bookmobile Saturday, June 23, at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference provides attendees with opportunities to learn, network and gain inspiration.  Learn about the issues, technologies and best practices that are shaping today’s outreach services during two morning programs.  Network with bookmobile and outreach professionals during the Bookmobile Saturday Author Luncheon and be inspired by guest speaker Gerald Chertavian, founder of Year Up.  Finally, climb aboard some of the latest vehicles during the Annual Parade of Bookmobiles, held in conjunction with the ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair. Bookmobile Saturday runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 23, 2012 during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.  

Boookmobile Saturday begins with “Serving Communities outside the Walls of the Library – Using Mobile Library Services to reach the Underserved” from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in room 206A of the Anaheim Conference Center (ACC). Panelists will explore the many ways bookmobiles extend the reach of the library in communities of all sizes and provide services to children, English language learners and seniors.

A second panel discussion,  “Outreach as a Core Principle: How the King County Library System put outreach out front and won the Library of the Year award,” will follow from 10:30 to noon in ACC room 203B.  Representatives of the King County (Wash.) Library System, 2011 Library of the Year, will discuss their Future Services Strategy.  This innovative strategy places library outreach on par with in-library and online services in order to combat illiteracy through early literacy programs.  Presenters will provide practical information on developing outreach services, gaining local staff support, evaluating service and vehicle logistics.

Admission to both morning programs is free and open to all Annual Conference attendees.

Following the panel discussions, attendees will have the opportunity to attend a luncheon from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in ACC room 303C with special guest and social entrepreneur Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up, a non-profit organization that provides intensive professional education to young adults in urban areas. Year Up's intensive one-year program provides high school graduates and GED recipients between the ages of 18-24 with a combination of hands-on skill development and corporate internship opportunities. Tickets to the lunch are $25, and must be purchased online by June 14; tickets will not be available at registration.  Please refer to Ticket OLS1 when registering. Mr. Chertavian's participation is made possible by Viking Press, Penguin USA.

After lunch, the program will move to the Diversity and Outreach Fair in the exhibits hall (ACC, Hall A) for the Parade of Bookmobiles from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., part of the ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair.  During the Parade, attendees can explore bookmobiles and speak with bookmobile staff and enter for a random prize drawing. The parade is free and open to all conference attendees. 

Bookmobile Saturday is made possible through the generous support of Farber Specialty Vehicles and OBS, Inc. 

For more information, and to register, please visit www.ala.org/annual.