Member News
ALSC/ALA News: Save on ALSC Institute Registration | Fall Courses from ALSC | 2023 Bechtel Fellowship Applications Open | Graphic Novels Reading Lists | Library Card Sign-up Month | Volunteer for ALA, Council, and Joint Committees | I Love My Librarian Award
Field Notes: 2022 Eisner Award Winners | Engage Every Student Initiative
Member News
Virginia A. Walter, professor emerita, University of California, Los Angeles, and ALSC past president, co-authored Five Steps of Outcome-Based Planning and Evaluation for Youth Services with Melissa Gross and Cindy Mediavilla. The publication was released this year by ALA Editions and focuses on the organizational context specific to youth services in public libraries, walking readers through concrete steps to use outcome-based planning and evaluation to achieve their goals while effectively promoting the library. Congratulations, Virginia!
Don't Miss Out on the Savings -- Register Today for the ALSC National Institute
Register by August 24 and save up to $50! Join us at the ALSC National Institute, September 29 through October 1, in Kansas City. The Institute is everything you need in one place--programming, keynotes, networking, and much more. This intimate, intensive learning opportunity with a youth services focus is designed for front-line youth library staff, children’s literature experts, education and library school faculty members, and other interested adults. It is one of the only conferences devoted solely to children's librarianship, literature, and technology.
The Institute's general sessions feature: Christina Soontornvat, Dr. Nicole A. Cooke, Adam Gidwitz and Hena Khan, and B.B. Alston, Julian Randall, and Young Vo. The power-packed, wide-ranging lineup of education programs includes: Applying Improvisational Skills in Public Librarianship; Beyond Storytime: Dynamic Library Literacy Programs that Snap, Crackle, and Pop!; Black Kids Camp Too, Don't They?; Imagine That! Rethinking Play at the Library; Overwhelmed by Underserved Communities; Pivot! Adapting Programming for School-Aged Children in a Changing World; and much more. And it wouldn't be an ALSC Institute without a host of networking opportunities, book signings, exhibits, and more!
Complete details are on the Institute website. We hope to see you there.
Fall Courses from ALSC
Registration is open for two fall online courses from ALSC.
The Library in the Middle: Serving Tweens through Change and Self Discovery
October 3 - 29
Instructor: Kylie Peters
4-week, synchronous course
The tween years are a time of rapid growth and transition for young people. The challenges of puberty are often accompanied by big questions about personal identity like "who am I" and "where do I fit in the world." For library workers, it can be challenging to determine where and how this age group best fits into public library service. This class will address preadolescent development and common experiences, and how to apply those concepts to create effective library collection development and programming for tweens.
ALSC Personal Member: $156.75
ALA Personal Member: $188.10
Nonmember: $209
Register for Library in the Middle here
The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future
October 3
Instructor: Kathleen T. Horning
6-week asynchronous course
What does it mean when we recommend Newbery Award winners to the children in our communities? Should the ALA seal of approval stand for 100 years? How can we help parents and teachers understand what the Newbery Medal is – and isn’t? This online course will give participants a solid grounding in the history of the Medal and how it’s changed over time; an opportunity to read, discuss, and consider past and present Newbery winners with colleagues from across the nation; a chance to talk to former Newbery Committee members and a Newbery author, and suggestions for programming using Newbery-winning books.
ALSC Personal Member: $216.75
ALA Personal Member: $260.10
Nonmember: $289
Register for Newbery Medal here
For further details on courses, please visit ALSC's online courses webpage.
Bechtel Fellowship Applications Open
The Professional Recognition and Scholarships committee currently is accepting applications for the 2023 Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship, which provides a grant up to $7,500 to a qualified children’s librarian to spend up to four weeks reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville. The Baldwin Library contains a special collection of 130,000 volumes of children’s literature published mostly before 1950.
The fellowship application and all supporting materials are due October 15. Please visit the Bechtel webpage for complete details. If you have additional questions, please contact the co-chairs of the Professional Recognition and Scholarships Committee Rachel Fryd (frydr at freelibrary dot org) and Elizabeth Burns (eburns at njstatelib dot org).
Looking for some inspiration? Read about the 2022 Bechtel Fellowship recipient or check out articles written by past Bechtel fellows.
Updated Graphic Novels Reading Lists
Compiled and annotated by ALSC's Quicklists Consulting committee and filled with engaging reads, the Graphic Novels Reading Lists are a great give-away for your library or school. Released this summer, these three new lists cover age ranges from kindergarten to eighth grade and include classics as well as new titles that have been widely recommended and well-reviewed, plus books that have popular appeal as well as critical acclaim. The lists are available to download from the ALSC website.
Sing the Praises of Libraries during Library Card Sign-Up Month
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! Tony Award-winning performer, actress, and philanthropist Idina Menzel and her sister author and educator Cara Mentzel are serving as honorary chairs of this year's campaign and are reminding everyone that the library is a great place to find your voice! As honorary chairs, Idina and Cara are encouraging individuals to explore all the library has to offer, like new children’s books, access to technology, and educational programming.
Also in September, the sisters’ debut picture book, Loud Mouse, about a little mouse named Dee who loves to sing very loudly, will be released by Disney Hyperion. Visit the Library Card Sign-Up Month site for free graphics, featuring Idina, Cara, and Dee (aka Loud Mouse), and media tools such as press release templates, sample proclamation and social media posts, a ready-to-air audio public service announcement (PSA), and sample PSA scripts. Many graphics and tools are also available in Spanish.
In addition, posters featuring Dee are available for purchase in the ALA Store.
Volunteer for ALA, Council, and Joint Committees
Emily Drabinski, ALA President-elect, calls on members to volunteer to serve on ALA, Council, and Joint committees for the 2023-2025 term (beginning July 1, 2023). Serving with colleagues on committees is an opportunity to shape the future of ALA and the important work the association does on behalf of libraries and library workers everywhere.
Members can volunteer via the online ALA volunteer form. Please complete and submit the form electronically (be sure to select "ALA" in the drop-down menu on the main form). To be considered for the 2023-2025 term, forms must be submitted no later than September 30, 2022. Any forms received after this date will be considered for the next term (2024-2026).
President-Elect Drabinski will make committee appointments in consultation with both the Committee on Appointments (for ALA and Joint committee appointments) and the Committee on Committees (for Council committee appointments). Initial proposed committee appointments will be approved by the ALA Executive Board in January 2023, with notifications sent to appointed individuals throughout Spring 2023.
For more details, check out the Volunteer to Serve press release.
Applications Open: I Love My Librarian Award
ALA invites library users across America to submit nominations for the I Love My Librarian Award through September 30, 2022! Ten outstanding librarians will receive $5,000 and the honor of a lifetime, including being celebrated on stage at ALA’s LibLearnX Conference in New Orleans in January 2023. Honorees will also receive complimentary LibLearnX registration as part of their award package as well as a $750 travel stipend. We know librarians of all kinds go above and beyond to serve and educate their patrons every day, so please spread the word in your community about this life-changing opportunity! Promotional tools including graphics, social media copy, printable materials, and a sample press release are all available on the award website.
Comic-Con Announces 2022 Eisner Winners
The 2022 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were presented at an awards ceremony during Comic-Con in July. Named for the pioneering comics creator and graphic novelist Will Eisner, The Eisner Awards, a prominent prize in the comic book industry, are given annually in 32 categories. Winning titles were chosen from nominated works published between January 1 and December 31, 2021. The winners in various categories for young readers were:
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)
Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, by Julie and Stan Sakai (IDW)
Other nominees in this category:
Arlo & Pips #2: Join the Crow Crowd!, by Elise Gravel (HarperAlley)
I Am Oprah Winfrey, by Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Monster Friends, by Kaeti Vandorn (Random House Graphic)
Tiny Tales: Shell Quest, by Steph Waldo (HarperAlley)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)
Salt Magic, by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House)
Other nominees in this category:
Allergic, by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter (Scholastic)
Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat, by Ben Towle (Dead Reckoning)
Rainbow Bridge, by Steve Orlando, Steve Foxe, and Valentina Brancati (AfterShock)
Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear, by Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung (Dial Books for Young Readers)
The Science of Surfing: A Surfside Girls Guide to the Ocean, by Kim Dwinell (Top Shelf)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
The Legend of Auntie Po, by Shing Yin Khor (Kokila/Penguin Random House)
Other nominees in this category included:
Adora and the Distance, by Marc Bernardin and Ariela Kristantina (Comixology Originals)
Clockwork Curandera, vol. 1: The Witch Owl Parliament, by David Bowles and Raul the Third (Tu Books/Lee & Low Books)
Strange Academy, by Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos (Marvel)
Wynd, by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas (BOOM! Box)
U.S. DOE Announces Engage Every Student Initiative
In conjunction with National Summer Learning Week in July, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced the Engage Every Student Initiative, which will help communities utilize American Rescue Plan funds alongside other state and local funds to ensure that every child who wants a spot in a high-quality out-of-school time (OST) program has one.
The DOE announced a public-private partnership with five coordinating organizations: the Afterschool Alliance, The National Comprehensive Center, the National League of Cities, The National Summer Learning Association, and AASA, the School Superintendents Association who will work with allied organizations to ensure that students have access to critical learning and development opportunities year-round.
The initiative will encourage and support schools, districts, elected officials, government agencies, community organizations, and others connected to out-of-school time efforts to take up the department's call to action on universal access, and to encourage the utilization of American Rescue Plan and other resources to support access to out-of-school time to support student recovery from lost instructional time during the pandemic.
The department also announced new resources to support out-of-school time including:
- A $3-4 million dollar contract that will be awarded in FY2023 to provide best practices in program implementation for summer and out-of-school time.
- A new tool from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to support states, districts, or programs in building and using evidence to implement afterschool and summer learning programs.
For additional information on the Department of Education’s out-of-school time work, visit www.ed.gov/ost.