Member News
ALSC/ALA News: Spring Course Coming Soon! | ALSC Chat: Welcoming Spaces | New Día Resources and Grant Available! | 2024 Legacy Award Suggestions Welcome | Jaffarian Award Applications Open | YMA Recording
Field Notes: Meg Medina Named New National Ambassador
Member News
Dr. Claudette McLinn (far left), founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) and retired district supervising librarian for the Los Angeles Unified School District, received the 2023 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award recognizes a practitioner for substantial contributions through active engagement with youth using award-winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading related activities/programs. Congratulations, Claudette!
ALSC member Saroj Ghoting (center), an early childhood literacy consultant, retired at the end of 2022. She was a national trainer on early literacy and very active in ALSC/PLA's Every Child Ready to Read @ your library® early literacy initiative. Best wishes, Saroj!
Meredith Steiner’s picture book, Just. Like. You., illustrated by Avneet Sandhu, was released in early December 2022. Published by POW! Kids Books, Just. Like. You. is a rhyming story that celebrates diversity, introducing readers to all the members of a classroom and what makes each of them unique. Yay, Meredith!
Spring eCourse Begins April 3
Back, by popular demand: Reading the Art in Picture Books! In this four-week, online course, beginning April 3, Heidi Hammond and Gail Nordstrom help students learn the language of and better evaluate the art in children's literature.
Focused on the development of visual literacy skills and the examination and evaluation of picture books for both text and illustration, this course can be good preparation for reviewing picture books or serving on a book award committee, as well as for sharing picture books with children in a more expansive way. For further details and registration, visit the ecourse webpage.
Creating Welcoming Spaces
Join ALSC as we continue the conversation on ways to create and cultivate Welcoming Spaces. We are hosting a We Are ALSC Chat on Tuesday, February 28, at 1:00pm CT (2pm ET/ 11am PT), focused on creating Welcoming Spaces for new American, immigrant, and refugee members in our communities. This is a continuation of the conversation from last summer's IMLS-funded "Welcoming Spaces National Forum," which welcomed staff from libraries and children's museums to discuss struggles, successes, and best practices in reaching immigrant and refugee populations in their communities.
If you're doing something amazing in your library, come share! If you're having an issue or want to know what others are doing, come ask! This Zoom chat is open to all; feel free to share this information with interested colleagues. For more information and to sign up, visit the Zoom registration page.
Celebrate Día with Updated, Free Resources!
ALSC encourages libraries and community organizations to connect children with diverse books and programming opportunities through Día - Children's Day/Book Day. Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds.
National Día Program Registry 2023. Is your library hosting Día programming this year? We invite you to share information about public programs you are hosting in your community. The Día Program Registry is a national database showcasing all types and sizes of Día programming that is searchable by state. Program coordinators who use the registry also receive a personalized webpage to help promote their Día events. For more information, visit the Program Registry webpage.
Free resources for download! Check out the 2023 Día reading lists and social media graphics on our website. These colorful resources make it easy to promote your Día programs and celebrate #bookjoy!
Día Grant Available. The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL), an organization advocating for multicultural children’s literature is offering a $500 grant in selected multicultural children’s books to a library serving children and families that is hosting a 2023 Día library program with an African American focus. Grant applications are open and available on the CSMCL website. The submission deadline is March 8, 2023. The award recipient will be announced on or about March 13, 2023. For more details, visit the CSMCL grant webpage.
Submit Suggestions for the 2024 Children's Literature Legacy Award
ALSC personal members are encouraged to suggest names for the 2024 Children's Literature Legacy Award, which recognizes an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have over a period of years made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences.
Please send your suggestions directly to Caroline Ward, the 2024 committee chair. The deadline for suggestions is April 15, 2023. The Legacy Committee looks forward to having a robust list of names to consider. For more information about the Legacy Award, visit the webpage.
Jaffarian Award Applications Open
ALA invites school librarians to apply for the Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award, a $5,000 award recognizing outstanding humanities programming for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The award is administered by ALA's Public Programs Office in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). The application deadline is May 5, 2023. For more details, please visit the Jaffarian Award website.
Youth Media Awards Recording Available
Were you unable to attend ALA's Youth Media Awards Press Conference in January? You are in luck! A recording of the event is available for viewing online. In addition, you can find the press release with the complete list of 2023 ALA and affiliate youth media award winners at https://www.ala.unikron.com/.
Meg Medina Named New National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
The Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader recently announced the appointment of Meg Medina as the eighth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2023-24.
Medina, a Cuban-American, is the first Latina to serve as National Ambassador in the program’s history. She succeeds Jason Reynolds, who served as the National Ambassador from 2020 through 2022.
Medina’s books examine how culture and identity intersect through the eyes of young people. Her middle-grade novel, “Merci Suárez Changes Gears,” received the 2019 Newbery Medal and was named a notable children’s book of the year by the New York Times Book Review.
For her two-year term as Ambassador, Medina will engage readers across the country through her new platform Cuéntame!: Let’s talk books. Inspired by the Spanish phrase that friends and families use when catching up with one another, ¡Cuéntame! encourages connection among families, classrooms, libraries, and communities by talking about books.
The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is selected for their contributions to young people’s literature, the ability to relate to children and teens, and dedication to fostering children’s literacy in all forms.