Member News
ALSC/ALA News: Summer Courses from ALSC | Host ALSC's 2023 Lecture with Bryan Collier | ALSC Institute Registration | Summer Reading Lists Available! | 2023 Media Award Suggestions | ALA Store Spring Sale
Field Notes: New Name for Fred Rogers Center | Empire State Award | EJK Award Winners
Member News
After an extensive six-month national search, ALSC Past President Andrew Medlar was selected as president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He officially joins the organization on May 31, 2022. Andrew is the 12th presideent and director in the library's 126-year history. According to Patrick Dowd, chair of the Library’s Board of Trustees, Andrew was the unanimous choice of the search committee and the board. Congratulations, Andrew!
ALSC Past President KT Horning is retiring as director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) as of July 1, 2022, after a long and distinguished career with the CCBC. She began working at the CCBC as an undergraduate volunteer in 1979, and under the mentorship of CCBC Director Emerita Ginny Moore Kruse, KT began working as a CCBC librarian in 1982. She has served as the center’s director for the past 20 years. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter, KT!
Tessa Michaelson Schmidt was recently named the incoming director of the CCBC. She will start in her new role in July. Tessa’s varied experiences as a former classroom teacher, school librarian, public librarian, and administrator give her an insider’s understanding of the needs of the CCBC’s constituents. Her experience as a CCBC librarian, an administrator, and most recently as the assistant state superintendent for the Division for Libraries and Technology within the Department of Public Instruction, has prepared her for the leadership role she will take. Congratulations, Tessa!
Maureen Schlosser is the author of the recently published Social and Emotional Learning for Picture Book Readers (ALA Editions/AASL). The publication features 24 compelling picture books with ready-to-go lesson plans that support social and emotional learning (SEL) through the National School Library Standards.
The latest publication from Michael Cart is Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism, Fourth Edition (ALA Neal-Schuman). A comprehensive update of his classic text, this pulications is relied upon by educators, LIS instructors and students, and practitioners for its insight and thoroughness.
Kudos, Maureen and Michael!
Summer Courses from ALSC
Registration is open for two summer online courses from ALSC.
Reading the Art in Picture Books (NEW!): Presented by Heidi Hammond and Gail Nordstrom, this 4-week course will prepare students to articulate why they like picture books by describing its artistic elements, media, style, and design. Students will develop visual literacy skills and learn how to examine and evaluate picture books for both text and illustrations. The course is good preparation for reviewing picture books or serving on book award committees, as well as for sharing picture books with children in a more expansive way.
ALSC Personal Member: $156.75
ALA Personal Member: $188.10
Nonmember: $209
The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future: Presented by KT Horning, this 6-week 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 with former Newbery Committee members and a Newbery author; and suggestions for programming using Newbery-winning books.
ALSC Personal Member: $215
ALA Personal Member: $260.10
Nonmember: $289
For further details on either course, visit ALSC's online courses webpage.
Apply to Host the 2023 Children’s Literature Lecture with Bryan Collier
Applications to host the 2023 Children's Literature Lecture featuring award-winning author/illustrator, Bryan Collier, are open!
The Children's Literature Lecture, administered by ALSC, is an annual event at which an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature presents a paper that makes a significant contribution to the field. A library school, department of education in a college or university, or a children’s library system may be considered for host site. The lecture is traditionally held in April or early May.
The Children's Literature Lecture Award Committee Manual provides full details on hosting, including the "Responsibilities of the Host Institution" (Appendix D) and "Checklist for the Host Institution" (Appendix E).
Author and illustrator Bryan Collier’s unique artistic style utilizing watercolors and collage earned him a scholarship to attend Pratt Institute. He has illustrated more than 30 picture books and is the recipient of multiple awards, including numerous Coretta Scott King illustrator awards and honors, four Caldecott honors, and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award.
Applications are due Friday, July 1, 2022.
Join Us for the 2022 ALSC National Institute
ALSC members, you can still be an early bird. Register by June 30 and save! The 2022 ALSC National Institute: Light Up the Future is scheduled for September 29 - October 1, in Kansas City, and includes engaging and topical education programs; thought-provoking general sessions featuring top-notch children's authors and illustrators, including Christina Soontornvat, Adam Gidwitz, Hena Khan, B.B. Alston, Julian Randall, and Young Vo; book signings; and numerous energizing and centering networking opportunities.
Visit the Institute webpage for all the details. We hope to see you there!
Summer Reading Lists Are Here!
ALSC's Quicklists Consulting Committee has updated the summer reading lists with new and exciting titles for 2022! The lists are full of book titles to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer. Four lists are available for birth-preschool, grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. The lists are available for free download from the ALSC website.
2023 Media Awards & Notable Children's Books - Send Us Your Suggestions
ALSC personal members are welcome to suggest titles for the 2023 media awards and Notable Children's Books list. An ALSC Member Award Suggestion Form is available at https://airtable.com/shrhAgQqRLM1tlOpp, and the deadline for submissions is October 15, 2022. For more information about each award, visit www.ala.org/alsc and click on “Awards, Grants & Scholarships.”
ALA Store's Spring Sale!
Save 50% on 400+ books, posters, bookmarks, and more. This limited time offer is good only on the ALA Store while supplies last. Browse the sale now!
New Name for Fred Rogers Center
On May 23, 2022, the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media announced its new name, mission, vision, and values. The new name, Fred Rogers Institute, was chosen to better describe the organization and its work to advance the legacy of Fred Rogers by investing in the strengths of families and caring adults to support the healthy development of children.
To learn more about Fred Rogers Institute's commitment to academic pursuit and practice-focused initiatives that support children, families, and their helpers across many fields, visit the new website.
2022 Empire State Award
The Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association (NYLA) recently announced that the winner of the 2022 Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People is Kate Messner. She will be honored at a luncheon next November during the Association’s annual conference.
Kate Messner is well respected in the youth literature world and has a keen understanding of how to write for her intended audience. The quote on her website from Shelf Awareness sums it up: “Kate Messner has an intuitive understanding of how to present materials to children in a way that is entertaining, edifying, and always aimed directly at them.”
Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Pond, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, and Rolling Thunder; novels that tackle real-world issues like Chirp, Breakout, and The Seventh Wish; mysteries and thrillers like Capture the Flag and Eye of the Storm; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series; and the popular chapter book series Ranger in Time.
First presented to Maurice Sendak in 1990, the Empire State Award is given annually to an author or illustrator currently residing in New York State, acknowledging their significant contribution to the field of literature for young people. Past recipients of this award include Brian Selznick, Rita Williams-Garcia, Bryan Collier, Jacqueline Woodson, Laurie Halse Anderson, and several other youth literature heavyweights. For more information about the award, please visit the NYLA website.
2022 EJK Foundation Award Winners
The Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Foundation, in partnership with the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), announced the 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award and Honor Books in March. The annual award celebrates exceptional early career authors and illustrators for portraying the multicultural nature of our world in the spirit of Ezra Jack Keats.
The 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award winner for Writer is Paul Harbridge for Out Into the Big Wide Lake, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon.
The winner for Illustrator is Gracey Zhang for Lala’s Words.
Writer Honors included:
Joanna Ho for Playing at the Border, illustrated by Teresa Martinez
Anne Wynter for Everybody in the Red Brick Building, illustrated by Oge Mora
Illustrator Honors went to:
Marta Bartolj for Every Little Kindness, written by Marta Bartolj
Kenesha Sneed for Many Shapes of Clay, written by Kenesha Sneed