The event opened with a meme-filled presentation from author and librarian William Ottens (Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks) and closed with a keynote from renowned librarian and literary critic Nancy Pearl (The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, with Jeff Schwager). The sessions … Continue reading Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being
Librarians and the 2020 Census: ensuring rural residents get counted The 2020 Census will be important for all Americans, but for those who live and work in and care about rural communities and small towns, it will be critical, said Larra Clark, deputy director of the Public Library Association and deputy director of the ALA … Continue reading Book Clubs, the Census, and the Five Es
Standup comedian, storyteller, and speaker Susanne Schmidt continued Lewis’s theme. Storytelling, she said, is a form of connection. “People find common ground in the shared experiences that come to life in storytelling,” she said. “Stories allow us to connect on a deeper level.” She then walked the audience through the four elements of a good … Continue reading Building Community Connections at ARSL 2019
Three key takeaways from the symposium: Students need computational thinking (CT) to succeed. YALSA 2018 Symposium attendees had an opportunity to experience CT in action in “It’s True: Computational Thinking and Libraries Are a Perfect Match,” an interactive session led by Marijke Visser, associate director and senior policy advocate for the American Library Association’s Public … Continue reading Focusing on Teen Needs
Sabaa Tahir, author of the An Ember in the Ashes series, talked about the first time she saw herself in a book. It was in the 4th grade, she said, and there was a Muslim character in the story—the first one she had ever seen. She said she checked out the book 50 times in … Continue reading YALSA 2018 Symposium Celebrates YA Literature
