ALA Youth Media Awards

Tomorrow morning, I'll be watching the live stream of the American Library's Youth Media Awards.  I am a proud member of ALSC, whose members make up many of the awards committees.

You can watch the ALA YMA live beginning on February 12, at 8:00am MT.

http://ala.unikron.com/2018/index_home.php

I'm afraid that I may have missed reading many of the award winners this year, so tomorrow morning, I will be placing holds and adding to my TBR pile!

The social media hashtag for the event is #ALAyma

#BannedBooksWeek begins today!

 Catcher in the Rye . . . Harry Potter . . . Captain Underpants . . . Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to remove books from schools and libraries. Celebrate YOUR freedom to read and right to choose your book during Banned Books Week, September 25 to October 1. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/bbooks.

I'm attending #alaac16

I'm headed to the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Orlando , or #alaac16, if you're following along on Twitter.

I won't be posting here, but I'll be tweeting from @shelfemployed, and I'll be live-blogging for the ALSC Blog.  If you're #alaleftbehind, or interested in all things bookish and librarianish, follow along.

ALA Youth Media Awards announced today!

Watch the Golden Globes last night?  Well, it's award season for books, too!

The big news today for librarians, parents, teachers, and fans of #kidlit, is the announcement of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards. I'll be driving to work as the live webcast begins, but I'll be checking in as soon as I get to work!

Most people know the Newbery and Caldecott Medal awards, but there are many others.  You can check them out the complete press release here: http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards

You can watch a live stream of the event beginning at 8:00AM EST today, January 11, 2016.  Here's the link: http://ala.unikron.com/2016/ .

You can also follow the Twitter hashtag #ALAyma for live updates.

I hope to see a few of my favorites!

Image source: openclipart.org

Banned Books Week 2015

If everyone adhered to this great advice from Dav Pilkey, there would be no need to call attention to Banned Books Week!  Grab a good book and celebrate your freedom to read.

Off to San Francisco!

I'm off to the annual American Library Association Conference today!  For conference news, updates, and insight, be sure to follow the ALSC Blog.  I (and many other ALSC members) will be live blogging from the conference on the ALSC Blog.  If you prefer, follow the hashtag #alaac15 on Twitter.

Cheers!

ALA Youth Media Awards

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the day that the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced at ALA Midwinter in Dallas.

ALA will host a live webcast of the event, beginning at 7:30am CT.

I can't wait to hear the winners, and hope I've read them all.  Next week, I'm planning a storytime based on Caldecott Medal winners.  I'm hoping to share the winner with my storytime crowd (unless, of course, its a behemoth like The Invention of Hugo Cabret  - you never know)

While you're waiting for the winners to be announced, feel free to enjoy this video which "captures Newbery Award-Winning authors Virginia Hamilton and Jean Craighead George talking about how those awards (for Julie of the Wolves and M.C. Higgins The Great respectively) changed their lives."


Video provided courtesy of Open Road Media.   

Tomorrow is also Nonfiction Monday and the roundup will be here.

New Orleans A.D.

I'll be leaving New Orleans today after a wonderful experience at ALA Annual.  Here are a few thoughts on the Crescent City and its inhabitants:

• The ease and politeness of the Big Easy is notable.  With very few exceptions, the local population was friendly and accommodating - even to three librarians on an expense account. ("Can we have three separate checks?" "Sure, no problem." "Can we check out an hour late?" "I can do that.")

• New Orleans is a religious city.  Plentiful are the numbers of transportation companies bearing the name of the Almighty.  The Lord's Son may even be found endorsing iPhone repair. If there is debauchery on Bourbon Street, it is a tourist production; New Orleans serves only to provide the venue.

• If there is one thing that New Orleanians would like you to know, it is that New Orleans was not a victim of Hurricane Katrina.  Yes, the hurricane passed close by and caused damage from wind and rain.  However, the devastation of New Orleans was caused by human failure - the failure of the levees, the failure of the local infrastructure.  They want us to know that, to remember that, and to ensure that it never happens again.

• There are many books written about the New Orleans experience during and after Hurricane Katrina.  If you're looking for a distilled, visceral interpretation that is accessible to teens, look no further than Josh Neufeld's graphic novel, New Orleans After the Deluge (Knopf 2010).

I'll be finishing the book on the plane.  I think I know how it turns out.

So long, New Orleans, it's been great!

in New Orleans @ ALA

I have been so busy here at ALA's Annual Conference in New Orleans, that I haven't had much time to post.  However, you can check out the ALSC blog for what's new at the conference.  I've been blogging for them daily.

In a nutshell, here are some highlights

• New Orleans is a wonderful city! The people, the weather (yes, I like to be hot!), the food, the sights - fantastic!
• Dan Savage was moving as he spoke to a huge crowd about It Gets Better.
• Jeff Kinney is as funny in person as he is in The Wimpy Kid series.
• Rick Riordan and his panel of colleagues were entertaining and informative. More Percy Jackson GNs are on the way.  The Kane Chronicles will be a trilogy.  The Son of Neptune will be out in October. There is a very cool new ALA READ poster by John Rocco on the way soon!
• Did I mention the food is awesome?

Rick Riordan signing my copy of The Lost Hero

ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans

I'll be blogging from New Orleans for the next few days.  I'm off to the annual American Library Association Conference.  In addition to posting here at Shelf-employed, I'll be contributing to the ALSC Blog with other youth services librarians. (and I'll be tweeting, too!) Follow all the excitement of ALA in NOLA (as it relates to children's literature and youth services) at the ALSC Blog.

I haven't been to New Orleans in a long time. I can't wait to get back!

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