2021 ALA Annual Conference – Virtual!

From the desks of Kathleen Slocum, Continuing Education Coordinator, and Cheyenne Chontos, Library Technology Coordinator…

Kathleen: This year the ALA 2021 conference was held virtually for the continued safety of our many librarians that would have attended and met up in Chicago. The conference highlighted so many opinions and offered multiple resources on the topic of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

Cheyenne: I was especially drawn to Billie Jean King’s session as she talked about diversity and gender in sports and in the business world. During her session, she described the huge impact that community resources, such as access to the public library and to public parks, had on her childhood and her tennis career. It was inspiring to see the incredible impact libraries can have on people and how dearly they hold those experiences for their entire lives.

Kathleen: I found another opportunity that literally fed my heart and soul. The cookbook authors were very down-to-earth, and they offered us wonderful opportunities to get a taste of what their favorite foods were and the memories they have with their friends and family. The three I enjoyed were Stanley Tucci, Trisha Yearwood, and the 2019 winner of The Great British Baking Show, David Atherton. All three have new books coming out this fall. Enjoy them – I know I will!

Cheyenne: I also want to highlight some of the amazing breakout sessions that were offered this year. One of my favorites was the “Social Media for Small and Rural Libraries” session. Suzanne Macaulay, Deputy Director of the Pioneer Library System in Canandaigua, New York, offered practical ideas and tips for running social media for small and rural libraries. Some of my favorite tips from this session included:

• Do one or two social media platforms well, rather than trying to be involved in all of them.
• Patrons really enjoy social media content that is original, such as open-ended questions, images and graphics made in-house, and teasers of programs.
• Branded content, such as promotions for your digital libraries, can also be great to share on your social media.
• Your professional, community, and government organizations, such as ALA or a state agency, may also have content for you to share.
• Keep it positive and keep it simple!

I also enjoyed “Reaching The Underserved: How to Strengthen Your Library’s Community Engagement Strategies to Better Serve Those Who Cannot Visit the Library in Person,” “Library Budgeting: Working with What You Have and Advocating for What You Need,” and “Navigating Patron Privacy Concerns in the Digital Age.”

Learn more at https://2021.alaannual.org/

Most content from ALA’s 2021 Annual Conference – including live speakers and breakout sessions – will be available through ALA for a year after the conference ends. We hope that those who are able will take time to enjoy and learn from all this incredible content!

Loud Librarians Lead - Vlog Episode 3!

The latest episode of Loud Librarians Lead vlog is an interview with Amanda Bremmon and Jamie Buswell from the Siouxland Libraries. These two librarians team up to create virtual programming for their patrons to interact with during the pandemic. Acquire tips and tricks to help you bring alternative programming to your library!

Amanda K Bremmon and Jamie Buswell are Library Associates at Siouxland Libraries’ Downtown Branch.

Jamie has an undergraduate degree in chemistry with a focus in secondary education. Her educational philosophy derives from discovery based learning which allows the student or child to learn through hands-on exploration and inquiry. Before joining Siouxland Libraries, Jamie was previously the Program Manager and Interim Director of the Kirby Science Discovery Center at the Washington Pavilion. She strives to bring a fun, unique, STEM based approach to afterschool age programming.

Amanda has an undergraduate degree in music industry and a Master of Library Science. Her work is focused on creating innovative ways for the public library to be an active part of the community. She can often be found with her guitar at storytimes, designing science programming, or selecting children’s non-fiction and the library’s music collection. She previously worked as an account manager for a major science kit company.

“Jamie’s passion and empathy creates an incredible environment for our patrons as well as her coworkers. She is wonderful at reminding me to have fun while learning.” – Amanda

“Amanda’s curiosity and desire for learning pushes me to explore new concepts and helps me grow as an educator.” - Jamie

Enjoy the video above, and for more links and information, visit Loud Librarians Lead at library.sd.gov.

Bitmoji Libraries

…from the desk of Alissa Adams, School Library Technology Coordinator 

Teachers and school librarians use Bitmoji classrooms as a way to engage kids, teach in a virtual environment, and deliver a large amount of information in a fun, compact way. 

A Bitmoji classroom is something that could easily be transferred to the library setting. Think: program landing pages, virtual bulletin boards, fun newsletters, digital book displays, etc. 

Take a look at this article on the Collect+Connect blog to learn more about how you can create a Bitmoji library for your school or public library.