The PLA Blog | Official Blog of the Public Library Association
2008 ALSC Newbery/Caldecott Banquet
This year’s Caldecott/Newbery Banquet was one of the best I’ve attended. The speeches were awesome and the entire night was delightful. Karen Breen, 2008 Caldecott chair, presented the Caldecott Honor: to Laura Vaccaro Seeger for First the Egg, published by Roaring Brook Press/Neal Porter Books to Kadir Nelson for Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story [...]
Interview with the…
In the past two days I’ve attended two presentations, spanning six hours, on The Catalog. In that time, no one talked about one of my major concerns: users can’t search for the articles in our collection, which means they can’t find them without our help. Perhaps this is such a big issue that it’s not worth mentioning, or [...]
Digital Storytelling: Where Outreach, Local History & Technology Collide
Everyone has a story. Being able to turn your story to something that can be shared with others enhances self worth and benefits the community overall. Their story lives on after they are gone. As libraries, we have the training and in some ways, duty to document and archive society’s culture and history. We have [...]
Going Green
I’m the Assistant Library Manager at the Perry Hall Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library (MD) http://www.bcpl.info and I’ve been a librarian with BCPL for over 25 years. This is my first time blogging for PLA, although I’ve been blogging conferences for my library all year. http://bcpltrip.blogspot.com However, I don’t have all the skills [...]
Who Needs Swag?
Seth Godin wrote recently that “if you’re remarkable, amazing or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn’t have a resume at all.” The idea being that you market yourself by doing good work, not by writing lists of bulleted declarative phrases, formatting them in professional-looking typefaces, and printing them out on quality paper. I just walked [...]
From the Pages of Andy Warhol’s Diary
Okay, here’s why I love ALA. Keep in mind that I’m shy and also still very new to the profession. While waiting for the shuttle to take me from the airport to my hotel, I met Judy Luther, a former academic librarian in Florida, now working as a library consultant in Philadelphia. It seems that [...]
Got Tweens? Serving Younger Teens and Tweens
Hi, everyone! I’m Anne Heidemann, Children’s, Tween & Teen Services Department Head at the Canton Public Library in Canton, Michigan. I’m a member of YALSA’s Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee, and an outgoing member of ALSC’s Membership Committee. I’m also a member of PLA and LLAMA. Today I attended a YALSA preconference, [...]
Coming Into Los Angeles
I live maybe ten miles from the Philadelphia airport—I was through security and waiting at my gate this morning less than an hour after leaving my house—and I’ve lived in the Philadelphia area most of my life. Yet from the air, on take offs and landings, it’s almost impossible for me to tell where I [...]
*Your* interview with Jamie Lee Curtis
If you could ask Jamie Lee Curtis a question, what would it be and why? I have been granted the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jamie Lee Curtis after she speaks at the PLA Preisdent’s Program on Monday night, and posting the interview to the blog (in text format). Since the interview is for you, our [...]
Applications being accepted for PLA Results Boot Camp
PLA is now accepting applications for PLA Results Boot Camp 4: Intensive Library Management Training. This five-day immersion program will be held Oct. 20-24 in Cleveland, Ohio, and will cover strategic planning, data-based decision-making, effective resource allocation and other topics related to management training. By the end of the workshop, participants will have the skills [...]
