Speaking their language

One of the many problems I've had over the years with various sets of standards is the language.  Those whom I've edited over the years know that jargon is a no-no (ok, I use it here but this is my personal blog not a professional publication).  If what you're saying relies on jargon indicating an…

Getting started (again)

For the 38th year in my life, it's time to start over.  Again. The academic year started on July 1, when I placed orders for new books and some supplies.  There's more to order and a lot of planning to be done.  I'm starting to think about my priorities and goals for the year and…

More Election Prep

And here are the non-AASL members of YALSA and ALSC running for ALA Council.  Again, no specific endorsements, just the general one that having school and childrens/young adult librarians on Council is important.  Many candidates are members of all three divisions, which is great for our potential voice in Council. Keturah Cappadonia, Outreach Consultant, Southern…

Election Prep

As the ALA Elections approach, it's time to think about candidates.  Historically, AASL's members don't vote, which may be a result of the process or of the way the ballot is presented.  I'll post YALSA and ALSC related candidates later, but here are some tied to AASL. Sedley Abercrombie, Lead Library Media Coordinator, Davidson County Schools,…

The next level up: #ACRLNEC17

Working in an independent school, particularly one usually considered an "elite college preparatory" school means extra pressure to be aware of what my students will be expected to do and know in their next educational institution. It makes sense to spend the day at the ACRLNEC conference because many of the colleges and universities represented…

#NEISL17 Reflections

I love the NEAISL conference. I love it even more when I'm not hosting, as I did in 2015 and 2016. For those who don't know, it's a 40-year-old conference that brings together independent school librarians in New England (and a few from NY). We meet and talk and learn together for one day and…

Why is AASL going back to a middle school mindset?

Ok, to be fair, it might have been a high school mindset when the Social Media Recognition Task Force came up with the Social Media Superstar program. When I started seeing tweets and comments about it my first thoughts were that it was interesting that AASL, which has (IMVHO) spectacularly failed to use social media…

What’s missing in this job description?

NAIS has a very little-used elist for librarians (I guess we prefer AISL's list, or local lists, or something run by ALA?).  Last week they asked for librarian's help creating the perfect Director of Libraries job description, I'm guessing to go along with their Guidelines of Professional Practice for librarians. Leaving aside the problematic use…

Fitting in

The NEAISL15 conference is over, and it seemed like everyone had a good time and got a lot out of it (whew!).  Several members were heading to Tampa for AISL15, a conference I haven't attended since 2001's Library Space Odyssey (don't ask).  In two months, I'll be in San Francisco for ALA Annual, but in…

Don’t let me be misunderstood

In my last post, I said that I was a failure - except, not really.  My programs are strong and by any standards other than those insisted on by the leaders in my profession a great success.  Which is why I'm not sure that the national association supposed to speak to and for me actually…