At ALA Midwinter Meeting this year, I’m meeting lots of people, especially in various lines and at events. When someone gives evidence of being a children’s librarian, I’m giving them the card I made, which has the image at the top of this post, and a link to my Sondy for Newbery! page.
What’s been so much fun about it is that most of the people I meet this way say something along the lines of, “Oh, that would be so wonderful!” Many also ask me, “How does the process work?” I hope I’ve inspired several more people to try to serve on a committee in the future!
But it’s just brought home to me how very much the people who come to ALA conferences, especially children’s librarians, are kindred spirits and my people! I have found my tribe!
On Thursday, my friend was telling me about her experience serving on the Caldecott committee and how thrilled she was when she was selected and how the first person she told didn’t have a clue what it was. It’s so much fun to share my hope about this with people who agree with me that it would be awesome!
It’s made me just a little braver to introduce myself to people — and I have been rewarded by meeting so many wonderful people!
It’s been a lovely conference. And bright and early tomorrow morning, we get to find out who this year’s winners are….