I’m blogging about my experience at ALA Midwinter Meeting in February 2018. Last time, I blogged about my first meeting with the 2019 Newbery committee meeting. On Sunday, I went to a couple of publisher events (which I’m not going to talk about) and some interesting talks. <\/p>\n
One was about Equity and Diversity in Libraries. It was an inspiring session and encouraged us to reach out to our communities and make new connections. They also encouraged us to find people of color and encourage them to become librarians. Only 10% of our profession is people of color, which is a crying shame. Where to find them? They are already working in our libraries in positions that don’t require a library science degree. Encourage someone you know to get that degree and join our profession!<\/p>\n
Another session I went to was on Blockchain, Open Civic Data, and TV Whitespace – all ways for libraries to bring access to their communities. They are just beginning to research using these. But some websites to watch and find out more are: <\/p>\n
https:\/\/ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu\/blockchains\/<\/a> I also went to a session sponsored by Demco where they talked about transforming event and collection discoverability with linked data. They have a product that takes your event data and makes it discoverable by Google – so, for example, someone searching for a yoga class in the area will have a library event come up, and it will be on top because of being free. Tagging with the location, the price (free), and the time the event happens all will help library events show up on top of search results. (Our library just got a new event system, so I’m not sure we can use this, but it is an exciting development.)<\/p>\n After the exciting Youth Media Awards announcements on Monday morning and breakfast with friends, I finished up my conference with the Morris Awards (for a debut novelist) and the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Awards. All the Finalists give speeches, and they let you choose five of the winners to take home with you (Yay!), so I love going to this event. Here are my notes on the speeches, with the Morris finalists beginning:<\/p>\n Nic Stone, Dear Martin<\/em><\/strong> S. F. Henson, Devils Within<\/em><\/strong> S. K. Ali, Saints and Misfits<\/em><\/strong> Akemi Dawn Bowman, Starfish<\/em><\/strong> 2018 Morris Award Winner: Next came the Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists, though not all were present:<\/p>\n Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos, Eyes of the World<\/em><\/strong> Dashka Slater, The 57 Bus<\/em><\/strong> Deborah Heiligman, Vincent and Theo<\/em><\/strong> I’m blogging about my experience at ALA Midwinter Meeting in February 2018. Last time, I blogged about my first meeting with the 2019 Newbery committee meeting. On Sunday, I went to a couple of publisher events (which I’m not going to talk about) and some interesting talks. One was about Equity and Diversity in Libraries. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,207,419],"tags":[393],"class_list":["post-34394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-award-winners","category-conference-corner","category-conf-corner","tag-alamw18"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42777,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34394\/revisions\/42777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nhttps:\/\/civic-switchboard.github.io\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSuch an honor to be part of everything happening right now! This book had a wild journey to publication, and it’s amazing to be here.<\/p>\n
\nShe’s dreamed of being a published author since she was 4 years old.
\nThis book began when she saw a news article about a 10-year-old boy who killed his white supremacist father.
\nShe grew up in the South – accustomed to be silent when people made racist comments.
\nWhen hate is all you know, how do you learn to love?
\nNothing will change if people remain silent.
\nBooks are a gateway to empathy.
\nSilence hurts people.
\nSeeds don’t grow on their own.<\/p>\n
\nPeace – the one thing our world needs.
\nWhat if we need inner peace first?
\nHer agent asked her: What if we looked for stories featuring young Muslim heroes?
\nReaders have told her, MeToo!
\nThe main character has to grapple with the power of words. Words save us and break chains of shame.<\/p>\n
\nThank you for knowing how important stories are for teens.
\nHer book has trauma, racism, abuse, and feeling alone. So she’s sad when kids say they see themselves in the book – but glad they feel seen.<\/p>\n
\nAngie Thomas, The Hate U Give<\/em><\/strong>
\nHer favorite rapper is Tupac. He’s never won an award, but he has changed lives – by acknowledging young people like she was.
\nThe greatest achievement is sparking other brains.
\nIt’s an honor to write for these young people.
\nOur world would be a better place if current political leaders read books about people who are not like them.
\nBe the light in the darkness.
\nThe child you hand a book to today may some day be a president with a Twitter account.<\/p>\n
\nThis is the second book they’ve written together and the second that’s been a finalist for this award.
\nCollectively the finalists give fresh approaches to nonfiction, books that take risks and experiment with voice.
\nFor teens, many voices come at us at once.
\n“Good for reports” is over – these are “real books” with innovation and invention.
\nThe story of the people in this book is also our story.
\nThey were refugees from an anti-Semitic Fascist state.
\nThe book was a year-long dive into photos she treasures.
\nA love story – and their book is, too.
\nTwo refugees with a camera tried to stop Hitler before it was too late. (They did not succeed, but they still shed light.)
\nWhen hatred is the path to power, we must all fight with our own voices.<\/p>\n
\nThe story happened in her neighborhood. How could such a thing happen? But she asked follow-up questions.
\nWe believe in the power of stories.
\nBut the Truth isn’t always black and white.
\nThat’s the beauty and power of nonfiction storytelling.
\nYoung people are capable of understanding complexity and nuance. They require it.
\nThe stories we give them must be as complicated as they are.
\nWe live at a time when we place value on certainty.
\nUncertainty is a humbler place – but it leads to investigation and understanding.
\nGive kids tools to do better next time – and give them a next time.
\nGive them true, complicated, and messy stories.<\/p>\n
\n(These remarks were delivered by her editor, Laura Godwin.)
\nShe’s bolstered by a community of young adult nonfiction writers.
\nWriters are using new techniques.
\nThe books “leave the world a souvenir.”
\nWithout Theo, we wouldn’t have Vincent’s art.
\nTheo told Vincent to use more color, to lighten and brighten his pallette.
\nVincent would envy us our community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"