SLO 5
The student engages in professional development and service and identifies specializations and related professional organizations as relevant to individual interests.
Since beginning graduate school in the fall of 2014, I have been a member of the American Library Association and the North Carolina Library Association, specifically the ALSC and public library divisions (and formerly the YALSA division). During this time, I have attended four professional development events, all of which I found very beneficial to growing my understanding of library systems with particular emphasis on my interests: public libraries and youth services. The four events I attended included: Youth Services Fall retreat (October 2014 in Brown Summit, NC); Youth Services Summer Reading Training (March 2015 in Waynesville, NC); NCLA conference (October 2015 in Greensboro, NC) and a Fabulous Fridays (October 2016 in High Point, NC).I was awarded the Appalachian Scholarship for School Libraries while attending the NCLA conference in 2015. I have also participated in a couple of online webinars throughout my three years, including a talk about supercharged storytimes, programming ideas for Dia (Children’s Book Day), and STEAM programming. Webinars can prove even more powerful as you’re networking with librarians around the country, not just within the same state, who are invested in the same specific professional development topic. In addition to attending these professional events, I also receive the ALA bimonthly magazine and subscribe to weekly ALA Direct library news highlights.
Through conference attendance and reading these ALA publications, I have gathered several tips for best practices in the field of children’s librarianship, including multi-age storytime techniques, children’s book talks, and STEAM programming. I got the chance to see some of my then Ashe County Public Library co-workers present on the StoryWalk project, which I had a large part in preparing, and I hope one day to give my own presentation at a similar type of conference. It’s also given me the opportunity to network with other children’s librarians, several of whom I continue to follow through social media channels. And these conferences have also exposed me to the larger trends and academic conversations in public libraries as well as the library world as a whole, including digital libraries and up-and-coming authors in all genres. I’ve developed a better understanding of challenges other libraries face and have mentally packed away some good ideas for programs or service approaches that I could potentially use in a future place of employment should I face similar challenges in a different library environment. For instance, I specifically remember attending a grant writing seminar at the 2014 Youth Services Fall Retreat and saved the notes in the hopes of being able to refer to these resources and contacts should I be given the opportunity to write grants for a library in the future. At the Fabulous Fridays event in 2016, I learned about the Alamance County Public Library Zoom Passes program that allows patrons to check out one day passes to have free access to a variety of local attractions, which is a concept I thought I could see myself proposing to a public library system I might work at one day in the future as a way to grow their patron base.
Through conference attendance and reading these ALA publications, I have gathered several tips for best practices in the field of children’s librarianship, including multi-age storytime techniques, children’s book talks, and STEAM programming. I got the chance to see some of my then Ashe County Public Library co-workers present on the StoryWalk project, which I had a large part in preparing, and I hope one day to give my own presentation at a similar type of conference. It’s also given me the opportunity to network with other children’s librarians, several of whom I continue to follow through social media channels. And these conferences have also exposed me to the larger trends and academic conversations in public libraries as well as the library world as a whole, including digital libraries and up-and-coming authors in all genres. I’ve developed a better understanding of challenges other libraries face and have mentally packed away some good ideas for programs or service approaches that I could potentially use in a future place of employment should I face similar challenges in a different library environment. For instance, I specifically remember attending a grant writing seminar at the 2014 Youth Services Fall Retreat and saved the notes in the hopes of being able to refer to these resources and contacts should I be given the opportunity to write grants for a library in the future. At the Fabulous Fridays event in 2016, I learned about the Alamance County Public Library Zoom Passes program that allows patrons to check out one day passes to have free access to a variety of local attractions, which is a concept I thought I could see myself proposing to a public library system I might work at one day in the future as a way to grow their patron base.
Recipient of the NCLA 2015 Appalachian Scholarship for School Libraries
(second from left)
(second from left)