Eating in THE Library

Today we had so many experiences that we will have to write about them over the next few days, but for now, you can look at all of our photos on flickr. Other people's conference photos are also posted on flickr. Also, there are many other people blogging this conference and AASL has an official conference blog, so you can read about all the other things going on.

We ended the day at a reception at the Library of Congress, hosted by James H. Billington, Librarian to us all.

Watch your local news tomorrow for Senator Jack Reed's press conference about his bill to include school librarians as highly qualified under No Child Left Behind. We'll be there cheering him on with thousands of our colleagues.

Three Days and Counting

Sunday morning we attended a Scholastic Breakfast. This was an opportunity for Scholastic to introduce its new set of high interest books entitled Science Behind the Scenes: Forensic Files. The main speaker was Dayle Lynn Hinman, a renowned and famous criminal profiler who appears on Court TV's Body of Evidence.

Three of us went to AASL Affiliate. This body meets at conferences and discusses concerns and commendations that are passed on to ALA; it usually takes six months to move through the process. All regions of the country are represented, and it is wonderful to meet folks from other parts of the country.

We spent time in the Exhibit Hall checking out all of the vendor displays. The hall was huge, and we managed to to get lots of goodies that we will be giving away at our conference in the fall. It was a great opportunity to ask vendors questions and obtain information.

I attended the Judy Blume presentation in the ballroom. She has not presented at ALA for a number of years and was thrilled to be there. The bulk of her presentation dealt with how she became a writer and was both informative and moving. Judy thanked all of us for supporting her throughout her career and indicated that she still has many things to write and will continue writing books.

There are still many events and presentations to attend, and we are trying to take advantage of as many as possible.

Steet Lit

The appeal of urban fiction to my high school students in Boston was undeniable. Sometimes raw and shocking to those of us who didn't come up on the streets, urban teens see themselves in it, along with hope that they will come through like the characters in the books. We had several copies of Teri Woods' True to the Game in my library, but once they went out, they were rarely returned - and if they were, they were dog-eared and tattered. I resorted to buying gently used copies to continually replenish our collection. My students acquainted me with other authors in this genre and their books also flew off our shelves.

I was intrigued when I saw a session on the program on Street Lit. It turned out to be a panel of three authors - Darren Coleman, T.N. Baker and none other than Teri Woods herself. My students would be beside themselves if they knew I had met Teri. She has an inspiring story for kids who are growing up on the street. Determined not to go down the same dead-end road as her peers, Teri self-published True to the Game in 1999 and sold it out of the trunk of her car. Over 1-million copies have now been sold. Her fans will be happy to learn that True to the Game II will come out in November. "People think street lit is too gritty, too explicit, but it was okay for me to live that life. I hope it opens up a bridge for communication for people that are living that lifestyle." Fiery, determined and outspoken, Teri has high expectations for herself and her readers. It was a delight to see and hear her in person.

If authors are stars...this a galaxy

Author Simone Elkeles with MSLA board members Ann Perham, Gerri Fegan and Sandy Kelly.





I have been stargazing. From the receptions to the sessions to the vendor hall, the conference has authors galore; it's a chance to speak with an old favorite, or to discover a new gem. I confess that I have been dazzled by all of the authors....

I grew up with Judy Blume, so finding out that she is days away from her 70th birthday was a bit of a shock. Her speech was emotional and personal, revealing a dysfunctional childhood and her revelation that her writing saved her. Another entertainer that I grew up with is Julie Andrews who revealed that she has been writing for 35 years and has launched a book company with her daughter. For both the Blume and Andrews sessions, there was not an available seat and the audiences were captivated by these amazing women.

At a reception, we spotted Walter Dean Myers and we managed to "casually" join his conversation. I was wondering how to open the conversation, when he turned to me and said, "What should I write about for my next book?" Wow.....I shared with him that my students had dealt with a series of suicides and suggested that he might write about that. Kathy suggested that "snitching" would be a good theme.

At another reception for Michael Prinz winners, I spotted John Green immediately and made a beeline for his corner. He was surrounded by very young and attractive librarians but I managed to enter the conversation and informed him that my son Ross had read his An Abundance of Katherines when it came out in galley and that Ross had loved his book before the committee even nominated him for the award.

A special treat was the Bookcart Drill Cart Team competition, emceed by none other than Stinky Cheese Man Jon Scieszka and Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus Mo Willem!

A workshop on Young Adult authors featured Laurie Halse Anderson and her new book, Twisted. Cecily von Ziegesar and Alyson Noel shared how they got into writing. Sherman Alexie, author of Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian spoke passionately from the heart about his biographical novel and asserted that a movie deal has to include a Native American actor. I attended a workshop on the Alex Awards and got some great tips on titles to add to my high school library. Author Ron Rash read passionately from The World Made Straight.

Imagine "bumping into" Joyce Carol Oates or Paula Poundstone in the vendor hall....Yes, I confess that I gawked.

Something that resonated strongly in my mind after all these sessions and meetings was, "There is no age group more important than the YA Reading Group." It will take a while to digest all the authors I have met and even longer to sift through all the galley copies that I have picked up. I am looking forward to doing some beach reading!

Saturday's Photos

Washington Convention Center









Exhibit Hall







Gerri meets Joseph Bruchac, author of Geronimo





Judi Blume signs books in the exhibit hall.

Ken Burns and War

Today's auditorium speaker series featured film maker Ken Burns who discussed the importance of preserving the memories of war. His speech served as an introduction to a preview of his new work The War that will air on PBS this fall. Burns was, as expected, profoundly moving, as he emphasized the need to teach all aspects of human history, not just the crimes or the glories. There was a shocking moment when Burns quoted a survey that said that ninety-five percent of this year's high school graduates thought that, during World War II, the United States and Germany fought on the same side against Russia. It asks the question, what do our students really know about war? Burns spoke about the impending loss of recovering the personal histories of the remaining World War II veterans as time passes, and that the authenticity of their memories may not be recorded for the future. His work The War will premiere on PBS on or about September 7th on local PBS stations. Librarians, get ready: your history teachers will want to create lessons to accompany this series, and you should get a headstart now!

Where did the day go???

One thing about these conferences..the days just fly by. The weather today was picture perfect and I tried to walk outside as much as possible..which regrettably was not enough. Started the day with Keith Curry Lance and his report of the data he has collected in a longitudinal study which AASL has sponsored. This type of data is always difficult to collect, especially if trying to get a random sampling. Since AASL members were involved, the response was excellent, about 4500 completed surveys, although they were more concentrated into particular areas. I will be reporting back on our listserv on the details about median expenditures and staffing that was determined for school libraries across the country.

Gale is great about providing bus transportation between venues but it sure does get confusing because there are, for example, 3 different Marriotts, 2 Renaissance hotels, etc...last night Kathy and I spent $10 on a cab to get to McCormick and Schmick's only to find out we went to the wrong one and ended up almost back across the street from where we started!! You've definitely got to have a sense of humor!!

Spent a good deal of time in the vendor hall today and collected all sorts of goodies and books to give away at our conference. Saw Jack Gantos, Mitali Perkins, Nancy Garden, Joseph Bruchac among others... Once again Google has a great booth but looks like if you won a Google tee shirt last year it is a "collector's item." The only prizes this year are collector pins. This year's big treats will be the commemorative Harry Potter bags that Scholastic gave out at their Harry Potter party, along with Harry Potter cake and "butter beer".

Another highlight of the day was the President's Opening Session. Speakers were Vartan Gregorian and Senator Bill Bradley. Both gave a good talk. Next thing we were swept away by a caravan of buses to the Hilton in Georgetown where we attended the Proquest Scholarship Bash and saw Mark Russell and the Capitol Steps. A great time was had by all...and now it is 11:30 PM and I really wish I could take a walk around town. The buildings look beautiful at night, all lit up...oh well, maybe tomorrow! Off to the Scholastic Breakfast at 7:30 and then the Affiliate Assembly where I will be on a panel with other reps from P21 states. More later. :-)