Thanks to a generous grant from the SALS Board, I was able to attend “Bring on the Joy, Bring on the Books,†the 32nd Annual Spring Conference of the Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association, which was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains, NY. It did, indeed, bring on the joy, from the kickoff with humor columnist Jerry Zezima to Saturday’s breakfast with author Libba Bray.
Mr. Zezima’s message was simple, “Find humor in the everyday things around you.†This is how to make yourself happy and let’s face it – If the librarian’s happy, the people around the librarian will be happier, too. It’s the ripple effect at work, at work.
After the speech, they announced the Empire State Award, and I’m very happy to share the fact that it went to author Joe Bruchac. http://www.josephbruchac.com/
The first workshop I attended was “Aha! Science in the Library.â€Â  The presenters were librarians from Carroll County Public Library, and they provided us with a plethora of information on how and why to present science programs in the library as well as specific program ideas. They’re sending us document files for the programs as they update them. So far I have received Rockets, How Things Work, Gooey Glob, Making Water Soft, Forensic Science, Colorful Milk, and Space Related Science Programs. I can email them to anyone interested. They highly recommended www.nasa.gov as a good source of free programming information and materials.
The program they demonstrated for us was “Forensic Science,†perfect for this year’s Summer Reading Program, “Get a Clue @ Your Library.â€Â We learned about fingerprints, shoe prints, lipstick prints, counterfeit money, what can be learned from glass fragments and more while attempting to solve a crime. Did you know that there’s a formula you can use to figure out approximately how tall a person is based on shoe size?
The information sheets for this program were adapted from Detective Science: 40 crime-solving, case-breaking, crook-catching activities for kids, by Jim Wiese. I’ll link this program with Margaret Palatini’s The Web Files.
I couldn’t resist “Energize Your Image,†an opportunity to discover my clothing personality with Certified Beauty & Image Consultant Rebecca Kopcienski. I took a very difficult test that demanded knowledge of my glove size and shoe size and expected me to know whether my lips were thin or full, my eyes large or expressive or (horrors) average, and whether I’m a pear, an apple, or an hourglass. After all that, one was classified as Romantic, Gamin, Ingenue, Classic, Natural, or Dramatic in nature. I’m not sure it will surprise anyone who knows me to hear that I’m a Gamin. I did look it up, just to check – and sure enough, it means street urchin.Â
Lunchtime entertainment was brought to us by Jill and Daniel Pinkwater. You can tell they’ve been married a long time. They play off each other beautifully, fill in details for each other, and generally display a great affection and respect for each other, both professionally and personally. When talking about Jill’s art, Daniel said “She draws the way I would draw if I could draw.â€
After lunch it was off to “The Lost Art of Flannel Boards,†where we got to make a flannel board and decorate pieces to bring home with us.Â
See presenter Terry Rabideau’s site, http://www.geocities.com/atrabideau/, for a variety of children’s storytime resources, including those for the flannel board.
Another site: http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/mypages/flannelstories.html
We finished the weekend off with breakfast with YA book author Libba Bray (http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/), who swears that her next book will be “Going Bovine,†about a kid with Mad Cow Disease. Her topic was “Why Does What We Do Matter?†Her answer was concise: “It matters because kids matter,†and after all, isn’t that why we all do what we do in youth services?