Hi all! This past weekend consisted mostly of attending ALA midwinter 2015, and trying to survive the great Chicago blizzard of 2015! On Friday evening, I volunteered to man the National Storytelling Network's booth, with a professor I had had previously for many classes (including storytelling!), Janice Del Negro. It was great talking to people about National Storytelling Network (NSN) and learning a lot of things myself about the organization. Storytelling is awesome, and I wish I was able to see more storytelling performances, as well as tell more stories myself! I also was able to go around to a few booths and grab a few ARCs and some other library conference swag. :) I worked Saturday, but was able to attend the conference again on Sunday -- which was somewhat of a challenge since there was a huge blizzard! I made it there okay, via the el, with my grad school/librarian friend, Margaux. My first order of business upon arriving? Attending a Guerrilla Storytime Session! I wasn't sure what to expect from Guerrilla Storytime, but what I found was that it was a group of librarians sharing their ideas about, and love for, storytime -- including some do's and don'ts of storytime, some "What if" situations, and a lot of song singing and parachute playing. It was really a great atmosphere and a lot of fun! I feel like I learned a lot of great songs and ideas to use in my own storytimes. I think my favorite thing was that everyone was very receptive and open to sharing and helping other librarians with any questions/concerns they had, as well as the "throw all your embarrassment out the door, we are getting up and singing these songs and doing these fingerplays and supporting each other" atmosphere that seemed to engulf the group! I would love to attend another Guerrilla Storytime session, and really applaud all the librarians there for their great suggestions and storytime horror stories that were shared! After Guerrilla Storytime, I attended a storytelling performance from Janice Del Negro, Oba William King, Mike Lockett, and Jasmin Cardenas. It was really special and fun! It is always a treat to see Janice perform, and King, Lockett, and Cardenas did a fantastic job at keeping everyone in the story, as well as being soooo super enthusiastic. It was wonderful, and such a treat! I also managed to pick up some more library swag/books, get a copy of "Gabi: A Girl in Pieces" signed by Isabel Quintero, and see a lot of old and new faces! So all in all, a very good day! Did I mention that Oxford University Press was giving out free wine/beer and pizza? That was a great part of the day, too. Getting home was a trip (what should've been 1 hour turned into 2), but we eventually made it there safely! ALAMW15 was definitely an experience. I wish I would've done more, but the weather really got in the way! I hope everyone who was stuck finally made it back safely :) -Julia | |
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Miss JuliaYouth Services Librarian. Interested in storytime, pop-culture, books, singing, feminism, proper usage of the Oxford Comma, and cats. Archives
September 2016
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