I'm Interested in Reading and Literacy

Ready to talk about reading and literacy? Check out these sessions. 

Interested in other topics? Check out the conference scheduler and use the drop down "Subject" search field or visit the interests pages to see other topics. 

Saturday

Nourishing Literacy: Cooking with Youth in Your Library
Saturday 9:00AM - 10:00AM
The Free Library of Philadelphia’s Culinary Literacy Center opened in June of 2014, providing innovative and accessible public programming to children and adults throughout Philadelphia. In this workshop, Culinary Literacy Center Director, Liz Fitzgerald, Nourishing Literacy Program Manager, Shayna Marmar, and Nourishing Literacy Kitchen Teacher, Iuliia Ellingsworth will share best practices for involving school students, classroom teachers, and volunteers in school trips and outreach visits. 

Lyrics as Literature: A Musical Approach to Teaching Literacy, Social Justice, and Amplifying Student Voice
Saturday 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Today more than ever school libraries must cultivate learning spaces that advocate for social justice and promote democratic education. Music like literature is a bridge, a window, and a mirror to the world. This session will provide participants with a medley of lesson ideas and resources for using lyrics to teach literature, literacy, social justice issues, and promote student voice.

Give Them What They Want: Reader-Focused Collection Development
Saturday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Readers are flocking to library’s leisure collections. To make smart collection choices, we must look further than circulation statistics and learn what our entire community desires. Our presenters are using methods suitable at libraries of any size to incorporate patron wishes into collection development, making readers integral to the whole process. 

Writing Boxes: How Libraries Can Create Diverse, Welcoming, Intergenerational Programming to Inspire Writing as an Intergral Part of Supporting Literacy and Family Engagement
Saturday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Librarians who serve children believe that one of their core missions is to support reading. Reading is one part of literacy. Writing, Listening, and Communication are the others. Every library can provide writing opportunities. Writing experiences support community engagement, close the education gap, facilitate literacy, and support out-of-school learning across the curriculum including STEM. 

My Self, My World, Included in Books - Use the Free Tool from Teaching Tolerance to Select Diverse Books
Saturday 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Discover an exceptional, free tool that helps teachers of all experience and grade levels recognize and select books that will truly open doors for all students. Reading Diversity from Teaching Tolerance helps educators thoughtfully evaluate four considerations in selecting diverse texts. 

BookMatch Teen: Book Recommendations by Teens, For Teens
Saturday 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Want to put more library services in the hands of teens? How about readers' advisory? Learn about BookMatch Teen, an award-winning 
program which trains teens to give book recommendations to other teens, developing a unique, peer-driven service. 

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee: Recognizing Children’s and Young Adult Books and Demonstrating an Appreciation of African American Culture and Universal Human Values for 50 Years
Saturday 4:00PM - 5:00PM
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, so join us to learn about the committee’s illustrious history and practical and effective ways to use Coretta Scott King Award-winning books to enrich both programming and instruction

When You Can't Go Home Again: Refugee and Exile Authors in the U.S.
Saturday 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Facing censorship, threats and uncertainty, refugee and exile authors travel to the U.S., where they confront a new set of obstacles. “When You Can’t Go Home Again” will explore the challenges authors experience in countries around the world, and issues that they encounter after moving to the States. 

Sunday

Unlike Others: Developing an Online Face for a Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection Through the Lens of Social Justice
Sunday 9:00AM - 10:00AM
To engage interested students and visitors with the issues of power and marginalization embedded in the lesbian pulp fiction collection books, we evaluated our collection through a social justice framework. Subsequently, we created an online exhibit that expands access beyond ‘neutral’ bibliographic elements (author, title, and publisher). It includes features that help the user understand the relevance of the items.

GNCRT President's Program - State of the Comics Union: Past, Present, and Future
Sunday 1:00PM - 2:30PM
Comics are now broadly accepted and celebrated. In the newly established Graphic Novels & Comics Roundtable’s first President’s program, we invite innovative, stellar creators to discuss from their perspective how the format has changed. We will discuss how libraries and librarians have influenced their work and where they see room for growth as we enter the next decade. 

Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Brown Bookshelf Shines a Light on Black Children’s Literature
Sunday 1:00PM - 2:00PM
When Black children are invisible in books, the message is that they are not valuable enough to be seen. But thanks to the words and art of generations of Black authors and illustrators, all kids can enjoy a different view. The Brown Bookshelf’s program will showcase titles that center Black children, affirm the beauty of their lives, celebrate every-day joys and flights of fancy, explore struggles, and send readers on journeys to the future and the past.

Authentically Celebrating African American Culture with Coretta Scott King Nonfiction Books In Your Library and Classroom
Sunday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Celebrating 50 years in 2019, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards has selected the best books by and about African Americans since 1970. Join this session to learn about the superb nonfiction books that have been recognized by this award, and take back to your library ready-to-use materials that make it easy and culturally relevant to feature them in your library program and/or classroom instruction.

Monday

Beyond Collection Development: Creating Queer-Inclusive Elementary School Library Programming
Monday 9:00AM - 10:00AM
Advocating and planning for queer-inclusive elementary school library programming is frequently limited to collection development efforts. Often, librarians feel constrained or unprepared to implement services and programs that support queer children and their families. In addition, these professionals may face challenges from community members, fellow educators, or school administration when attempting to deliver these services. In this presentation, we will define queer-inclusive programs and services, describe creative initiatives, identify potential barriers, and offer strategies and resources to face these challenges.

Great Ways to Great Stories Grants
Monday 1:00PM - 2:00PM
The greatest stories mirror our own lives, provide windows into lives we've never lived and let us travel the world through our imagination. The ALA Great Stories Club is a literature based reading and discussion program that gives underserved youth opportunities to read, reflect, and engage with topics that resonate with them. 

Separating the Gingerbread Men from the Hardy Boys: Perspectives on Implementing Genrefied Juvenile Collections
Monday 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Do you want to know more about reorganizing juvenile collections by subject or genre? There are many technical implications of making the change to a genre-based juvenile department, requiring input and assistance from collection managers, technical services professionals, and often vendors to make the genrefied dream a reality. 

Connect the American Indian Youth Literature Award to the Curriculum
Monday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
A quality school library program must reflect the linguistic and cultural pluralism of our country. Empowering Learners asserts that librarians will offer diverse collection materials and services to accommodate the needs of all children. This session guides the use of Native American literature for youth as a useful support for teachers of social studies, language arts, art, and music as well as for developing and promoting diverse collections. In this session, the presenters will interactively explore Native American texts and correlated activities which can be used to collaborate with teachers to bolster the curriculum.