ALA Midwinter Recap from Chayse!

One of our members, Chayse, went to ALA Midwinter in Boston and kindly wrote about his experiences for us!  Read up below and start thinking about attending ALA Annual in Orlando or the next Midwinter in Atlanta (a good reason to get out of MN in January!).

At ALA I attended five sessions mostly pertaining to Youth Services. One of the constant themes that was present in most all panels was the need for students and librarians to be adaptable. What I mean is not just for students applying to jobs to be open to moving, getting a new experience, but also for both groups to be ready for the constant change happening in the library. With how libraries are transforming and how they are serving their users, we must educate ourselves on these changes to match that of the community we will be serving. One of the first panels I attended really surprised me because of the amount of students from other universities who felt their university was not preparing them for the job market or how they felt they did not have a concrete idea of what they wanted to do once graduated. 

Besides attending the panels, I met with grad students from Simmons University, connected with members of YALSA, had dinners with publishers, and met some all-time favorite authors and introduced myself to Boston Public Librarians. I felt this was the most exciting portion of my trip because of all the connections I made while there. Yes it was important to attend panels and gain knowledge of various aspects of the field, but I feel it is another thing to actually meet with the professionals in which you can build relations with and form that network of individuals that can become lifelong people all working towards the same thing. 

For the expo, that was a whirlwind of thrilling excitement. I was not able to spend a lot of time on the expo floor but from the time I did spend, there was so much free stuff. Books, bookmarks, books, and of course more ways of connecting with people in the field. I would say make sure to plan some expo floor time into your schedule if you decide to attend one of these conferences. 

When planning my trip I threw in two extra days in which I could allow myself to see the city. I visited Faneuil Hall Market Place home of the best cupcakes in a jar, the Mary Baker Eddy Library, home of the Maparium (think of a giant globe of hand-painted stainless steel panels), got lost downtown (cell-phone died), visited three parks, saw penguins, sat by the ocean, and ate lots of food. Boston is definitely a place that I would visit again. 

Overall there is only really one important thing I can say for fellow students. Make time in your schedule and attend a conference. Now is the time to make connections, visit places, and learn more about the field we are all working towards. When making the hesitant decision of whether I should attend ALA Midwinter looking back I am glad I clicked register.

2014-2015: A Year in Review

2014-2015 was an exciting year for ALASC! Here's are some of the highlights:

Volunteering at the Alphabet Forest

St. Kate MLIS Volunteers
Photo Credit: Alphabet Forest

Before the school year began, ALASC members were out and about promoting literacy by helping out at the Alphabet Forest at the Minnesota State Fair.

Helping with the Highland Park Re-Opening

In October and November, several ALASC members got to take a look behind the scenes at the work going into renovating a library. It was exciting to help the Highland Park branch of Saint Paul Public Library get ready for their big re-opening.

A Day in the Life: Panel with Recent Graduates in Non-Traditional Libraries

Our wonderful panel members (from left to right):
Andrew Crow, Margit Wilson, Kathryn Zielski,
and Amelia Snetting

At the beginning of the year, several ALASC members mentioned being interested in talking with recent alumni who had found jobs while others mentioned interest in non-traditional library positions. As a result, we co-sponsored A Day in the Life: Panel with Recent Graduates in Non-Traditional Libraries with the Special Libraries Association student chapter.

After snow postponed the fall panel, we had a great discussion in March with Andrew Crow, Knowledge Consultant Librarian at Allina Health; Amelia Snetting, Content Librarian at ShopperWorks; Margit Wilson, Assistant Librarian at the Walker Art Center; and Kathryn Zielski, Community Engagement Librarian at Third Iron.

Native People in the Information Profession Panel

In April, we worked with our faculty advisor, Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, to help sponsor a second panel on Native People in the Information Profession. We had a wonderful set of speakers: Debbie Reese, author of American Indians in Children’s Literature; Jody Gray, Diversity Outreach Librarian and the Department of American Indian Studies liaison at the University of Minnesota Libraries; and Edwin Schenk, a current MLIS student and Library Director at North Central University. We talked about issues and challenges with Native representation in children's literature and what steps librarians can take to help, the role of librarians in serving an American Indian Studies department as well as reaching out to Native students on campus, and Native people in the information profession.

Visit from Courtney Young, ALA President

Photo Credit: Katherine Warde

Our final and biggest event of the year was bringing the 2015-2016 ALA President, Courtney Young, to campus in April. We partnered with a lot of other groups to make this possible, including the American Library Association (ALA), the MLIS department, the Student Governance Organization (SGO), and the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA).

First, Courtney was our featured speaker at the MLIS Summit, where she spoke about advocacy, diversity, and leadership as well as answered many questions from the crowd.

After the MLIS Summit, we wanted a chance to talk with Ms. Young with just students, so we all went out for Ice Cream at Izzy's and chatted about everything from getting involved in ALA to our favorite books.

Thanks to everyone who helped make 2014-2015 a great year! We're looking forward to seeing you all again this fall.