Getting Ready For PLA 2020 In Nashville

Last week our new Library Director asked me if I'd like to attend the Public Library Association (PLA) conference in Nashville, Tennessee next month. And because in the almost eleven years that I've worked as a Librarian in my building I've never been able to attend a conference out of state, I jumped on the opportunity to attend.

Obviously the main purpose of this trip is to attend the conference, but I'm going to take advantage of every spare minute to explore what I can of Nashville. So as I've done for the majority of my other travels, I've collected links to articles and blog posts about things to do in Nashville. Here's what I've put together as of thus far...

♥ A Beautiful Mess -- A Beautiful Mess Guide To Nashville (Vol. 1)
♥ A Beautiful Mess -- How To Spend 24 Hours In Nashville
♥ Bobo & Chi Chi -- The Perfect Itinerary For 3 Days In Nashville
♥ Chasing Lovely -- Like A Local: Your Ultimate Guide To 48 Hours In Nashville
♥ Earth Trekkers -- 12 Best Things To Do In Nashville, Tennessee
♥ Goop -- The Nashville Guide
♥ Hand On Luggage Only -- 12 Very Best Things To Do In Nashville
♥ Helene In Between -- The Ultimate Guide To A Weekend In Nashville
♥ Justin + Lauren Adventure & Kind Travel -- 3 Days In Nashville Itinerary
♥ Local Adventurer -- 9 Awesome Things To Do In Nashville Tennessee
♥ Practical Wanderlust -- The Perfect Weekend In Nashville, Tennessee: Itinerary & (Massive) Guide
♥ Ordinary Traveler  -- The Complete Travel Guide To Nashville In A Weekend
♥ The Blonde Abroad --The Ultimate Guide To Nashville In A Weekend
♥ Thrillist -- The Actually Cool Things To Do In Nashville
♥ Time Out -- The 20 Best Things To Do In Nashville
♥ Travel Addicts -- 33 Ideas For Your Next Trip To Nashville
♥ We Are Travel Girls -- 8 Top Stops For Your First Nashville Visit

And as much as it still hurts, I watched Anthony Bourdain to check out his recommendations.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018)

• Season Eight, Episode Three: Nashville

I'm still working through exactly what I want to do but I've already booked my coworker and I a tour of Nelson's Green Brier Distillery ($12.00 for adults 21+) and a photo tour of all of the must see murals. We're going to look into going to the Grand Ole Opry either for a show or just to go on the tour.

Have any of you been to Nashville before? If so I'd love some suggestions! Or if you're attending PLA also, lemme know!

Meetings & Being Ignored In Queens...

Yesterday I went to another meeting for work and I had the pleasure of listening to JP Porcaro the President of ALA's Games and Gaming Round Table speak about gaming and comics in libraries. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed listening to him because he was funny as hell (Which I told him after he finished speaking), passionate about gaming and comic, etc. I had a great time listening to what he had to say about the topic.

Before JP started talking the president of the division holding the meeting was talking about having people join the executive board and how she knew there were individuals that weren't already involved that would be amazing assests to the board and she says "I'm talking about you   Insert My Full Name Here  " All of my coworkers that were at the meeting look at me in awe that I got called out for being awesome in front of all of these other librarians in the county. I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome especially since "Julia" was at the meeting and I'm sure it killed her to hear me being sought out.

After the meeting was over I drove over to Erin's and we headed out to Queens because our friend was off. When we got there we were surprised to see that her daughter was home, apparently she had a half day because of parent-teacher conferences that day (We thought we were going to have child-free time for at least an hour or two). So the four of us had lunch and then we were ignored for a good chunk of the afternoon because there was homework to be done, phone calls and the actual attendance of a parent-teacher conference (Which caused us to have to babysit).

When she got back we ordered dinner from a local pizza place (Which took forever and they put chicken on our pasta. Why does Queens want me to eat chicken so badly?!?!!!) and we got suckered into putting together her daughters trundle bed. When we were do building and eating we busted out the wine ice cream and made adult floats. Shortly after finishing those we headed back home because someone was tired and wanted to go to bed. 

It wasn't the most exciting trip to Queens, but whatever. I still had a decent day.

International Games Day...

International Games Day @ Your Library 2012...

About International Game Day From The American Library Association:
International Games Day @ your library is an initiative of the American Library Association to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games.

In the 21st century, libraries are about much more than books. On Saturday, November 3, 2012, two thousand libraries around the world will showcase gaming programs and services in support of IGD12. This year marks our 5th annual event. In 2011, more than 27,700 people played games at more than 1,400 libraries across the U.S. and in other countries.

Gaming of all types at the library encourages young patrons to interact with a diverse group of peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. Plus, it's a way for traditionally underserved groups to have fun in the library and interact with other members of the community. Games Day is a great opportunity for families to get out of the house and play together in the one community institution that welcomes everyone.

Each year, ALA coordinates two parallel activities for International Games Day. The first is a national video game tournament. We'll be using the Ann Arbor District Library's GT software again for this year's tournaments. Participating libraries organize a local tournament during which their players compete against players at other libraries for national bragging rights!

Teen Read Week 2012...

TEEN READ WEEK 2012

About Teen Read Week From YALSA:
Teen Read Week is held each year during the third week of October. In 2012, it will be celebrated Oct. 14-20.

Teen Read Week is an national literacy initiative of the  Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It's aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

Teen Read Week's theme is Read For The Fun Of It. Each year, YALSA offers a new sub-theme to serve as a basis for developing programs in schools, public libraries, and bookstores. The 2012 sub-theme is It Came From the Library, which dares teens to read for the fun of it. The event offers librarians and educators a chance to encourage teens to read for pleasure and to visit their libraries for free reading materials. If you have a recommendation for a theme for 2013, please send it to yalsa@ala.org.

Teen Read Week 2012 will be celebrated at thousands of public and school libraries, classrooms, and bookstores across the country. Although teens realize the importance of reading, they have a huge menu of activities to choose from when deciding how to spend their free time, and reading gets lost in the shuffle. Reading skills get rusty when they are not used. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that over the last 20 years there have been only modest gains in reading achievement. And although there are many active literacy campaigns, very few efforts focus on teenagers.

Banned Website Awareness Day 2012...

About Banned Website Awareness Day From AASL:
Bannes Website Awareness Day is about raising awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries, AASL has designated one day during Banned Books Week as Banned Websites Awareness Day.  On Wednesday, Oct. 3, AASL is asking school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly restrictive filtering affects student learning.  

Banned Books Week 2012...

About Banned Books Week From The American Library Association:

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event (Banned Books Week 2012 marks its 30th anniversary) celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

About Banned & Challenged Books From The American Library Association:

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year. Banned Books Week 2012 will occur September 30 through October 6. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event! OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to us by librarians and teachers across the country. For more about books challenged over the last 30 years, as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books. OIF also offers support for librarians facing challenges to materials in their library. Please see Challenges to Library Materials for resources and information to help you prepare for and respond to challenges. If you would like more information about banned and challenged books not covered in the website, please feel free to contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org.

Yearly Lists of Challenged and/or Banned Books:
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2010-2011 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2009-2010 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2008-2009 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2007-2008 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2006-2007 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2005-2006 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2004-2005 (PDF)

Smartest Card In Your Wallet...

September Is Library Card Sign-Up Month...

National Library Week 2012...

What Is National Library Week?
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.

School Library Month 2012...

What Is School Library Month?
School Library Month (SLM) is the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student's educational career. Read about the history of School Library Month.

Digital Learning Day...

About Digital Learning Day from ALA:
Digital Learning Day, presented by the the YALSA in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education, calls on teachers, schools, principals, community leaders, parents & students. The event will celebrate innovative teaching practices that make learning more personalized and engaging and encourage exploration of how digital learning can provide more students with more opportunities to get the skills they need to succeed in college, career & life.

About Digital Learning Day from the Digital Learning Day website:
Digital Learning Day is a nationwide celebration of innovative teaching and learning through digital media and technology that engages students and provides them with a rich, personalized educational experience. On Digital Learning Day, a majority of states, hundreds of school districts, thousands of teachers, and nearly 2 million students will encourage the innovative use of technology by trying something new, showcasing success, kicking off project-based learning, or focusing on how digital tools can help improve student outcomes.

Are You Plugged In?...

2012 ALA Youth Media Awards...

Today at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Conference in Dallas they announced the winners of the various book awards. Here are the winners of the awards I deem to be most important:

John Newbery Medal: “Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack Gantos

Randolph Caldecott Medal: “A Ball for Daisy" by Chris Raschka

Michael L. Printz Award: “Where Things Come Back” by John Corey Whaley

Coretta Scott King Book Award: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans” by Kadir Nelson

Check out the official American Library Association (ALA) press release for information on the other awards.

Library Articles...

♥ ALA Condemns Seizure of Occupy Wall Street People's Library
♥ Events D.C. Gains 80% Of Carnegie Library In Deal

365 Days Of Pictures: Day 257...

Some of the games that ALA sent me for National Gaming Day that I got too late.

National Gaming Day...

National Gaming Day 2011...

About National Gaming Day:
National Gaming Day @ your library is an initiative of the American Library Association to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games.

In the 21st century, libraries are about much more than books. On Saturday, November 12, 2011, more than one thousand libraries throughout the country will showcase gaming programs and services in support of NGD11. This year marks our fourth annual event. In 2010, more than 26,000 people played games at more than 1,800 libraries across the U.S. and in other countries.

Gaming of all types at the library encourages young patrons to interact with a diverse group of peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. Plus, it's a way for traditionally underserved groups to have fun in the library and interact with other members of the community. Gaming Day is a great opportunity for families to get out of the house and play together in the one community institution that welcomes everyone.

Each year, ALA coordinates two parallel activities for National Gaming Day. The first is a national video game tournament. We'll be using the Ann Arbor District Library's GT software again for this year's tournaments. Participating libraries organize a local tournament during which their players compete against players at other libraries for national bragging rights!

In addition, ALA partners with donors to provide free copies of board and tabletop games for libraries across the country. Past donors have included companies such as AlphaBound, Hasbro, North Star Games, and Wizards of the Coast. This year FamilyAndPartyGames.com and DEMCO are official sponsors supporting libraries participating in NGD11. Please contact us if your company is interested sponsoring National Gaming Day or donating games, prizes, or snacks to local libraries.

Libraries that want to participate in this year's video game tournaments, receive free donations, and appear on the national map of participating locations need to register online.

Teen Read Week 2011...

October 16th - 22nd 2011

About Teen Read Week:
Teen Read Week is an initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Teen Read Week started in 1998. This year's theme is Picture It @ your library®, which encourages teens to read graphic novels and other illustrated materials, seek out creative books, or imagine the world through literature, just for the fun of it. Libraries across the world celebrate Teen Read Week with a variety of special events and programs aimed at encouraging teens to read for pleasure and to visit their libraries for free reading materials.

Audio PSAs:

PSA #1 (mp3)

PSA #2 (mp3)

PSA #3 (mp3)

BBW 2011 Poster...