ALA Chicago still on the brain

This year is the 15 Anniversary of HP and the Sorcerer's Stone--
the books are being re-released with new cover art.



Temple Grandin signing books after her AMAZING lecture!

On the left--children's author/illustrator Kevin Henkes!

Ann Patchett--I was in the FRONT ROW!

Alice Walker!

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid bus

Exhibitor's Hall before it opened

Exhibitor's Hall before it opened




My last post was Conference tips, this post will be chronicling all of the AWESOME things that I saw/did at ALA 2013 Chicago!
  • Went to awesome sessions which gave me great ideas and left me feeling EMPOWERED!
  • Talked to cool professional colleagues--met a guy who was the former director of a local library, so he actually had heard of Sticks! Now he's back near Cleveland--good to know if I ever decide to go back out that way...
  • MET!! and had books signed by Katherine Paterson, Patricia MacLachlan, Kevin Henkes
  • Got free yet-to-be-released-books which some of our HAPPY teens are previewing for us now AND deciding whether or not we should buy these books for our collection when they come out in the fall!
  • Was next to Nancy Pearl on an escalator; had a great, short conversation with her, at the end of which I said, "I had an action figure of you in Grad School!" Yep. I'm that dork.
  • Heard speakers: Temple Grandin, Giada De Laurentiis', Ann Patchett (front row!!), Alice Walker
  • Walked around the city in the afternoon and enjoyed BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT weather and views of Lake Michigan!
  • Spent lots of time with my friend Scott and finally got to go on the huge Ferris wheel at Navy Pier

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"howl the eternal yes"

Image
Just read a CNN article this morning about the Aurora Borealis making an appearance. It reminded me of Northern Exposure and Chris the DJ. So, thought I would share a quote as I reminisce about the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. The Northern Lights, which I saw my first year at the Farm in Massachusetts, which I actually saw on my 23rd birthday!--the best birthday present I ever got!! "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!" ~ Chris, Northern Exposure, "Aurora Borealis (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups).” It feel...
Read more

sample retirement acceptance letter

Image
The hardest part of being the Director in a small library is that we don't have an HR person, so on top of everything else we do we also get to do the paperwork for the new hires, and retires. Thank God for the internet or these processes would take a lot longer!  One of my board members pointed out that though I'd been informed of staff retirements, I had to officially accept them with a letter...I am finding that a paper trail is an important thing. So, I found a short and simple letter on one university's HR website (sorry forgot which!?) and honed it to work for us. Attached is my sample of a retirement letter.  Is anyone else out there going through this process too?
Read more

eggnog with lighter fluid and other cherished Christmas memories

Image
I started digging to find my favorite Christmas-esque scenes/lines from movies and I was pleased with what I found. In spirit of my 14's lists, here goes: 1. Charles De Mar: "Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid." ~ Better Off Dead I also love the present opening scene on Christmas day, where his mother is dressed like a reindeer, his father gets an ardvark jacket and the kids get freezer dinners. Pan out to the neighbors Christmas when the French foreign exchange student gets a framed picture of Ricky. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! 2. When Zuzu says to George Bailey, "Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings." George quietly agrees, "Attaboy, Clarence," as "Auld Lang Syne" rings out. That scene makes me cry everytime. (I also love that if George had never been around, Mary became a spinster librarian--see pic) ~ It's a W...
Read more