Early in November, I was fortunate to attend the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Symposium! It was my first time in Reno, Nevada, where it was held.
Here are some of the sessions I attended.
- Pleasure Reading for English Language Learners – Finding ways to help students where English is their second language by facilitating access to popular YA fiction titles in various languages in a visually based, user-friendly format.
- Poverty and Privilege: How do our shared or differing cultural backgrounds affect the relationships and influence we have with our students? – Some questions that were posed: How to escape poverty? What can we as library professionals do for our marginalized youth?
- Author Sessions – Authors who write for YA or Juvenile shared their writing process. Some quotes that were great to hear: “Books are windows and mirrors in our lives for empathy and understanding.” “We’re not born into this world, we’re born from it.” “Teen readers are like adult readers, they just want a good story.”
Another highlight was visiting the Reno Public Library. Look at all the plants!
What’s the point of going to a conference?
- Sharpen your knowledge
- Gain and share new ideas and best practices
- Learn about the latest innovations and insights
- Meet influencers and industry experts face-to-face
- Make new contacts and stay connected with friends and colleagues
- Build teams
I did all of that, and it was fun!
Thanks for reading! Stay safe and awesome, until next time.