Wednesday, August 20, 2014

LEAP BOOKS' JUDITH GRAVES: PNLA 2014 CONFERENCE

Our very own Judith Graves gives us a glimpse at her recent appearance, the PNLA 2014 Conference, where she was a keynote speaker during the Young Reader's Choice Awards (YRCA) program Author Luncheon.  

 
Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference 2014

 


Last week I was honoured to speak at the Pacific Northwest Library Association Annual Conference (PNLA) http://www.pnla.org/conference-header in Helena, Montana as a keynote during the Young Reader’s Choice Awards (YRCA) program Author Luncheon.  

This particular event was special to me for several reasons. In my day job, I work as a library technician in an elementary school library in a rural community and any chance for professional development, networking and talking shop with other library types is an opportunity I LEAP toward. (See what I did there?) Plus, I’m a huge fan of the YRCA program and have actively promoted it within my school for the eleven years I’ve been running the library.
 

 The Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award is the oldest children's choice award in the U.S. and Canada. The award was established in 1940 by a Seattle bookseller, the late Harry Hartman, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives him or her pleasure.”
 
 
1940. Wowza. Now that’s a long-standing award any author would be thrilled to be associated with. Check out the full details and list of 2015 nominees here: http://www.pnla.org/yrca-2015
 
 
YRCA is all about bridging the gap between libraries, readers and authors…which was basically the theme of my keynote - Author Visits To DIE For.  Complete with handy Prezi and video clips of virtual author visits in action, I discussed ways in which technology can provide free opportunities for libraries to link readers with authors and thus enhance their readership programs.  As both an author and a library technician, I hope I was able to offer some unique insights into what authors are currently doing that libraries can tap into to further their literacy / engagement / profiles.
 The PNLA conference theme: Mining the Past was threaded throughout the sessions and I (along with the other attendees) jotted down a ton of useful notes, lists of resources, and libraries to follow that I will be sharing with my district.  Many thanks to the conference organizers for inviting me and putting on one hell of a library conference!
You can tell my lab, Willow, enjoyed the sightseeing we did during the drive south.
 
 
 
 

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