PLA Rocks Boston

Library conference offers stellar children’s, YA programming

By Debra Lau Whelan, Trev Jones, and Luann Toth -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2006

Librarians enjoyed an outstanding lineup of children’s and young adult programs at the Public Library Association’s (PLA) 11th national conference in Boston from March 21 to 25—and everyone (not just geeks) showed up for anything and everything tech related.

“Making Traditional Library Services Teen-Friendly,” with Aaron Schmidt of Thomas Ford Memorial Library, Angela Pfeil of Henderson District (NV) Public Libraries, and Mary Chelton of Queens College in New York, was a huge hit for those in search of ways to attract teens to their libraries. The program’s most important lesson is that to reach teens, we need to know what interests them. And we all know how much they love gaming, cellphones, and instant messaging. Making your library welcome can be as easy as moving a bookcase to create more space, as well as adding more graphic novels to your collection and offering homework help.

“You Are, but IM” was another session that packed the house, with YA librarians Patrick Jones, Michele Gorman, and Tricia Suellentrop, authors of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries (Neal-Schuman, 2004), offering the latest trends in teen services. The bottom line? You got it—technology.

Of course, PLA also offered more meat-and-potatoes programming. Librarians squeezed into “Make the Honor Roll” by the Howard County (MD) Library, which outlined effective strategies for successful partnerships with schools. The session stressed the need for buy-in by senior officials in both schools and libraries.

Another jammed session, “Leave No Baby or Toddler Behind,” focused on summer reading programs for the youngest patrons. The key is getting trained library staff to promote your programs directly to parents, and knowing how to respond when parents say, “My baby can’t read” or “My toddler can’t even sit still,” say presenters Sharon Deeds of the Dekalb County (GA) Public Library and Deb Noggle and Pamela Martin-Diaz of the Allen County (IN) Public Library.

PLA’s keynote speaker, journalist and author Linda Ellerbee, who also produces Nick News for Nickelodeon, a news program for eight- to 12-year-olds, spoke about her career, being a single mom and surviving breast cancer.

Playing on the Bravo series Inside the Actor’s Studio, Stephanie Squicciarini of the Fairport (NY) Public Library, hosted the program “Inside the Author’s Studio with Terry Trueman,” in which she examined the life and work of the Printz Honor–winning author, who began his writing career at 50. Trueman shared a number of letters that he had received from young people as part of a national Books Change Lives initiative and spoke candidly about his children, passions, and inspirations.

This year’s PLA attracted 11,029 attendees, a 27 percent jump from the 2004 meeting in Seattle, which drew 8,691 people.