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We’re heading into the final days of 2015 and it’s also the the final days before the next semester of ALSC online courses!

With topics like school/library collaboration, STEM programming, and the Sibert Medal, you can bring new ideas into your library! Classes begin Monday, January 4, 2016.

One of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options.

It’s Mutual: School and Public Library Collaboration
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Rachel Reinwald, School Liaison and Youth Services Librarian, Lake Villa District Library

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, January 4 – 29, 2016, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
Instructor: Angela Young, Head of Children’s Department, Reed Memorial Library

The Sibert Medal: Evaluating Books of Information
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Kathleen T. Horning, Director, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin- Madison

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC website at www.ala.org/alsced. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Figliulo, 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

Image courtesy of ALSC.

The post One More Week to Sign Up for ALSC Online Courses appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Start 2016 fresh with new skills and program ideas!

Registration for Winter 2016 ALSC online courses is now open. Classes begin Monday, January 4, 2016.

One of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options.

It’s Mutual: School and Public Library Collaboration
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Rachel Reinwald, School Liaison and Youth Services Librarian, Lake Villa District Library

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
4 weeks, January 4 – 29, 2016, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
Instructor: Angela Young, Head of Children’s Department, Reed Memorial Library

The Sibert Medal: Evaluating Books of Information
6 weeks, January 4 – February 12, 2016
Instructor: Kathleen T. Horning, Director, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin- Madison

Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC website at www.ala.org/alsced. Fees are $115 for personal ALSC members; $165 for personal ALA members; and $185 for non-members. Questions? Please contact ALSC Program Officer for Continuing Education, Kristen Figliulo, 1 (800) 545-2433 ext 4026.

Image courtesy of ALSC.

The post New Semester of ALSC Online Courses! appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Despite a snow storm raging in Chicago -- and in the Northeast -- on Monday, February 2, the 2015 Youth Media Awards were announced at ALA's Midwinter meeting. We were thrilled by the titles chosen by the 2015 Robert F. Sibert Committee. We reviewed all of the honor books and the winner -- and placed them on our Best of 2014 list! We would like to give a huge thank you to all the individuals on

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring  by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan illustrated by Brian Floca A Neal Porter Book (Roaring Brook Press), 2010. ISBN: 9781596433380 Grades K-4 Awards: 2011 Sibert Honor The reviewer borrowed a copy of the book from her school library. Three artists collaborated to make this exquisite nonfiction picture book about the collaboration of three other

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson Siegel illustrated by Mark Siegel Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. ISBN: 9780689867477 Grades 4-8 The reviewer borrowed a copy of the book from her school library. A few days ago we posted an infographic about the Sibert Medal. One of the facts we included in the infographic is that two graphic novels have won Sibert Honors. The

I was intrigued by the data that Travis from 100scopenotes.com shared in his Newbery Medal Infographic and Caldecott Medal Infographic, so I decided to try my hand at creating an infographic about the Sibert Medal. I used easel.ly.com and adopted the same format Travis used so data could be compared among the three awards. The results are really interesting and may compel readers to go back and

In SLJ's Extra, the Mock Newbery Blog discussed whether nonfiction was often left out of the discussion due to the Sibert award. Is a nonfiction title overlooked because the committee can say, 'leave it for the Sibert." I don't know if that is consciously the case but it may be subconsciously. After all ,how can a committee weed through such a huge variety of applicants. Just as picture books may be subconsciously set aside for the Caldecott, or YA the Printz, all of those nonfiction titles must be dealt with somehow. It makes me wonder why the Newbery is not catagorized in the first place.

Every year we will have this discussion, because the Newbery is a contest that compares apples, oranges, kumquats, and watermelons. An impossible task that will never satisfy everyone. I, for one, never expect a nonfiction title to win the Newbery, and applaud the fact that the Sibert was created to give nonfiction the proper assessment, representation and honor that it deserves. I know my title, Farmer George Plants a Nation was on both tables this past year and I never once gave a thought that it would be seriously considered for the Newbery because it was nonfiction. (But I did have high hopes for Layne Johnson's Caldecott-worthy art work - Sorry, Layne!). However I did feel confident enough in the quality of the writing, presentation, design and artwork, and the starred reviews it received, that it would be taken seriously by the Sibert. I'll never know at what point it got tossed off the table, but I am happy that there was a table for it to sit on.

I believe that next year the Sibert winner should be sitting on the Today Show couch next to the winners of the Newbery and Caldecott. Let fiction have its Newbery. Let illustrators have their Caldecott. We have the Sibert!

Congratulations to the authors and illustrators of these award winning nonfiction books. The Sibert award is given to superior nonfiction, but two of the Caldecott honor books noted for their illustrations were nonfiction as well. I am so pleased that nonfiction is honored for its writing but also for its design. Although I kept my fingers crossed for my title - Farmer George Plants a Nation illustrated by Layne Johnson's exquisite paintings, I am glad to part of such heady competition.

Sibert Medal
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball written and
illustrated by Kadir Nelson, published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books
for Children

Sibert Honor
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of The Past by
James M. Deem, published by Houghton Mifflin Company
What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed
the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley,
illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, published by Scholastic Press

Caldecott Honor books

How I Learned Geography, written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Recounting memories of his family's flight from the Warsaw Blitz and his years as a refugee during World War II, Shulevitz employs watercolor and ink to depict a boy liberated from his dreary existence through flights of fancy inspired by the map his father buys in the village market.


A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by
Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant, published by Eerdmans Books for
Young Readers. In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Bryant's engaging prose and Sweet's stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet. Full color.