ALSC Blog 2024 – A Year in Review

2024 was a VERY busy year for the ALSC Blog! In looking at the analytics, we saw increases in several key metrics over the course of the year:

• The number of views increased 115.19 % (from 165,136 to 355,354)
• The overall number of active users increased 114.79% (from 90,131 to 195,590)

As of December 31, 2024, 6898 posts have been published on our blog, with 367 unique posts published in 2024. This number includes pieces written by our regular team of ALSC Bloggers, posts by guest bloggers and posts by guest contributors at national conferences. Thank you all! Here are some of the most viewed blog posts for each month in the last year:

January 2024

• 2024 Mock YMA Election Results Page created and compiled by Mary Voors
• Winter 2024 Notable Children’s Books Discussions by Mary Voors for the Notable Children’s Books committee
• We Know Our Worth: Self Advocacy in Librarianship by Joanna Goldfarb for the Public Awareness and Advocacy committee

February 2024

• How to Get Permission for Storywalks by Abby Johnson
• Sensory Storytime: Tips and Tricks for a Successful Program by Kaitlin Frick
• Recovering from Program Failure by Chelsey Roos

March 2024

• Unmasking Your Potential: Defeating Imposter Syndrome in Underserved Communities by Georgette Spratling for the ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee
• Celebrating the Week of the Young Child 2023 by Tess Pendergast
• Sensory Storytime: A Brief How-To Guide by Guest Contributor Ashley Waring

April 2024

• Climate & Environment Picture Books by Tess Prendergast
• Naming Source Languages and Translators Serves Young Readers by Guest Contributor Avery Fischer Udagawa
• TikTok as a Form of Advocacy by Beth Shaum for the ALSC Children and Technology committee

May 2024

• Smile! Here Comes Summer Reading! by Christy Kepler for the ALSC Managing Children’s Services committee
• The Magic of “The Science of Breakable Things” by Tae Keller by Guest Contributor Katherine Hickey
• Is Your Summer Reading Program Equitable? by Gabrielle (Gabby) Stoller for ALSC’s Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee

June 2024

• Why & How to Offer Supportive Early Literacy Tips by Tess Prendergast
• Toddler Games: Motor Skills + Fun for Ages 18-36 Months by Jaime Eastman
• The Partnership Parade: Teaming Up for Sustainable Summer Library Services by Ewa Wojciechowska for the Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee.

July 2024

• Fun, Easy, and Cheap STEAM Programs! by Heather Love Beverley for the School-Age Programs and Services committee
• Library Play Spaces: A Guide to Design and Standards by Jaime Eastman
• A Deep Dive into: Picture Book Categories by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

August 2024

• Library Play Spaces: Tools for Staff Support and Engagement by Jaime Eastman
• Register Parents and Caregivers to Vote at Story Time by Guest Contributor Rachel G. Payne
• One Page at a Time… Helping Children Through Grief by Guest Contributor Raina Tuakoi

September 2024

• Library Scavenger Hunts by Kirsten Caldwell
• Turning Your Library into a Haunted House by Guest Contributor Christopher Brown
• Quiet Censorship by Judy Ehrenstein for the ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee

October 2024

• Reimagining Book Fairs that Align with ALSC’s Core Values by Kelley Taksoer
• Dinovember at the Library! by Guest Contributor Amanda Baldowski
• Thanksgiving Books Without the Myth by Abby Johnson

November 2024

• Celebrate National Hot Coca Day: A recipe for family fun by Michelle Muller for the School-Age Program and Services committee
• Leadership at Any Level: Empowering Library Staff by Jaime Eastman
• Genrefying a Non-Fiction Collection by Dave Saia for the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation

December 2024

• 2025 Mock YMA Election Results Page created and compiled by Mary Voors
• Reflecting on 2 Years of Staff Advisory by Samantha Kretschmer for the Public Awareness and Advocacy committee
• Navigating the Transition to Digital Library Resources by Brittany Adams for the ALSC Children & Libraries Editorial Advisory committee

In celebration of the annual ALA Youth Media Awards, in 2016 we began to offer a compilation of Mock Election results from around the world. EVERY book award given at the YMAs is now included:

• American Indian Youth Literature
• Asian Pacific/American Award for Literature
• Batchelder
• Caldecott
• Coretta Scott King
• Geisel
• Newbery
• Printz
• Pura Belpré
• Schneider
• Sibert
• Stonewall
• Sydney Taylor

This page continues to be a very popular portion of the ALSC Blog.

In 2024, Conference Bloggers shared what they learned and experienced during the PLA biennial Conference, the ALA Annual Conference, as well as the biennial ALSC Institute. They shared a wide variety of unique and widely read posts. If you are attending the Annual Conference in Philadelphia this summer and would like to share your experiences, please let us know by filling out the Conference Blogging Interest Form.

I would be remiss if I failed to again acknowledge the great work done by our regular ALSC Bloggers in pursuit of our mission. THANK YOU! I also need to offer a huge shout-out to both Laura Schulte-Cooper and our newest ALSC staffer, Gavin Damore, who both served as ALSC Staff Liaisons to the Blog at different points during 2024. They never failed to be available to work to find answers to any questions I might have.

I am excited about the continued growth of the ALSC Blog and look forward to strengthening it in 2025.  And YOU can help in that effort…

• If there are particular topics you wish we would cover, let us know..
• If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging Interest Form.
• If you are interested in joining our team of ALSC Bloggers who commit to writing a piece each month, submit a Regular Blogger Interest Form.
• If you would like to share your experiences at ALA’s Annual Conference this summer, please let us know by filling out the Conference Blogging Interest Form.
• If you have comments or suggestions for improvement, please let us know!

We would love to hear from you! With your help, the ALSC Blog will continue to grow in its mission to
“provide a venue for coverage of time sensitive news in children’s librarianship, current issues in the field, and programs, conferences, initiatives, resources, and activities of interest to ALSC members and those interested in children’s librarianship. The ALSC Blog must align with ALSC’s vision, core values and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Mary R. Voors
ALSC Blog manager
alscblog@gmail.com

The post ALSC Blog 2024 – A Year in Review appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 2024 was a VERY busy year for the ALSC Blog! In looking at the analytics, we saw increases in several key metrics over the course of the year: As of December 31, 2024, 6898 posts have been published on our blog, with 367 unique posts published in 2024. This number includes pieces written by our regular team of ALSC Bloggers, posts by guest bloggers and posts by guest contributors at national conferences. Thank you all! Here are some of the most viewed blog posts for each month in the last year: January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024 December 2024 In celebration of the annual ALA Youth Media Awards, in 2016 we began to offer a compilation of Mock Election results from around the world. EVERY book award given at the YMAs is now included:…
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