Learning About Partnerships Through “We Are ALSC Chats”

A feature of ALSC that I (regrettably) just discovered is the “We Are ALSC Chats.”  Truthfully, the only reason it came to my attention is because our Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee hosted one.  I’m glad I was finally introduced, though, because I found it inspiring.  So, when thinking about what to blog about, I decided I should write about these chats for some of you that, like me, might not have heard about them.  It also provides me with a great vessel to share some of the awesome partnerships mentioned. 

The first question is naturally, what are “We Are ALSC Chats?”  They are informal, non-recorded, chats held via Zoom that are open to all members and even non-members.  Most importantly, they’re designed to build community and foster networking amongst library professionals in children’s services.  This feels especially important these days!  Each chat is hosted by one of the ALSC committees with a chosen theme.  For the one we just hosted in March, we chose the theme of partnerships, more specifically “How to Identify Community Stakeholders and Form Partnerships.”  We had many people attend from all over the country – many of whom shared, some who asked for guidance, and some, like introverted me, who were happy to just take it all in.  

So, what were some interesting bits from our chat?

One of the partnerships mentioned that really caught my attention was from a school librarian in Louisiana who talked about how she partnered with the New Orleans Opera.  The Opera!  She’d met their reps at a community fair and they were able to have the opera come to the school for presentations with the students.  They were also able to take the kids on a field trip to the opera’s scene shop.  She reminded us that a true partnership should allow for each side to benefit.  In today’s world, isn’t it just better when we can help each other?  This example did just that!  The kids learned while having fun, but it also sparked interest in actually attending the opera, with kids asking their parents to go to a show, selling some tickets, and introducing a whole new audience to this artform. 

North Miami Public Library also benefited from an artistic partnership when they teamed up with a local art museum.  Through this, they were able to get a grant that would allow for a museum staff member to come to the library after school once each week to do a program for the high schoolers who descend on the library weekday afternoons.  It was so successful that they have since added a middle school component.  It’s a great example of programming for the kids that are already here.

A final partnership that I’ll mention was from one of the Cuyahoga County Public Library branches that struggled to connect with a local school but, after some perseverance, were able to partner up with the school to offer kindergarten readiness programs in the summertime.  We were all able to commiserate about how hard it can be to partner up with schools, something that seems like a no-brainer collaboration.  It’s nice to hear of an instance where not giving up, built a beautiful relationship that benefits so many.  

There were so many other things shared and discussed during the hour chat, including other partnerships with universities, lawmakers, PTAs, children’s museums, Little Free Libraries, Disney, hospitals, and even other libraries.  Overall, I found it inspiring to hear the experiences from other librarians.  It’s easy to feel isolated in Libraryland, but events like this, and being part of ALSC in general, can help.

If you’d like to learn more about We Are ALSC Chats please visit https://www.ala.org/alsc/member-center/we-are-alsc-chats

This post addresses ALSC Competency VII.9 Participates in local, state, and national professional organizations to strengthen skills, interact with fellow professionals, promote professional association scholarships, and contribute to the library profession.

Samantha Kretschmer is writing this post on behalf of the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee.  She can be reached at skretschmer@geaugalibrary.net

The post Learning About Partnerships Through “We Are ALSC Chats” appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 A feature of ALSC that I (regrettably) just discovered is the “We Are ALSC Chats.”  Truthfully, the only reason it came to my attention is because our Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee hosted one.  I’m glad I was finally introduced, though, because I found it inspiring.  So, when thinking about what to blog about, I decided I should write about these chats for some of you that, like me, might not have heard about them.  It also provides me with a great vessel to share some of the awesome partnerships mentioned.  The first question is naturally, what are “We Are ALSC Chats?”  They are informal, non-recorded, chats held via Zoom that are open to all members and even non-members.  Most importantly, they’re designed to build community and foster networking amongst library professionals in children’s services.  This feels especially important these days!  Each chat is hosted by one of the ALSC…
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