Primary Sources in the School Library

I just got back from ALA in Chicago. As always, it was an amazing and inspiring time...that went by so quickly. There is never enough time to do everything. I learned so much--I went to sessions on Copyright Law for School Librarians, Ending the Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation: The Library's Role, Bridging the Info. Lit Gap, Graphic Novels for Emerging Readers, and a presentation about visual and media literacy that was related to some of our TPS discussions about AI and primary source photos. I did get to hear Judy Blume--I was live blogging for ALSC, so you can click here to read my recap of Judy Blume. I love her even more after hearing her.

I was on a panel about Graphic Medicine and Mental Health, moderated a panel about Challenges and Bans, and gave several shout outs to our TPS Network when our panel presented ALA's new primary sources libguide. Later that day, I was walking by the Library of Congress booth on the Exhibit Floor just as Dr. Carla Hayden was getting ready to speak. After, I got to take a picture with her and talked to her about primary sources for a few minutes :) (This was the highlight of my ALA conference!)

Also on the exhibit floor, I talked to a vendor from HistoryMosaic. It is a subscription database that includes maps, aerial photographs, and street directories. We had a long discussion about Sanborn maps! (And they claim that they were the third party company that digitized the LOC's Sanborn maps.) With HistoryMosaic, you can layer historical maps and aerial photographs on top of each other or view them side-by-side to see how an area has changed.

I heard that Margaret Lincoln gave an amazing presentation that I was so sorry to miss :(

TPS Mentor Wendy Stephens and I ended our conference with a visit to Second City comedy club.

The ALA conference took place at McCormick Place. It is named after Colonel Robert McCormick, who was the editor and publisher of The Chicago Tribune. It opened in 1960 (5 years after his death).

1963 The Robbins Eagle newspaper article about Leontyne Price performing at McCormick Place

In history, there was also a Cyrus McCormick who developed the first successful reaper in 1831. McCormick opened a factory to build his reaper. Destroyed by the Great Fire of 1871, within two years, McCormick Works replaced the old factory, and McCormick was one of the largest employers in Chicago. (McCormick Place does not appear to be on the same location as McCormick's reaper factory.)

McCormick Plant Chicago

Edited

Wow, I thought I was busy in Chicago, but I think Soline Holmes had me beat!

Judy Blume was a highlight for sure. I went to a lot of meetings for Council (for ALA's governing body), for the Social Responsibility Roundtable, and for USBBY.

I got to hear Margaret Lincoln's amazingly reflective and primary-source laden presentation (and I know she is too modest to post it herself so I am including it here: http://tinyurl.com/MLincolnALA2023Slides and http://tinyurl.com/MLincolnALA2023Recording

I was lucky enough to catch the Van Gogh exhibit at the Art Institute, which I heartily recommend. It was an especially interesting positioning of Van Gogh and his contemporaries in the midst of creeping industrialization.

Here is the Art Institute, dated 1900, but just hinting at its familiar Michigan Avenue context.

https://lccn.loc.gov/2016801822

Thanks for teasing out that McCormick connection, Soline Holmes. Between the cityscapes and the art museum, I kept thinking about the wealth of the industrial Midwest, and this jives with that.

Thanks Soline Holmes and Wendy Stephens for posting the highlights of your time at the conference. Pretty amazing trip! And Outstanding presentation from Margaret Lincoln ! Thanks Wendy for the URL!

Soline - where is that photo of you and the Librarian of Congress?

Cheryl Davis , you KNOW that I had that moment documented :) I talked to Dr. Hayden about the new ALA libguide. I remember someone saying that Dr. Carla Hayden wanted a primary source in every American's hands. I have looked for a citation to this and had not been able to find it. So, I asked her about that. It seems like this quote is probably not in writing, but I have her permission to quote her on it ;)

(For my presentation, I had on a "primary sources/Chronicling America" skirt that had newspaper articles and advertisements on it, but, sadly, I had already changed out of it and was in my graphic novel skirt for the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table Tea.)

Soline Holmes and Dr. Carla Hayden Soline Holmes talking to Dr. Carla Hayden

How very, very cool! Thanks for sharing AND fun to hear about your presentation costume changes - :)

Thank you, Wendy Stephens and Soline Holmes , for your kind words!

It was an honor to be able to attend ALA 2023 and give my presentation on “Reflections on a Successful Semicentennial of Collaborative Transformational Learning in the Library.”

A recording is available at http://tinyurl.com/MLincolnALA2023Recording and slides with embedded links are at http://tinyurl.com/MLincolnALA2023Slides

I, too, was thrilled to meet Dr. Carla Hayden and am pleased to share these ALA photos:

Dr. Carla Hayden

ALA session

ALA 2023

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