McConnell 2011!

What a great McConnell Conference the UK School of Library and Information Science put together this year!  Sharon Draper lifted our spirits with her amazing energy, Rafael López shared his dazzling colors and artistic process, and Matt de la Peña illuminated and inspired with his own personal story.  It was truly an honor and a joy to present at this conference.

I was thrilled by the questions and ideas shared during both of my sessions.  Here are some of the ideas that participants shared that they were planning to take back to their libraries.  I have added some of my own comments to these in asterisks:

• Start planning a Día celebration for the first time.  *LOTS of folks said this, which is wonderful!  Don't forget that Reforma Southeast is accepting applications for two mini-grants for folks planning Día programs.*
• Access websites for Survival Spanish and translations of library policies.
• Contact services in my county that serve Latinos to ask about the materials they need, the programs they would participate in, and ways to reach Latinos in my community.  *This is great!*
• I am an elementary school librarian.  I can contact the local public library to collaborate with them to build a stronger Latino program in my school.
• Staff training about using folktales as part of programming to Latino communities.  *Conejito by Margaret Read MacDonald and Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy are two great books to start with.  The Bossy Gallito by Lucia Gonzalez also makes a great flannel story!*
• Check out Webjunction resources and share them with others at my library.  *Consider their Spanish Language Outreach training, which is available online.*
• Welcome Latino families into our school with warmth and a smile.  *I LOVE this one!*
• Start homework help if possible - helps total constituency.  *Great point!*
• Add more multicultural / bilingual books to storytime.
• Contact with Spanish liaison at school to schedule a library tour for local Latino families.  *Fantastic idea!*
• Start a Noche de Cuentos evening program.
• Purchase more bilingual books.
• Have high school students taking Spanish do bilingual storytelling, giving them volunteer hours and giving the children role models.  *Love this idea!  There are lots of great books and stories out there that incorporate little bits of Spanish into English text.  This might be a great place to start, so that it is not too overwhelming for the high schoolers.  I recommend Susan Middleton Elya and Ann Whitford Paul to get you started.*

Mil gracias to everyone who attended my sessions at the McConnell for sharing these ideas.  Keep us posted with how things are going for you by leaving a comment or sending me an email.  Also, if you have any questions along the way, please know that I am always happy to help.  You aren't alone!  Reforma Southeast is here for you too!