i believe in unicorns!

I recently went to Rochester, NY for work and I think it was my favorite work event I have done so far. One of our awards is a lecture that features a famous children's author or illustrator to give a speech about their life/work, etc. I won't go into detail but you can read more about the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture here if you are ever interested. : )

We stayed just outside of Rochester in Pittsford which was very cute, small, and ritzy! They have little restuarants, (expensive) shops, a local dairy farm, and a river walk. It would be a very romantic place to go for a short weekend trip. Here are few pics from my Pittsford adventures:

main street...beautiful weather!

dairy farm...moo

river walk

This year the lecture was given by Michael Morpurgo, you've probably heard of that Steven Speilberg movie, War Horse, well that movie is based on Michael's book, War Horse. He is also the author of other amazing children's stories: An Elephant in the Garden, Kensuke's Kingdom, Private Peaceful, The Butterfly Lion....I could go on forever.

I had a chance to visit with him a few times and he told me I was the first person he has ever met from Oklahoma! Michael then went on to say how much he loved the musical Oklahoma...it was very cute. ;)

At the end of his wonderful lecture he read one of his stories to the audience but didn't tell us what he was going to read. When he started to read I knew what story it was and I was sooooooo excited, I almost jumped out of my seat!

Hearing Michael read I Believe in Unicorns out loud was such an amazing experience and I will never forget it for as long as I live. I was able to get a pic of just us after the lecture and I was so nervous and excited, haha. It's pretty blurry but so happy I have it.

Bookapalooza!

Work had me MIA again the past 2 weeks because...it was Bookapalooza time! 

Every year after the book awards are announced our grant committees select 3 schools or libraries who apply to receive all the year's submissions of books, videos and audiobooks. 

This was my first year sorting and packing the books for the 3 libraries because I'm still a new-bee! buzzzzz....

Anyhoo, I packed over 80 boxes and it was exhausting! But it is gratifying to know that all these wonderful books are going to good homes! 

This is a shot from the FRONT section of the hallway. There were way more boxes further down! They ended up being 3 rows of boxes after I was done and I only got injured once! From the packing tape teeth...

 

3 month hiatus

Wow, has it been 3 months since I last visited my blog??? How can that be!? I hopped on the new job train at the end of March and never got off! The past few months have flown by full of new people, new responsibilities, and lots of new stress!

I just got back from my first ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim as the new awards coordinator for ALSC. I was there for 6 days and I worked my ass off every one of them. I also had the best time and learned so much more about my new job. We have four big programs at the conference every year and they are all awards related. The biggest is our Newbery-Caldecott Awards Banquet where we honor the award winning authors and illustrators. Over 1,000 people attend the event, it takes months to plan and it is HUGE!

I didn't have time to take very many photos when I was there. Actually, I took just one for Sean. Disneyland palm trees!

More updates to come! Plus lots of new photos of the newish apartment! :)

big news !!!

I have been running a mile a minute the past month, sorry I have been MIA! But it has all paid off because I have some exciting news...drum roll please....

I GOT A NEW JOB! Yay me!

I got the official offer yesterday and I said, "hell yes!" - not really, but in my mind I totally did. About the job - I will still be working at the American Library Association - I like this place, great work hours, great vacation time, great downtown location! I will be moving to the Association for Library Service to Children and I will be their NEW Awards Coordinator!

I will be coordinating their 10+ awards, scholarship, and grants, and all of their events that are held at our two conferences each year. If you are familiar with children's books or read a lot as a kid (like me - major bookworm) then the names of the Newbery Award and the Caldecott Award might sound familiar. When I was growing up books like The Giver, Shiloh, and Polar Express were given these awards and I remember loving these books so much!

This is like a dream job to have at ALA and the children's division is where I dreamed of being after my grant was over in September. I don't think I could be happier right now, I have been smiling ear to ear ever since the interview last Monday. I start full-time April 2nd! I know this is going to be challenging and I will be taking on major responsibilities, but I am sooooo READY for that! I'm a working girl through and through - so my posts might dwindle over the next few weeks but I'll try to catch up on the weekends! Thank you to Erin and Sean for pushing me to apply for this amazing job!

My crazy happy face - :)

 

idaho trip

Last week I was in Idaho for work interviewing libraries for our annual study about technology, funding, etc. I had such a great time at each library and these trips and talking with the librarians really make me appreciate my job a little more. That maybe what we are doing here really matters to them, you know? That is what I hope for in any job I have.

Anyhoo, here are a few pics from my travels. Boise had the best coffee shops on almost every corner, loved it! I can't wait to plan a hiking and kayaking trip here with Sean, also the downtown area was so cute with lots of shops and restaurants. One of the libraries had a big welcome sign for us, and then the town's newspaper, the mayor and a few city council men come out and took us to lunch. I think we felt like celebrities for just a bit...

{1. Hammerhead coffee (yum!) - 2. Mountains @ 6am - 3. Sunrise & mist - 4. Plateaus - 5. More mist! - 6. Welcome ALA sign - 7. View from lunch spot - 8. Cinnamon coffee au lait & bagel w/ apple cinnamon cream cheese (the best!) - 9. Vineyards & apple orchards - 10. Nampa's skating rink - 11. "Lizard" of Lizard Butte - 12. Idaho fries & beer - 13. Boise candy shop!}

take me to the west coast

I got to visit sunny San Diego this past week for work and going from snow to tons of sunshine really brightened my mood strings! My co-worker and I got to rent a car and drive along the coast to interview San Diego area libraries for our new technology study. Everyone in San Diego was so nice and welcoming. I stayed by the Gaslamp Quarter district in the downtown area where there were tons of bars, restaurants and shops! One place that stood out for me was this little French place called Chocolat Cremerie, it was soooo cute with tons of gelato (pic above!), crepes, and of course tons of gourmet chocolate! Yummy!

I couldn't help but think of the Coconut Records song "West Coast" the whole time I was there! I can really see Sean and I living in California or Washington one day, we just seem like West Coast people, but for now we are enjoying the Midwest life! I hope one day all of my friends and I can take a trip to San Diego together...destination wedding anyone? ; )

library research - oh my!

If you didn't already know I work at the American Library Association's Office for Research & Statistics in Chicago. Sounds nerdy right? Well it is! And I love it! My main job is working to promote and research library technology and funding for technology resources in U.S. public libraries. The study is on its 5th year now and is called The Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study - read about the study on its very own BLOG that I help manage!

Each year we focus on 2 states to get more in depth research and information, and last year I was in charge of talking to Arizona and writing the state report. Take a look at our amazing study from this past year here!

Now I know you have probably fallen asleep by now reading about this and I completely understand but WAKE UP! I have exciting news! This year we are coming to OKLAHOMA! My HOME STATE! THE SOONER STATE! We just got the go ahead today and I cannot be more excited about traveling through Oklahoma and talking to my home state's libraries. So I'll be seeing you in Oklahoma soon!

Here is one of the many maps I created for this year's study.
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