Cognotes 2017 Annual Conference Highlights - 10

10

COGNOTES

ALAANNUAL.ORG/MOBILE-APP|#ALAAC17

2017 CHICAGO HIGHLIGHTS

King and Joyner to Speak at BCALA

T

he Black Caucus of the American
Library Association, Inc. (BCALA)
is pleased to announce radio personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
Tom Joyner and The Reverend Dr. Bernice
A. King, chief executive officer of The King
Center, as keynote speakers at the 10th
National Conference of African American
Librarians, scheduled August 9-13, 2017,
at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta (Buckhead), Ga.
The legendary radio personality Tom
Joyner is one of the most recognized media icons of today. Host of the nationally
syndicated radio program "The Tom Joyner
Morning Show," he empowers, educates,
and entertains nearly eight million listeners each week in more than 105 cities
nationwide. Well known for his dedicated
philanthropy and community activism,
Joyner has led national, successful awareness campaigns on voter registration laws,
family/health initiatives, and minority
discrimination. He will bring a powerful
message to kick off three days of sharing,
learning, and networking.
The youngest child of civil rights leaders
Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott
King, Dr. Bernice A. King is at the helm of
the King Center, which was founded by her
mother, in 1968. Nationally and internationally known as one of the most powerful,
motivating, and life-changing orators and
speakers on the circuit today, King leaves
her audiences speechless and challenges
people to "raise the standard." Today, King
continues to expand and enhance The King

Center's Nonviolence 365 Education and
Training initiatives. She is the author of
Hard Questions, Heart Answers, a compelling
and inspiring book. She is an innovative,
energetic, and committed leader dedicated
to fulfilling the calling of taking her parents
legacy and The King Center into a new era.
The conference theme, Beyond Library
Walls / Innovative Ways to Engage Our
Communities, highlights the opportunity
to explore virtual access and programs 24/7,
outside of the traditional brick and mortar
libraries. The theme also embraces and emphasizes the strength of the organization's
focus and commitment to community
engagement.
"We are excited about our upcoming conference," said BCALA President Denyvetta
Davis. "It always feels like a family reunion
with a professional agenda. Our conference
attendees will be informed, inspired, and
empowered."
This national conference has an esteemed
reputation of excellence as it is the largest
conference devoted to African American
librarians, and those librarians serving African American and/or minority constituents.
The conference will begin with an engaging
Coretta Scott King preconference. Participants will engage in conversation with
Coretta Scott King Book Award authors
and illustrators regarding the relevance of
having diverse books. They will transition
into breakout sessions, where they will learn
how to apply these award-winning books in
innovative ways with children. Authors and

illustrators will include: R. Gregory Christie,
Sharon Draper, Sharon Flake, James Ransome, Carole Weatherford, Nikki Grimes,
and Jason Reynolds.
During the 60s, Atlanta was a major
organizing center of the Civil Rights Movement. A special lunch with the legends and
children of the movement will include: Xernona Clayton, Andrea Young, Dr. Angela
Farris Watkins, Atlanta Councilmen Kwanza
Hall, and Michael Julian Bond. Conference
participants will hear spirited conversations

with actual participants and several of their
children as they reveal how their parent's
involvement changed their lives.
"Registration and hotel reservations for
this historic 10th National Conference are
now open," said conference chair Carolyn
Garnes. "We have simplified the process and
encourage everyone to register at ncaal.bcala.
org. Take advantage of early bird rates that
are available through July 12, 2017."
Hotel reservations can be made at
https://aws.passkey.com/go/BCALA2017.

Librarian Michael Joseph pilots a drone at The Park @ ALA.

Proper Advertising and Marketing Brings in Business
Kelcey Stewart/Clarion University (PA)

B

en Bizzle spoke at the June 25
Public Relations Sunday Spotlight, which showcases innovative
library public relations programming and
events at the ALA Annual Conference &
Exhibition. Bizzle is founder and CEO

of the marketing and web development
firm, Library Market. He is a 2013 Library
Journal Mover & Shaker award winner and
author of the book Start a Revolution: Stop
Acting Like a Library. For the past seven
years, Bizzle has also served as the director
of technology and head of the creative team
at Craighead County Jonesboro Public

Library in Jonesboro, Ark.
Bizzle said that one of the biggest
challenges facing libraries today is lack
of awareness. The most effective way of
getting people into your library is proper
advertising and marketing. Bizzle noted, "If
you think advertising is a waste of money,
you're doing it wrong." One $50 Facebook

New Exhibits Fun: The Park @ ALA, The Playground @ ALA

"If you think
advertising is a
waste of money,
you're doing it
wrong."
ad reaches at least 10,000 people. Not
only is it advertised on one of the most
used websites in the world, but it is spread
across every Facebook partner website.
When you're reading your emails and you
see an ad in the margins, it is most likely
because the company paid to originally have
it advertised on Facebook. Bizzle posed the
question, "Would you rather waste $50 on
advertising, or $5,000 on a service no one
uses?" Money the public saves at the library
is money they in turn spend back in the
community and at local businesses.
Bizzle shared examples of posters and
billboards his own library has used in the
past to create a buzz about the library's
events and services. Examples included
billboards with quotes like "Spoiler Alert!
Dumbledore dies on page 596" or "Romance novels - cheaper than cats."
One unique idea his library put into action was placing drink coasters in local bars.
Each coaster was labeled "Add a word, ruin a
book" and had pictures depicting book titles
gone wrong such as The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo Parlor, 50 Shades of Grey's Anatomy,
and Charlotte's Web of Lies. Bizzle said the
best method to finding the right form of
advertising for your community is to "get
inspired and go try new things."
http://alaannual.org/mobile-app http://www.bcala.link/hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coretta_Scott_King
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