June 2007 issue - IFLA Libraries for Children & Young Adults Section Newsletter

This post is long overdue.

The June 2007 issue of SCL News was out about a month back. You can download the PDF copy (1.3MB) from the IFLANET Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section webpage.


Hmm... this would be the fourth time I've put the newsletter together. For the record, here's the third attempt, the second (I didn't blog about), and here's the first. I still remember the pain from the very first attempt. It's less painful now, but still lots of work. Now I know why people pay good money for good layout designers and printers.

The 73rd IFLA conference meets in Durban, South Africa this year. I'll have the privilege of attending the conference again, since I sit in one of the technical committee (i.e. the Standing Committee for the Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section).

This would be my third IFLA conference (previous one, here), and second time visiting South Africa. And... and (dare I say it?) first time winning the Best IFLA newsletter?

LOL.

Winning would be great, but I was really just trying to find a suitable "1st". I'm glad to be given the chance to put the newsletter together. In truth, the real prize is in receiving Thank You notes from my IFLA colleagues, and the occasional emails from readers of SCL News (yay, some people DO read the newsletter!)

As I wrote in the latest issue:

My two-year appointment as Information Coordinator would be up. My Section Chair, Ivanka, emailed me: “Would you like to continue as Information Coordinator for Section?”

Let’s see…

I have lines upon lines of emails yet unread in my mailbox. Nearer the newsletter publication deadline, I’m always worried there’s not enough articles for the newsletter. Then the articles come in and I find I’m spending way too much time fighting with the word processing software, struggling within the limits of my amateur design skills, trying to get the layout right. It doesn’t help when I’m both a procrastinator and a perfectionist. And when the newsletter is finally published, I wonder if anyone reads it.

But then I recall this recent email:
Congratulations on this wonderful newsletter… …As a former chair of the Section and a member for many years, I really enjoyed the information and how much more international you have become. I'm now retired from being on the faculty teaching in the children's services area… …Glad to see that a friend, Kathy East, is still on the Standing Committee. Good luck in all you very important endeavors, and I agree with the Information Coordinator that the most important aspect of your work is networking and sharing of the many success stories in our various countries. Problems and solutions are also helped by the many Guidelines that you contribute. Dr. Shirley Fitzgibbons.

So my reply to Ivanka was: “Yes, I’d be happy to continue as the Information Coordinator, if the SC members would have me.”

In my heart, I was saying, “You bet I want to continue!”

As always, we’d love to hear from you. See you soon in Durban, South Africa. ✾

P.S. And thank you, Dr. Fitzgibbons!

Oh, our Section has started a mailing list. You may wish to sign up at this page.