Issue 28 Spring 2000 THE YLG CONFERENCE: My First Impressions! Kate Newport, Children's Librarian, Westminster Libraries >>>>>>>>>> Next Conference Item	Collections under which this       article appears:       Y L G Related Articles or Resources

The week before coming away to my first YLG conference I began to worry about what lay in store for me at Loughborough. I had been to the campus once before, as a prospective MA student and I had decided against it on the rather flimsy basis that Sheffield had a better nightlife and from what I could remember the university was huge, isolated and impossible to find your way around. I wondered what was to become of me, as a newly qualified librarian with no former colleagues, contacts or friends to meet up with. I would surely end up all alone and lost in the middle of a cold sports field counting off the minutes until I was allowed to go home.

The reality, I am glad to say, was very different. From the moment that I arrived on the Friday morning, earnestly clutching my notepad, conference guide and bottle of pina colada, till I handed my room keys back on Sunday it felt as if my feet had hardly touched the ground. In fact when I was first asked to write this piece, I wondered how on earth I was going to fit everything into 500words!

The conference began with Catherine Blanshard, who delivered a keynote speech, and set what was to be the theme of the conference, ICT and Children's libraries, into a broad framework. This was particularly significant to me because it is not long since Catherine's work made up a significant amount of my university reading list. After this the AGM was convened and then Rose Impey treated us to the first author talk of the weekend.

After the first day I was totally exhausted and yet I was already caught up in the atmosphere of passion and commitment to children and young people that prevailed at the conference. Again at dinner with the many welcoming faces that surrounded me I had little time to worry about feeling new and inexperienced and was able simply to enjoy many an interesting chat about what was happening in libraries across the country. Finally, John Scieszka rounded off the day with a hilarious introduction to his book Squids will be squids and then we all retired to the bar.

The following morning, despite my aversion to getting up early on a Saturday morning, I was brought to life by an invigorating talk by Mel Gibson. In this she argued strongly that we should set aside any prejudices we might have about the new media and embrace them as an opportunity to attract new readers. I feel this speech was particularly important because it really illustrated the way in which the YLG has embraced ICT and used the conference to promote the use of new technologies within the children's library.

Next up, Keith Gray talked a little about the way in which graphic books might be used to attract reluctant readers, particularly boys, and gave us all hope by admitting that he was once such a boy. This was followed by a discussion panel made up from representatives from three publishers who discussed the future for electronic publishing, and then a selection of practical seminars dealing with the practicalities of finding and evaluating web sites for children.

Saturday night at a YLG conference only means one thing and that is The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals Celebration Dinner. This again was hugely enjoyable and both winners, Helen Cooper in particular who spoke about the importance of illustrators, delivered pertinent speeches on the role of libraries and the way in which books might be developed to attract new readers.

Sunday morning may have brought us to the end of the conference but it also brought us to what many of us had been looking forward to all weekend, Philip Pullman and his talk 'Children's Literature in the new millennium'. It was indeed a powerful note to end this year's conference on as Philip argued powerfully that the presence of monopolies in publishing and of free market values within the public sector may be detrimental to the quality of children's literature and to the way in which it is delivered. Ray Lonsdale then brought the conference to a close and although the various speeches may have given us some cause for concern, the overall message about embracing the new synergies was a positive one.

Finally, I think if I had to pick out my favourite bits of the conference I would choose John Scieszka's after dinner speech and the exhibition room. Even now after being privileged enough to have seen many author's speak about their books, nothing quite brings a book to life like its creator. I had always loved Scieszka's books, but having heard a little bit about the way in which he and his partner Lane Smith develop their ideas, my copy of Squids will be squids is now just a little bit more special.

The exhibition room too will remain in my mind for a long time, because it contained a veritable treasure trove stacked full of all our favourite children's publications and featuring all those wonderful spin-off products. There were Elmer pens, Wibbly the Pig posters and of course loads of Maisie toys, Maisie badges and even Maisie mouse mats. Needless to say I returned to Westminster weighed down with merchandise for the libraries and maybe even a little something for me.