Online Learning Opportunities
Picturing America for Public Libraries presented several online learning opportunities this fall through OPAL and Adobe Connect Pro. All events were offered free of charge and open to public librarians and public library staff involved in developing programs that incorporate the Picturing America collection. Please feel free to email us with any questions.
Online Learning Archive
Picturing America Programs for Children
Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 3 p.m. EST
Join Wendy Lukehart, Youth Collections Coordinator at the District of Columbia Public Library and fellow recipient of the Picturing America collection, to learn more about how the DCPL staff has conducted successful Picturing America programs for children. Wendy will share her experiences using Visual Thinking Strategies
and the Whole Book Approach to bring the Picturing America collection to life for young audiences.
Wendy has been involved in engaging children with books through the arts in public libraries throughout her career, starting in Bethlehem and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and continuing in Washington, D.C. She has served on the 1997 Caldecott Committee, the 2006 Society of Illustrators Jury, the 2007 Sibert Committee, and she is currently chairing the ALSC Committee for the 2010 Preconference—Drawn to Delight: How Picturebooks Work (and Play) Today. Lukehart is a member of Capitol Choices and the Washington, D.C. Children’s Book Guild. She also writes articles and reviews for School Library Journal.
Visual Thinking Strategies: An Introduction
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 3 p.m. EST
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a structured, widely respected, research-based method of looking at art that enables participants to develop esthetic and language literacy and critical thinking skills. It provides a simple yet powerful technique that librarians can utilize not just in conducting Picturing America discussion programs, but throughout their careers. Join Oren Slozberg, Executive Director of Visual Thinking Strategies, for an introductory overview of VTS using Picturing America images as a basis for discussion.
Oren joined VTS as Executive Director in May 2006, bringing more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and the arts. As the leader of several San Francisco Bay Area agencies over the years, he has formed organizations from their start-up phases, raised more than $5 million, and doubled participation in programming. Since 1999, he has been a consultant to nonprofit museums, art organizations, government agencies, and social service institutions in the areas of strategic planning, management development, program development, and fundraising. He has a BA in mass communications and linguistics from UC Berkeley, pursued graduate studies in instructional technologies at San Francisco State University, and is an expert trainer in Visual Thinking Strategies.
Archived presentation
Basic VTS at a Glance (PDF)
The Eyes Have It: Potent Visuals Promote Academic Richness (PDF)
VTS brochure (PDF)
Picturing America and The Art of Perception: Reconsidering How We See
Friday, October 16, 2009, 3 p.m. EST
Amy Herman, Director of Educational Development at Thirteen/WNET, will demonstrate her methodology of improving observation, perception, and communication skills by learning to analyze works of art using the Picturing America images. In this highly participatory session for librarians, Amy will engage participants in a dialogue about looking at art and how to make Picturing America images accessible to audiences who do not have formal art historical training.
Amy was former Head of Education at The Frick Collection and has conducted The Art of Perception training sessions in art museums for numerous law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI, and Scotland Yard. You can find out more about Amy and the art of perception by reading “Teaching Cops to See” from the October 2009 issue of Smithsonian magazine.
Picturing America Promotion: Reaching Library Staff and Community Groups
Friday, October 2, 2009, 3 p.m. EST
Nancy Davenport, Director of Library Services at the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), will share her experiences coordinating Picturing America programs within the DC library system. Nancy will share tips for empowering staff to use the collection as a basis for public programming, as well as creating partnerships with schools, community organizations, and local funding agencies.
Prior to joining DCPL, Nancy held multiple senior leadership positions with the Library of Congress. Nancy has served as President of the Council on Library and Information Resources, and as a Board member of the National Information Standards Organization, the American Library Association, the Digital Library Federation, the National Humanities Alliance, and the US National Committee for UNESCO.
Streaming audio with slides and text chat (runtime 60:06)
Downloadable MP3 audiorecording (17.7 MB; runtime 60:06)
Slides only
Using the Picturing America Program in Public Libraries
Friday, November 7, 2008, 3 p.m. EST
Nancy Davenport, Director of Library Services at the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), shares her experiences with using the Picturing America program within the DC library system.
Prior to joining DCPL, Nancy held multiple senior leadership positions with the Library of Congress. Nancy has served as President of the Council on Library and Information Resources, and as a Board member of the National Information Standards Organization, the American Library Association, the Digital Library Federation, the National Humanities Alliance, and the US National Committee for UNESCO.
Streaming audio with slides and text chat (runtime 57:56)
Downloadable MP3 audiorecording (17.3 MB; runtime 57:56)