7:30 Registration Opens
8:15 Welcome and Announcements
8:30 Keynote - Rajani LaRocca
9:30 Vendors & Author Signings
10:30 Session 1
11:30 Short Break
11:45 Session 2
12:45 Lunch/Awards/Raffle
1:30 Vendors & Author Signings
2:00 Lightning Talks
2:30 Session 3
3:30 Networking/Closing
Intellectual Freedom Essentials for School & Public Librarians
Challenges to library materials continue to arise in school and public libraries around the country. Understanding the principles of intellectual freedom rooted in the First Amendment is the first step in preparing yourself for handling a challenge. Join Kerrie Lattari and Cathleen Miller as they discuss policy, precedent and how it supports your work in defending the right to read. You will leave this session with practical knowledge and strategies to respond to censorship issues, an understanding of the resources available to you, and have an opportunity to ask questions.
Student Voice in Library Spaces
Are you interested in learning how to engage teens in your library? Join librarian Katy Jones and two Gardiner Area High School students to learn about how they worked together to transform their library, create a student library committee, and genrefy the non-fiction section.
Transforming Library Spaces: Modifying the Dewey Decimal System for a Student-Friendly Environment
Discover how to create a more welcoming and accessible library space for students through innovative modifications to the Dewey Decimal System and thoughtful design choices. This presentation will guide librarians and educators in reimagining library classification and layout to better support student engagement and learning.
From Anxiety to Action: Practical Approaches for Librarians to Boost Student Resilience
This session aims to empower librarians in addressing student anxiety and enhancing their executive functioning skills. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the anxiety cycle, drawing on Lynn Lyons’ approach to effectively break the cycle and improve executive functioning. Participants will leave with a variety of handouts and tools to support both students and educators in nurturing children and teens’ executive functioning skills. This presentation is geared toward school librarians, but some of the techniques provided may also support public librarians.
Rolling the Dice: Bringing Dungeons & Dragons to the Library
Uncover the secrets to orchestrating captivating tabletop journeys for your middle-grade patrons! With “Dungeons & Dragons” you and your patrons will travel through the boundless realms of imagination where friendships flourish, confidence soars, and literacy and math skills thrive. Join us as we illuminate the transformative power of Dungeons & Dragons within the hallowed halls of your local public library!
Pages & Parks: Librarians & Park Educators in Collaboration
Park rangers and librarians make the ultimate team for community enrichment. South Portland Park Ranger Sydney Raftery and Youth Services Librarian Jess Milton will share fun ideas for programming and discuss how their partnership increases youth engagement with both the library and the natural world.
Cream of the Crop
A Reading Round Up staple! Come hear from members of the Maine Children’s Book Review Group about the best books published in 2024.
Picturing Community: Intergenerational Picture Books & Programming
Join us for a celebratory exploration of the power of picture books in community. This workshop will examine a rich array of picture books with intergenerational themes and characters, then unlock their potential for intergenerational programming in your school or library. Build your collection, build your programming, build your community!
Inheriting a Fixer-Upper: When a New to You Library Needs a Complete Overhaul
Melissa started a new job in September 2024, and inherited a library space that needed some serious TLC to reimagine what the library could be for the staff and students. In this presentation they will recap the first year: advocating for administrative support, 'weeding' non- fiction, genrefying my shelves, writing grants to update the collection and collaborating with teachers and students to 'reinvent' the library as the 'heart of the school'.
Fighting Poverty & Fostering Wellbeing: Families & Libraries
The two-generation approach to fighting poverty builds whole-family wellbeing by providing services that naturally benefit both children as well as the adults in their families. Public libraries often provide a variety of offerings for the whole family. But when this approach is more intentionally incorporated into your library’s programming and services the results can be transformative, enhancing educational success and economic prosperity that passes down from one generation to the next. Venturing a step further to craft an intergenerational collaboration between the local public library and another community resource such as a school library, or preschool or learning center, while requiring more effort, also potentially offers an even more rewarding return. It also demonstrates to community members the value and relevance of all the participating entities.
Winter 2025 Children & Teen Title Talk
Join CATS (Children and Teen Services) Manager, Grace Larochelle from Baker & Taylor for an hour long presentation on what's new in Children and YA titles coming next season! Take swag and ARCs home, too!
Fostering Student Empathy Through Diverse Stories
After doing school visits here in Maine, one thing I took away is the diverse student population, which we're seeing growing in our state. This dialogue provides a framework for encouraging diverse books (with examples) as a means of fostering new readers who feel represented as well as helping students foster empathy for their classmates.
Hosting Successful Author Visits in Your School
This workshop session will feature a panel discussion with authors and school librarians who will share their insights and practical advice for planning a successful author visit. We'll explore the benefits of author events, discuss effective planning strategies, and address common challenges. With insights from librarians who serve various age groups and authors who write for different grade levels, this workshop aims to equip school librarians with the tools and inspiration needed to host engaging author visits that resonate with students and align with their educational objectives.
Junior Scientists & Sleuths: Modeling Guided Inquiry in the School Library for 2-5 Grade
How can school libraries incorporate guided inquiry and critical thinking skills into engaging lessons that also promote literacy and the library? Highlights include hands-on lesson demonstrations with mystery picture books, field journals, anthropology studies, and more! Power in Numbers: Leveraging Data to Showcase Library Impact We’ll explore practical tools and strategies for gathering meaningful statistics, turning numbers into compelling stories that validate your library program, and advocating for increased support, budget, and autonomy. Participants will leave feeling empowered to present their data to stakeholders in engaging ways.
Mang-huh?! Introducing East Asian Literature to Your Library
A crash course on manga and related East Asian literature. This introduction covers key genre terms and their meanings, plus popular titles for librarians to add to their collections.
Sing Me a Story: How Singing Supports the Whole Child and Early Literacy Skills
Enliven, strengthen, and widen your story time through singing, music, and movement. Participants will learn about the science of singing, how singing supports early literacy skills, social emotional learning, and healthy development, as well as tips for leading songs with more confidence, methods for working with diverse groups, and ideas for pairing songs with books.
Maine Student Book Award: We Have an App for That!
Have you ever wished there was a device-friendly way to participate in the Maine Student Book Award each year? Thanks to a partnership with ReMo—a Maine-based K-12 reading app— librarians, educators, and students/school-age library users across Maine will be able to interact with the MSBA List like never before. Join this session to learn about the functionality of the MSBA REMO app and how to successfully implement the app with your library users to transform the MSBA experience. The app will even simplify the voting process!
Play Me a Story: Enhancing Literacy through Theater
Join Portland Stage’s education team for a dramatic reading followed by an interactive workshop designed to build and enhance student literacy and engagement with language and stories. Participants will leave with activities to bring straight to the classroom that encourage reading fluency, character recall, understanding of themes, emotional recognition, physical storytelling, vocal characterization, and student ownership of stories/language, all through fun games and activities!
The conference accepts vendors and exhibitors for our conference. We provide ample break time for attendee interactions. If you are interested in joining us this year, please reach out to vendors@readingroundup.org.
Past Conference Themes and Keynotes
2024 "Building Blocks" with Lupine and Katahdin winners: Alexandra Hinrichs, Jamie Hogan, Matt Tavares, Lynn Plourde, Jennifer Richardson Jacobs
2023 “Level Up” with Jason Reynolds, author
2022 “Rediscover Joy” with author Alex Gino
2021 “Rise Up” with Leslea Newman, Author
2020 “Building Bridges” with Saadia Faruqi, author (virtual)
2019 “Connections: Looking Back & Reaching Forward” with author Sharon Creech
2018 “Maine Perspectives: What’s Your Story?” with Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald, storyteller and author
2017 “Rethinking Literacy: Multiple Literacies for the 21st Century” with John Schumacher (a.k.a. Mr. Schu), blogger and part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Reading Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fair
2016 “Celebrating Our Differences: Diversity in Children’s Literature and Services” with author Gary Schmidt
2015 “Blurring the Boundaries: Telling the Truth in Nonfiction” with author Tanya Lee Stone
2014 “Everything We Need to Know We Learned from Children’s Books Past and Present “ with author Anita Silvey
2013 “Letting Kids Lead” with author Kate Messner
2012 “Literacy in the 21st Century” with author Deborah Heiligman
2011 “Why I Write for Children” with author Andrew Clements
2010 “If the Art Fits” with illustrator Kevin Hawkes
2009 “Back to the Future” with author Lois Lowry
2008 “Can Read But Don’t Wanna” with Pat Feehan, Professor, University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science.
2007 “Dewey or Don’t We: Essential Nonfiction” with Susan Campbell Bartoletti
2006 “Reaching Out to Readers” with author and instructor at Simmons College Michael Sullivan
2005 “Poetry: Reading, Rhyming & Rhythm” with author Ashley Bryan
2004 “Looking Back: Experiencing History” with author Doreen Rappaport
2003 “Beyond Library Walls” with Carole Fiore Management Analyst/Youth Services Consultant, State Library of Florida
2002 "The Joy of Reading" with noted author and lecturer Betsy Hearne, Professor of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois.
2001 "Magic of Storytelling" with author and storyteller, Margaret Read MacDonald
2000 “Connecting Kids and Books” with author and YA services consultant, Patrick Jones
1999 “The Art of the Book” with author and librarian Julie Cummins
1998 “Beyond the Stars: Exploring the Best in Children’s Literature” with Roger Sutton, Editor-in-Chief, The Horn Book Magazine
1997 “Truth is Stranger than Fiction: Reaching Readers through Nonfiction” with author Patricia G. Lauber
1996 “Corralling Humor in the Library” with author and columnist Michael Cart
1995 “New Connections” with Melody Allen, Library Program Specialist, Rhode Island Department of State Library Services
1994 “Forms and Faces of Diversity in Children’s and Young Adult Literature” with Maggie Russell, Managing Editor, Parents’ Choice.
1993 “Building Bridges” with Susan Bloom, and Cathryn Mercier, Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Simmons College, Boston.
1992 “Current Trends in the World of Children’s Books” with Anita Silvey, former Editor-in-Chief, The Horn Book Magazine
1991 “Books for Children and Young Adults”
1990 “Reading Aloud or Alone: Choosing Books for Children and Young Adults”