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Home > For Libraries > District Consultants > Reading Round Up Conference

Reading Round-Up of Children’s and Young Adult Literature Conference

About

Reading Round-Up (RRU) is a statewide annual conference held each April, sponsored by the Maine Regional Library System and the Maine Library Association's Youth Services Section. Established by the Southern Maine Library District in celebration of National Library Week and International Literacy Year, the first conference was held April 10 - 11, 1990, at the Portland Public Library.

Reading Round-Up is a conference to learn ideas for promoting, marketing, evaluating, and purchasing noteworthy juvenile literature. Staff who work with children in public or school libraries are invited to attend. Conference highlights include announcement of the Lupine, Katahdin, and Maine Student Book Awards and a display of the "Cream of the Crop" - Outstanding new children’s books compiled by a committee of children’s librarians especially for RRU.

Previous Conferences

  • 2008 "Can Read But Don't Wanna" with University of South Carolina professor Dr. Pat Feehan
  • 2007 "Dewey or Don't We - Essential Nonfiction" with author Susan Campbell Bartoletti
  • 2006 "Reaching Out to Readers" with author Michael Sullivan
  • 2005 "Poetry: Reading, Rhyming & Rhythm" with Ashley Bryan, internationally recognized author, illustrator, poet, and storyteller
  • 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 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 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”

Planning Committee 2007 - 2008

Planning committee members represent the three regional library districts and meet monthly from September to May.

Rita Bouchard, Augusta; Nancy Diamond, Manchester/Readfield Elementary Schools; Shirley Helfrich, Southern Maine Library District (ex officio); Kate McGowen, Topsham Public Library; Wende Sairio, Longfellow School, Brunswick (Chair); Sarah Schultz-Nielsen, Lithgow Public Library, Augusta; Liz Preble, Auburn Middle School

Further Information

Southern Maine Library District Office,
5 Monument Square, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 871-1766 or 1-800-649-7696
SMLD@portland.lib.me.us