A Tale of Collaboration: The Art of the Picture Book Conference

Partnerships and collaborations within the university community are an integral part of successful academic library programs. An innovative conference venture between Ashland University librarians and College of Education professors began during the fall of 2005, culminating in a May 2006 conference featuring a unique celebration of art and the picture book.

The Art of the Picture Book conference theme, “Celebrate, Educate, and Appreciate,” expanded traditional definitions and boundaries of picture book art to encompass the use of picture books in classrooms, libraries, and other settings to teach, analyze, listen, and enjoy. This two day conference event brought together educators, librarians, writers, and illustrators. It included thirty six peer-reviewed sessions, noted children’s author and illustrator key note and luncheon speakers, and welcomed over 200 attendees from Ohio and surrounding states.

Time and talents of the conference committee were successful, promoting Ashland University and Ashland University Library not only within the state of Ohio, but also across the country. This poster session will detail conference planning particulars, both positive and tensioned, as well as the benefits and rewards this endeavor reaped for the library and university. Conference programs, evaluations, photos, and representation of the conference web site will be available for viewing.

This is the companion web page/handout CD to my poster session, A Tale of Collaboration: The Art of the Picture Book Conference, presented on Monday, June 25, 2007 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, at ALA Annual in Washington, DC. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding this poster session:

Links on this page are either external web or email and require Internet for access, or are PDF items requiring Acrobat Reader.

The first conference planning committee meeting focused on several integral topics including budget parameters, multiple key note speakers, setting key deadlines, and developing a web site. Limited funds for advertising and marketing predestined the Art of the Picture Book site a main vehicle for basic conference publicity.

The conference web master and a technology liaison met with Shelly Shaver, Ashland University web master, on February 2, 2005. A tilde (~) account was created for the conference resulting in web presence with university branding and a dedicated AU email address. Additionally, Shaver created the online forms for proposal submission with all submissions directed to the Picture Book email account and program committee co-chairs.

The Art of the Picture Book web site debuted the second week of April, 2005, a full year ahead of the conference date. Continuous updates were made including the integration of a presenter’s information page, detailed program information, and a photo gallery and handouts posted with program abstracts after the conclusion of the conference in June 2006.

Program Committee Meetings	Important Deadlines
Discussions during the first planning committee meetings focused upon important dates and deadlines for proposal submissions, notification of accepted proposals, and both regular and early bird registration dates. The conference "go" date was the latest possible date to cancel the conference if everything was not in place.	First call for proposals	April 29, 2005
	Second call for proposals	September 30, 2005
	Proposal Deadline	December 30, 2005
	Proposal extension	January 31, 2006
	Acceptance notification	March 1, 2006
	Early bird registration ends	March 31, 2006
	Conference "go"	April 21, 2006

Art of the Picture Book: Main Page	Art of the Picture Book: Key Note Speakers

Conference Evaluations: Feedback from Attendees

Evaluation Forms

Every conference packet contained a program, session schedule, conference attendee list, receipt, Ashland University Bookstore coupon, and an evaluation form. All of the evaluation forms were not returned at the close of day two, some attendees completed a form for both days of attendance, and several of the forms were only partially completed; however, a total of 104 evaluations were returned to the program committee.

General Questions

What interested you in attending this conference (multiple options)?

60% Keynote Speakers
47% Professional Development
30% Conference Location

How did you hear about this conference?

34% List Serv
30% Colleague
20% Conference Web Site

Did this conference meet your expectations?

84% Yes
1% No
15% Somewhat

General Comments

Attendees were given space for comments for this section of the evaluation form. A sampling of feedback, both positive and negative, is posted below:

I thought it would be bigger.
Everything was well organized. I was very pleased.
Very nice!
Came away with some good ideas for public library programs.
Excellent speakers
It was extremely professional.
[I would have liked] Better handouts on breakout sessions.
What a wonderful idea.
[I would have liked] More time for keynote speakers.

Additional Comments and Suggestions

Attendees were given an opportunity to speak to any comments or suggestions they wished to make beyond the general evaluation sections. A sampling of feedback, both positive and negative, is posted below:

The speakers were great.
The conference was great, thank you!
Hard to choose sessions with six running concurrently.
How about a session focusing on books about artists?
Very professional and well thought out.
What a wonderful experience.
Give more time to keynote speakers and lunch.
Found a lot of great information.
Please do this conference again.
I hope you do this again.
Not enough seating in some rooms.
This was awesome!

Conference Planning: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Future Conferences: Would We Do It All Over Again?

Many evaluation forms indicated interest in this conference being held as an annual or bi-annual event, and the conference planning committee has taken this into consideration. A debriefing was held after the conference and discussion focused on what worked, what did not work, and what was disastrous; better known as the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

The conference was a success! Thirty-six peer reviewed sessions, two internationally known key note speakers, and over 200 attendees enjoyed the two day endeavor. This first time collaborative effort between the College of Education and Library was a unique event that garnered attention from participants and presenters nationwide for Ashland University. Combining divergent discipline areas provided a distinctive conference experience.

The Bad

An overlarge conference planning committee resulted in issues with communication and completion of tasks. A smaller, more flexible committee with scheduled monthly meetings would have better served the event.

The Ugly

Originally scheduled to be the first event held in the new College of Education building, two weeks prior to the conference construction was delayed, and the building unfinished. The committee implemented “Plan B” with sessions held in the old College of Education building and Library basement. And then there was the thunderstorm...

Conference Photo Gallery

Photographs, as well as various conference handouts from break-out sessions, immediately following the conclusion of the event. The main conference web page was redesigned to facilitate ease of use and communicate the event was over. Below is a representation of the pictures available on the Conference Photo Gallery Page.

Ted and Betsy Lewin	Denise Fleming


Conference Registration	Morning Key Note Speaker


Author Autograph Sessions	Visiting Vendor Exhibits


Vendor: BookMasters, Inc.	Vendor: Usborne Books

Bibliography: Art of the Picture Book Documents

The Art of the Picture Book: Call for Proposals (PDF)

The Art of the Picture Book: Flyer (PDF)

The Art of the Picture Book: Program (PDF)

The Art of the Picture Book: Schedule (PDF)

Webliography: Art of the Picture Book Links

Art of the Picture Book Web Site
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk

Art of the Picture Book: Call for proposals
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/proposals.html

Art of the Picture Book: Conference Programs and Sessions
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/program.html

Art of the Picture Book: Information for Presenters
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/presenters.html

Art of the Picture Book: Photo Gallery
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/photos.html

Art of the Picture Book: Registration
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/registration.html

Art of the Picture Book: Sessions
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/sessions.html

Art of the Picture Book: Speakers Page
http://www.ashland.edu/~artpicbk/speaker.html

Ashland University - Dwight Schar College of Education
http://www3.ashland.edu/academics/education/

Ashland University Library
http://www.ashland.edu/library

Ashland University Library - Instructional Resource Center
http://www.ashland.edu/library/irc

Presenter Information

© 2007 Diane L. Schrecker
A Tale of Collaboration: The Art of the Picture Book Conference
Poster Session: 2007 ALA Annual, Washington DC

URL: http://personal.ashland.edu/~dschreck/ala07/picturebook.html
Updated: 7/2/07