Hello! My name is Karin Dalziel, and I am a graduate student in Library Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Like many in the library profession, I love to read. My undergraduate degree was in fine art, so I also love to draw, doodle, paint, sketch and design. The READ poster campaign is a perfect fit for me!

I remember seeing READ posters while growing up in my school and public libraries. They were oddly comforting, a reminder that I wasn’t alone in liking to read. As I grew, the icons depicted on these posters changed. I was unbelievable happy when I first saw the Ani DiFranco READ poster hanging up in my local library. The READ campaign continues to bring in celebrities that are current with today’s youth and adults.

It was only when I became more involved in the library world that I heard about the READ CDs that allowed a library to design and create their own READ posters. I could immediately see the endless possibilities for local libraries: local politicians, athletes, artists, and teachers could be featured along with the the big name celebrities. Improvements in printing quality (not to mention lower costs) means that these new posters would be nearly indistinguishable from the celebrity posters. Alas, I have not seen any of these customized posters in the wild- or maybe they were so well done, I just looked over them!

I hope I can bring a bit of design flair and advice to the readers of this blog. Feel free to ask me about Photoshop or design issues, and I’ll do the best I can to help. I’ve been using Photoshop since version 2- I remember when the introduction of layers was a big deal!  I have a lot of ideas on how to use READ posters, and some tips on design and photograpy, which I’ll be sharing in the coming year.

Hello ALA members and friends! I’m excited to be a part of the READ CD online community. This is my first foray into blogging, and I’m looking forward to participating in a dialogue with you about the READ CD and all the inventive ways in which librarians are using it.

As Director of Products & Promotions for ALA Graphics, I have the wonderful opportunity to develop posters, bookmarks, and incentives to support libraries, literacy, and reading initiatives. It’s a really fun, creative job that I’m very proud to be part of. I love working with children’s book illustrators, such as Judy Schachner, who created original Skippyjon Jones art for both a poster and bookmark. Although it takes months of letters, emails, and calls, I do enjoy working to secure celebrities for our celebrity READ poster campaign. If only I could attend all of the photo shoots and meet the stars in person!

I’m also fortunate to get lots of ideas from our members and customers about what they need and want for their libraries, and I feel the READ CD community will be a valuable way to collect and share your input. Last year I worked on improving the READ CD Box Set to include Adobe Photoshop Elements. I’m currently working on revising the “how-to” instructions using feedback from users to make it even easier to make your own READ posters, bookmarks, and other items. Stay tuned.

Speaking of feedback, we’re always interested in knowing who you want to see on our celebrity READ posters, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you to please send any suggestions to marketing@alastore.ala.org. Please put “Celebrity READ Suggestion” in the heading so it makes its way straight to me.

While I know this isn’t the first blog created in honor of a piece of computer software, I do believe this is the first blog dedicated solely to the READ^® CD. We receive so many great ideas from users of the software, we wanted to create a forum where these suggestions could be shared and further developed. Through posts and comments, we hope this blog will serve as a community where we can all share, learn, teach, and inspire. Four regular bloggers and the occasional guest blogger will rotate posting to the blog each Monday on a variety of topics and matters all relating to the software that allows you to create your own customized READ^® posters. Thus, as you sit behind your mug of coffee or tea, bleary-eyed and missing the weekend, at least there now exists the READ CD blog to help you start your week off right.

I was first introduced to celebrity READ posters at Mission Trail Elementary school in Leawood, Kansas. Little did I know as a third grader wandering the library stacks, one day I would move to Chicago and work as the Administrative Assistant for ALA Graphics and Editions. Now one of my main responsibilities is assisting members and customers with all READ CD questions. Whether wanting to place a bulk order, installing the software, or making adjustments in Photoshop^®, if you have a question, I’m your gal (even the interweb agrees). Along those lines, if you have suggestions for topics or questions you would like to see answered on the blog, please feel free to send those ideas to graphicsmarketing@ala.org.  

So, welcome to the blog! I hope it’s helpful, entertaining, and one more way to start your week off right!