Hello school librarians!! How has your summer been? It’s so hard to believe that August is quickly drawing to a close. School has started back up in my home state of Texas and beyond. I officially started my term as AASL President in July and have been busily working with our incredible Board of Directors, Sylvia Knight Norton, our AASL Executive Director, and the entire AASL Staff on finalizing our strategic plan- more about that very soon!

(Left to right: Juan Rivera-Secretary/Treasurer, Nora Wiltse-Division Councilor, April Dawkins-Director-at-Large, Courtney Pentland-Immediate Past President, Sylvia Knight Norton-Executive Director, Becky Calzada-President, Barbara Johnson-Director-at-Large, Amanda Kordelski-Incoming President, Hannah Little-Director-at-Large. Not pictured, Lindsey Kimery-Director-at-Large)

But first, let’s take a trip back in time. Back on March 24, 2020, AASL launched it’s first Town Hall. Remember March 2020? Schools shut down due to the COVID 19 pandemic and AASL created the very first AASL Town Hall. It was an opportunity to bring school librarians together to discuss impacts and share solutions to address learning needs. Town Halls allowed school librarians to share creative ideas, best practices, innovative solutions and just-in-time resources with colleagues from across the country. They built community when so many school librarians felt isolated during very challenging times.

Fast forward to 2024. Town Halls have evolved as we have maneuvered through a pandemic and increasing challenges to our collections and our roles in today’s schools. Together we have explored a variety of topics relevant to school librarians, shared advocacy and leadership tips, highlighted the work of school librarians for others to learn from and so much more.  As we move into the 2024-2025 school year we have an opportunity to reimagine how the AASL community can use a virtual Zoom forum to connect, network and mentor. I am excited to announce the rebranded AASL Gathering.

As the AASL President, I will be hosting the first AASL Gathering on September 12, 2024 at 6:00 pm CT. Our guest will be Dr. Joyce Valenza, Rutgers University Associate Professor, long-time AASL member leader and edu-shero of mine who recently shared an incredible KQ Journal piece in the May/June 2024 Futurecasting issue. If you are an AASL member, check out her article, Partnering For Human-Centered Innovation & Change – I promise you will be challenged and inspired!

You will want to make time to hear from Joyce and as part of the AASL Gathering concept, we want to hear from you!  (Note: the AASL Gathering will continue to evolve throughout the year.  We look forward to your input as the Membership Engagement Committee is tasked to help define and structure how often we gather, future topics we highlight, and more.)

So are you curious to know more about this interactive online learning opportunity? Launch your 24/25 school year with a bit of librarian-flavored inquiry. In our September AASL Gathering, we’ll consider the notion of unreasonable hospitality, connect dots you aren’t currently seeing, engage in brainstorming for radical change, and play with creating aspirational, human-centered goals that demonstrate impacts and leadership in and beyond school library walls.

Sign up to listen, learn and share with Joyce and I at 6:00 pm Central Time on Thursday, September 12, 2024. I look forward to seeing you there!