It’s a blur! Does anyone else feel that way? The past few days have been a whirlwind of learning, fun, learning, and more fun! I always enjoy coming together every two years for the AASL national conference, but somehow this year felt even more special to me. I’m sure it has something to do with all the planning we did as a conference committee and then seeing the AASL team bring our ideas to life in ways we could not even imagine! Thank you AASL!
When I started off this week, I planned on blogging from the conference every day. That worked out well – ha! Instead, while I wait to exit St. Louis and head back home, I thought I’d open my laptop and just share a few thoughts on what I saw, heard, and experienced.
Yesterday morning, I was sitting in the front of the auditorium waiting for the opening session, cheering on our moderators, Shannon and Mia and getting really amped up from Arlene’s excitement to introduce Jason Reynolds. When the doors opened to the general session, I wish so much I had had my phone out to record what happened. Have you seen videos of the Beatles coming to the United States for the first time? It was a lot like that – school librarians running down the aisles to get the front seats to see Mr. Reynolds in person. Truly something to behold! It was a testament to the power of Jason Reynolds. He truly is someone who makes a difference in the world, to children and teens, to adults, to school librarians. His conversation with Shannon and Mia was amazing. I cried a couple of times as did many around me. It was uplifting, heartfelt, and I know I can’t wait to see what he has in store for adults in his upcoming project.
Michael Threets brought his Reading Rainbow and Library Kid inspired energy in his conversation with Jordan as she live recorded the Reading Culture podcast. It was incredible. It brought back the energy that had left me by that point – I had learned so much, participated in so many sessions, and learned to the point where I just wanted to go put up my feet – and boom! Reenergized.
Oh my gosh and just a heartfelt thanks to everyone who stepped up to present at our conference! I learned so much and I know that others did as well. I attended a session on bridging that really gave me a sense of how to start the conversations that need to happen in order to restore civility in our conversations. We worked through exercises in how to talk to others who have a different outlook in life than us. I found it valuable for using in my professional and my personal life. The work being done in Western NY by Chris Harris and Bonnie Powers is powerful. In another session, I was led through how to really create a wonderful guide to navigating your policy and procedure and to be prepared for book challenges. Stephen Beck put together a digital binder for his school librarians that included self-care, talking points, policies, procedures, information on the law. It sounds simple, but from someone who has faced some challenges, having everything in one place and easily accessible in the midst of a challenge is priceless. In another session, some amazing resources and ideas were shared for programming — including raising chickens in the library! If you wanted to learn about it, there were sessions for everyone!
Okay, enough from me! I’m going to leave you with safe travels home (or by the time this is published, safe travels back to school and your library!). I’m also going to leave you with these big thoughts that I took away from our time together in St. Louis:
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School libraries continue to be a place of connection for student identity, community, and belonging.
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Storytelling is powerful tool for building empathy and student agency in the library space. We heard a lot about telling stories over the three days. The screening of The Librarians told a deeply moving story. I had hope after it and listening to Becky, Carolyn, and Michelle in the panel following the movie.
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Self‑care, joy and advocacy are essential for library professionals.
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Being part of the school library profession means being part of a movement! Being a school librarian means we are always working toward inclusion, equity, researcher‑informed practice and student empowerment.
I know that Carolyn Vibbert mentioned it one last time when she introduced the closing session, but truly, get involved. There are so many opportunities to volunteer within AASL. It can be big or small, but we do need you! Fill out the get involved form today while you are still riding the post St. Louis high.
Thanks to you, Jen, and all the hard-working conference committee members. It’s such an important, and often thankless job, but so important and valuable to the entire school library community.