I want to thank Molly as well as the Division Presidents who made sure to spread the word at every major function and event.  In addition, blasting it out to their Boards, their members, and the entire library community.  We are in this together!

As of this second (1/25 at 9:20pm) we are at 14,377 signatures, and we need 10,623 more signatures.  We need to reach 25,000 in just a few days – Feb. 4th.  So, please continue to blast it out on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and every other venue you have.  Please continue to help get the word out about school libraries and help us ensure the Obama administration has to respond to this petition.

Interview with ALA President Molly Raphael:

Interview with AASL President Carl Harvey:

For me personally, the highlight of the conference was on Tuesday.  I officially ran the first AASL Board meeting as the 2011-2012 President.  Following that was the ALA Inaugural Banquet honoring Molly Raphael at which they recognize all the division Presidents, too.  I am really excited about the year ahead.  I have no doubt it will be filled with all sorts of opportunities and challenges.  However, I also have no doubt we’ll continue to follow a course that moves forward AASL and the school library field.

At the banquet, there were several AASL Presidents from the past, present, and future.  We all got together for a group shot!

back row  (left to right)
J. Linda Williams, 2005-2006
Barbara Stripling, 1996-1997
Ken Haycock, 1997-1998
Carl A. Harvey II, 2011-2012
Nancy Everhart, 2010-2011
Susan Ballard, 2012-2013

front row (left to right)
Cassandra Barnett, 2009-2010
Ann M. Martin, 2008-2009
Sara Kelly Johns, 2007-2008
Frances Roscello, 2003-2004

• AASL Board of Directors – The biggest part of my Midwinter agenda was the AASL Board of Directors meetings.   The Executive committee met twice to finalize the agenda for the board meetings and to review next steps decided at the board meeting.  For the last several years the board has used one of its meetings at Midwinter as a board workshop to work on the strategic plan.  Paul Meyer from Tecker Associates has helped facilitate this discussion of mega issues.  At the board meeting on Saturday, we reviewed action based on the concerns brought forth by the Affiliate Assembly in June as well as spend some time evaluating the strategic plan and how we are progressing.   The minutes from the meeting will be posted on the AASL website.
• President-Elects Meetings – One of the opportunities that I have enjoyed the most in being President-Elect is the chance to get to know ALA President-Elect, Molly Raphael, and the other division President-Elects.  We first got together at our President-Elect training in October where we spent a lot of time as a group.  At Midwinter we had the opportunity to come together again, albeit for a short time frame, to share and network.  I learn so much hearing what is happening in the other divisions and I really enjoyed the time.
• AASL Candidate Forum – The cycle continues.  Seems like it was just yesterday I was giving my speech at the AASL Candidates Forum.  In reality it was a year ago in Boston, and 2011 brings the next round of candidates.   I was privileged to be able to attend and listen to all those individuals who are running in the 2011 election.  We have amazing people on the ballot.  Make sure if you are a member of AASL to take a few minutes to vote this spring.
• Exhibits – My schedule was so crazy that I really only got time on Monday morning after the Youth Media Awards announcements to spend any time in the exhibits.  I always enjoy looking at the books coming out in the spring, checking on new products, and catching up with my vendor friends
• Youth Media Awards – One of my favorite things each year is to attend the Youth Media Awards.  It is always so much fun to see which book is going to take home the top honors.  A complete list is available here: http://www.ala.org/yma/
• Affiliate Assembly – One of my favorite meetings to attend each conference is Affiliate Assembly.  This is really one of the major pipelines for information from AASL to get to the various states and for information form the various states to get to AASL.  I got my start in the Affiliate Assembly when I was President-Elect of the Association for Indiana Media Educators.  From there, I continue to get more and more involved in AASL.    It is a great introduction to the work of the association.  This year there was also a wonderful presentation from the Texas School Library Association about some of the great resources they’ve put together to help connect parents with school librarians.  Here is the link: http://www.txla.org/tasl/parent-resources
• All Committee – Here is where most of the AASL committees meet during Midwinter.  Although some committees decided to meet virtually, others had face-to-face meetings during the conference.  Staff and board liaisons are available to provide support for questions and concerns as well as giving committees time to work on their minimum intended outcomes.  It is so much fun to see all these groups working together.  We know they spend many hours outside conference for the work of the association.   Soon I’ll be appointing committees for the 2011-2012 year.  Consider volunteering at: http://www.ala.org/cfapps/committee/volunteerform
• Networking – Lastly, my favorite thing about any conference is the networking.  I always learn so much hearing what my colleagues and friends all over the country are doing.  The chance to catch-up with vendor friends and listening to the projects they have on the horizon are always amazing.  Midwinter was a great chance to catch-up with friends and meet new ones…

A few others notes I made from MW….

• There is not much time left to apply for some of the many AASL Awards.  Deadline is February 7, 2011 for most of the awards. - http://www.ala.org/aasl/awards/
• AASL National Conference – Turning the Page – Minneapolis, MN – October 27-30, 2011.  Registration is now open! – http://aasl11.org
• AASL release a statement about re-authorization of Elementary Secondary Education  Act – http://www.ala.org/aasl/positionstatements
• Building Level Toolkit for AASL’s Learning Standards and Program Guidelines – http://www.ala.org/aasl/toolkits/
• AASL is working on a crosswalk between the Common Core and AASL Standards.  They are working on getting it all post online – http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/
• School Library Counts survey now open – http://www.ala.org/aasl/slcsurvey/ Please take a minute to respond about your library!
• Learning 4 Life Student Video Contest – http://www.ala.org/aasl/l4lvideocontest/

My next trip was to Phoenix for an advisory board meeting for Capstone Digital. This was such an interesting board to be a part of because of the diverse group of individuals. We all come from different perspectives and backgrounds. It certainly made for great conversations. I left Phoenix and flew to New York and gave a full-day workshop for the School Library Systems of Genesee Valley, Monroe 1, Monroe 2-Orleans, and Wayne-Finger Lakes on school library leadership. It was a great day with a wonderful group of librarians.

The next adventure was up to Chicago for several meetings related to my position as President-Elect of the American Association of School Librarians. I along with the other 10 President-Elects of the 11 divisions of the American Library Association, spent a full day of training at ALA headquarters. A variety of good ideas were shared as well as training by the ALA lawyers and 2 hours of training on how to work with the media. It was a great time to meet the other President-Elects of the divisions as well as Molly Raphael, ALA President-Elect, and I look forward to working with them all. Then we had two days of meetings of the AASL Executive Committee. We did find a little time for some fun by going to Second City one night, too.

This weekend I’ve been in Hampton, VA for the Virginia Educational Media Association Conference. This is the first time I was invited to give a keynote speech and my topics was school library leadership. I have to admit I was a little nervous, but I think it went pretty well. Lots of great folks here in Virginia and I’ve enjoyed the chance to get to know them. I stayed for most of the conference, and enjoyed many sessions including the closing keynote from fellow Hoosier Anita Silvey who has just started a new blog.  She has such great stories about children’s literature to share. Allison Zmuda was also here presenting, and enjoyed getting a chance to catch-up with her for a few minutes, too.

So, its been a lot of learning, a lot of meeting new friends and colleagues, and a lot of fun!

While at the SLJ Summit in D.C., it was announced that Sara Kelly Johns, former AASL President and Library Media Specialist from Lake Placid, NY will be running for President of ALA.

This is an exciting opportunity to place a school librarian at the helm of the largest professional organization for librarians.  So, I encourage all school librarians to make sure their membership in ALA/AASL is current and be ready to cast a vote for Sara Kelly Johns in the spring election.

Thanks to Cathy Nelson for the widget that I put on my blog.  It will direct you to Sara’s website.

DAY 2

Yesterday I kicked off the day with a run through the exhibit hall. We ran through about 1/3rd of the hall hitting various vendors and catching up with friends and colleagues.

From there I headed to the AASL President’s Program. The program was kicked off by awarding the Spokane Mom’s the Crystal Apple Award. Meeting these amazing women was a highlight. It was so exciting to see the passion they had to preserver and improve their school libraries in Washington. Wouldn’t it be great to see this grassroots effort happening in every state! Read more about their efforts at: http://www.fundourfuturewashington.org/

In the afternoon I presented along with the assistance of Jay Bansbach the AASL 101 session. This program gave newbies information about AASL and how to get involved. While the crowd was small, we were able to share information about AASL and spending time in individual conversations.

I had a little more time for exhibits after the session and was able to catch-up with several vendors.

I ended the day at the ALA Scholarship Bash at Disneyland. There were a lot of people, but we had a great time!

DAY 3

This morning was AASL Affiliate Assembly. This is my last meeting on the Executive Committee as I now cycle off following my term as Past-Chair. Affiliate Assembly is a wonderful forum for sharing concerns with the AASL Board and for AASL to share with the states all that is happening. AASL President, Sara Kelly Johns, AASL President-Elect, Ann Martin, and a whole host of AASL Committee Chairs provided insights and updates on to what is happening in our organization. We also discussed and voted on several concerns and commendations that will now be sent to the AASL Board to consider. It was a very productive meeting.

In the afternoon I shared a brief AASL 101 in the exhibit hall. It mostly became a one on one conversation with a library school student, but it was a great chance to share about the wonderful things AASL does as an organization.

I caught a little of the Demco Book Cart Drill Team competition before calling it a day!

Bright and early I left Indianapolis (7:00am) and arrived in California around 10:00am. After getting settled in the hotel, I took a nice long nap. Working for C.L.A.S.S. this week on top of the early wake-up call this morning (4am) had just worn me out.

ALA started for me with American Association of School Librarians’ Affiliate Assembly meetings. The Executive Committee met first followed by Affiliate Assembly 1 from 8-10pm tonight. Affiliate Assembly is the heart of AASL. Each state affiliate sends two representatives. This body shares with the national organization the issues and concerns from all the states in the country. It allows our national organization to know what areas it needs to focus on across the country. Tonight we talked about lots of issues and Affiliate Assembly will vote on the most critical areas to send to the AASL Board on Sunday.

Even with my nap, it has been a long day. But, glad to be in Anaheim and ready to enjoy a great conference!