Jan McGee, Elizabeth Dumas (LASL President) and Carl Harvey.
Last week I had the pleasure to head down to Louisiana and spend a few days at the Louisiana Library Association. The Louisiana Association of School Librarians is the state affiliate to American Association of School Librarians (AASL). LASL is a division of the Louisiana Library Association.
One of my favorite parts of being President-Elect of AASL is that I get a chance to represent the association at some of the state conferences. Many years ago the AASL Board votes to start a rotation so that the AASL President (President-Elects and Past-Presidents) would visit the various state conferences on a consistent basis. Earlier this year I visited Nevada and the other state on my list this year was Louisiana! The goal of the program was to help build and reinforce the connection between our affiliates with AASL.
The reason I enjoy it so much is the people. Over the 2 1/2 days I was there, I got a chance to meet some amazing librarians doing some amazing things. LASL is luckily to have quite a dedicated group at the helm of their organization. They ran a wonderful conference. I had the honor to present a couple of sessions - Engaging the Profession and 21st Century Skills are Elementary. It was great to share some of the things AASL is working on. Even more exciting is that we’ll be back in LA for ALA this summer in New Orleans.
Besides the time I was sharing in front of the group, I got time to sit back in the audience and enjoy of the session they offered. There were some wonderful session such as Skyping with an Author and What to Read Next after Percy Jackson with some great tech connections. You can see some of the resources on the LASL wiki! I also had the chance to attend their awards reception and the author luncheon with Wendelin Van Draanen who is an amazing presenter.
Carl Harvey and author Wendelin Van Draanen
But, as I said before the people are what makes these conference so wonderful. The little chats and conversations in the hallways, before and after sessions, or at the meal functions were certainly the highlight for me. I came back for ideas I can use in my own library as well as feedback for AASL, too. I’d also like to thank LASL for the newest addition to my tie collection. Its wonderful! Thank you to all the great librarians in Louisiana for a great visit! Looking forward to being back there in June!!!
Tags: AASL · American Association of School Librarians · conferences · LASL · Library Media Programs · Professional Development · Reflection · school librarians · school libraries · school library media programsNo Comments