I'm not going to do a full conference recap. By that I mean, there's no point in talking about sessions (though it was nice to see posters
- I love poster sessions -
and I thought John did an especially good session on AI in education.
On the other hand, whoever the moderator of the one panel I went to was, she needs to stop being so awestruck about her conception of the weather in Canada - that really put me off the whole session, so annoying). Instead, let me feature the great folks I connected with.
There was Kathy.
And there was Steven.
Two past presidents of AASL, two current members of the ALA Executive Board. Yep, bigwigs. I run in rarefied company, apparently. Or something like that. I got a good bit of time with Kathy this past weekend, including one dinner, which was nice.
Emily was there, our ALA president.
Great to see her, and big cheers for her in a year when she's been unfortunately embattled.
Jenn!
One of my grad school classmates. I saw her in Louisville back in 2019, and I hope to see her again in St Louis in 2025.
Carl.
Diane.
A past AASL president, and a past Executive Board member who has been prominent in the division. Lovely people. Big wigs again!
Terri,
another former Executive Board member. She took me under her wing to go for lunch, and that was a treat. I love catching up with her.
Sara!
Sara is a delight. I've worked with her a bunch over the years, and it was good to see her. She invited me to her book launch party,
complete with a big cake
(and yes, Kathy was there, too).
What a nice evening that was, and congratulations to her.
I saw others, too: Barb, Sylvia, Kathryn, Jennison, and more. Apparently I know more people in the school library world than I had realized.
All in all, a good conference. Some great content, but very important overall to go in a support colleagues in a state where they have been under fire from the governing regime. Two years until the next one. I worry about how school libraries will continue to be attacked in the interim.
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