The Beginning of a Conference Whirlwind

Early Wednesday morning I left for my very first library conference, the Treasure Mountain Retreat in Reno. The "Treasure" in the description was no exaggeration. If you are in school librarianship and ever have a chance to attend Treasure Mountain, you can't pass it up. The room was filled with brilliant scholars whose works I had quoted often. What really makes this group extraordinary though is the enthusiasm, passion for what they do. There were no "Yeah, buts" in the hall. Participants didn't sit idly by but actually are participated freely sharing ideas and tactics for making it work. Dr. David V. Loertscher was kind enough to allow me to present the ideas from our new book In Command! Teaching Kids and Teens to Build Their Own Information Spaces and Learn to Manage Themselves in Those Spaces and the response was fantastic. These brilliant librarians and exceptional people went the extra mile at the AASL Conference afterwards and introduced me to so many wonderful people. The passionate exchange of knowledge and true collaboration and collegiality reaffirmed that I have found my people,and profession and I am grateful to them all.