The Office of Library Services is hard at work putting together a terrific professional conference for school librarians – and we want you to attend! We have outline a few steps you can take to get released for the day.
1) The first step in this process is to familiarize yourself with the content and opportunities available on the conference day. The best way to do this is to keep checking this LibGuide -- we will be posting information about the conference (session titles, presenter info and sponsor participation) as it becomes finalized.
2) Next have a conversation with colleagues about topics at the conference they might be interested in – inquiry in social studies? makerspaces to spark creativity? and plan to attend those sessions to learn more and use this information as a basis for collaboration with those teachers.
3) Then meet with your supervisor (print the flyer available on this LibGuide) to discuss the benefit to the whole school of you attending. There is content knowledge to be gained as well as swag and free product trials!
4) Rapid and specific follow up AFTER the conference is a crucial element in being released for the NEXT professional conference you want to attend. Meet with your administrator (it doesn’t have to be a long meeting, but it should be within one week of the conference) to share just ONE thing you learned at the conference, how you plan to implement it and what the benefit is to your school community. The session on using the ASCD eBooks is an excellent example of a session you can use as soon as you get back to school.
For more information on Making Your Case check out the ALA website, ALA Making Your Case to Attend.