TLA 2015: I Am Thankful

I'm home now from my second trip to the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference. Held in Austin, the conference drew over 7,000 attendees. I was fortunate to be able to go, and I am grateful to my awesome district and administration for supporting my learning!

An added bonus was that the conference took place during National Library Week and School Library Month. Celebrating this event with fellow librarians made it extra special.

So, because my experience was incredibly rich, it would be impossible for me to concisely recount every great thing that happened (nor would you want to read such a long post!), and, no doubt, I would omit someone's name or leave out something important.  I would never want to do that.

Instead I want to share some realizations -- and I know that some may seem incredibly simple and obvious. But this is where my learning is at this point, and after some time passes, the concepts will reveal themselves more specifically.

TLA helped me appreciate that:

• No matter how much I read children's literature or learn about it, it will never be enough!  It truly is my passion (along with libraries)! Listening to an author or illustrator talk about their book brings me a joy I cannot fully describe. This is because the more I learn about #kidlit, the better equipped I will be to help the readers in my library find the books they need. 

• Connecting with other librarians helps me improve my practice. When I ask questions, listen, and engage in conversations with other librarians, I instantly improve my own work. This is because I am doing a lot of thinking as I assess my knowledge, reconfigure for new information, and set goals. 

• I love my library, and to make it an even better place, I must keep pursuing ideas and exploring. This will require me to be forward-thinking and always-working. I will definitely need to "Be the Hero"! 

• A conference is learning-on-the-go, subject to the environment around me. Though I may have a plan, sometimes letting go of it leads you to something even better.

Note: I took a lot of notes and documented my learning via Twitter. And thanks to my fellow tweeting librarians, I was able to learn from sessions I could not attend. 

I am thankful for the Texas Library Association and their leadership and resources. 

P.S. I can't wait until next year: #txla2016. But also, I cannot wait until tomorrow, when I can use this learning in the library! 

See you in Houston!