In just a few short days, our school will host our first in-person author visit since the pandemic hit. And as much as I’m excited to bring a live author back to our school, it’s also the most nerve-wracking experience.

It’s not like this is new. Our school has hosted at least one author each year since 2011. Yet each and every time I have sleepless nights and sprout a few extra grey hairs. The planning and preparation is one thing, from signing the contract and fundraising for the cost (since our school does not support the full cost of author visits, we always seek outside support) to having books for purchase and finding the avenues to get teens excited about the visit.

This year has included a lot of transitions in both our district office and the library’s new space that we moved in to during our major capital improvement project for our campus. These factors add to the nervousness that everything will come together. It never gets easier. Plus, for these high schoolers, this is the first experience with an author visit because of the pandemic. I want to pack the library, but I want the students to want to be there. I want to inspire reading, which is usually the case after the visit. In the meantime, I’m running a reading challenge because of the authors breadth of titles.

As I said, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The elation of the connection between the author and students cannot be substituted, but it’s the responsibility the librarian carries throughout the process that always gets me.

What things do other librarians and hosts do to quell the sleepless nights and reduce the grey hairs before a visit?