As the summer draws to a close and most Northeast educators begin to look toward their classrooms and the return of students, I spent a day surrounded by book people. And it was lovely.

For the last several years, my presenter-in-crime Stacey Rattner and I have shared the best books of the year to our local area educators and I’ve looked forward to every one of them and am sad when it is done. However, within the last two years, we’ve been invited to present to other local cooperatives that coordinate librarian and teacher professional development to do the same during the school year– so the adrenaline rush of preparing for a presentation and delivering it lasts the whole year through now. I’m both grateful for the opportunity to meet other librarians and educators, read as many books as I can to be the most prepared I can be, and find entertaining and inspiring activities to break up the time that can be useful in their own practice.

I’ve written about it before and will reiterate it again, my passion for running professional development is directly related to the work I have to put in to deliver it. That’s deep learning for me. So preparation begins as soon as the date it booked. I often mull over the possible theme and organization for quite a while, writing down a note here or there and then leveling up to a brainstorm.

I’ll save a love letter to Stacey for another post and instead offer a toast to the wonderful librarians and educators who came out on one of the only sunny days our summer has offered (so much rain!) to be ready for the school year for their students and share their thoughts, opinions, and book love with one another.

What is your favorite kind of professional development? What is a lasting memory you have from a past event?