One week ago, I was returning from the American Association of School Librarians conference in St. Louis, Missouri. And now I’m ready to share my takeaways.

School librarians are a warm group of people. I was stopped by people who knew me through other school librarians and I stopped people who I knew through their presence in the organization or online. However the conversation starts (standing in line, sitting in a conference session, at the counter of a restaurant) it always feels comfortable and welcoming.

See The Librarians documentary as soon as you can.

Books are the greatest and best bridge between people. Don’t ever forget it.

To be an author is to be a public figure and that takes a toll on anyone. Jason Reynolds was so eloquent in sharing the importance of his self-care routine especially as he gets older. It was also echoed in other sessions as well.

There are some neat tools out there and companies are eager to share them with school librarians. I was enthralled by the Sooth.fyi demonstration and excited to use it in my building with students.

Present! It’s a way to give back to your profession and meet others too. I was able to talk about teens and manga (a favorite discussion topic). And I was enriched by EVERY session I went to, too. Ideas that I will put into practice both sooner and later.

For as active as the conference is, it’s nice to sink into a soft bed in a hotel every night after a delicious meal and a hot cup of tea.

It’s always a bonus to travel to a city or state you’ve never been to.