AASL is coming right up!

 

LM_Net has been abuzz with conference tips for next week's AASL conference in Hartford, Connecticut. There's been a wealth of good advice. The only confusion I had was when someone recommended wearing comfortable shoes. What other kind are there?

Anyway, I'm doing a BYOD, hands-on pre-preference workshop on Wednesday afternoon, Libraries in the Cloud. On Friday at 3:15, I'll be giving a breakout session on Developing the Creativity in Every Learner. I'm also doing a short author talk at the Linworth/ABC-CLIO booth at 10 Friday morning. I hope somebody shows up. I'll do my best to make sure we all have fun!

One event, if I can stay awake for it, that I am personally looking forward to is the Joyce Valenza (and minions) AASL Unconference on Friday from 9PM to midnight. Modeled on Steve Hargadon's "unconferences" that have preceded the ISTE/NECC regular conferences for the past few years, this is a great informal way to learn from our peers about topics of great and current interest. Joycie ran an "unconference" at our state library conference last month and I've heard nothing but raves about it.

• The Unconference wiki: http://aaslunconference.wikispaces.com/home
• The Unconference poster: https://www.smore.com/a0yv-aasl-late-night-unconference 

For me, conferences are really not about the sessions, the keynotes, or the vendors. They are about the personal conversations in the hallways, over drinks, and at lunch. They are about not just learning new things, but catching up with old friends (and it is amazing just how old some of my friends are getting!) 

Anyway, say hello if you get a chance if you're still speaking to me.

Graphic source

Point/Counterpoint in L&L

Happy to see the question: Do Schools Still Need Bricks and Mortar Libraries? debated in Leading & Learning this month. Note that it is online as well and readers can leave comments.

And when exactly did I go from being the young cute guy to the old grumpy one in most situations?

New book coming!

I think it is a little ironic when (mostly) younger teachers and librarians come up to me at conferences and say, "Hey, aren't you that Blue Skunk guy?" For many educators, the fact that I have published four books, written dozens of articles, and hacked out  columns ad nauseum over the years is not salient when it comes to my "claim to fame." It's moments like these that make me feel that the world is moving past me - and I will never catch up.

Still I am excited since I have a new book coming out soon, hopefully in time for it to be available at AASL in Charlotte in early November.

School Libraries Head for the Edge: Rants, Raves and Reflections. Linworth, 2009 is an edited, somewhat updated, collection of my Head for the Edge columns I've been writing since about 1995. My son Brady did the wonderful illustrations for it.

Books are a surprising amount of work, even when they consist of things mostly already written. I took a full week last February of doing nothing but writing and editing to get this one into draft form. I spent another couple full days just going over the first draft. I have a real publisher who is anal about things like footnotes and permissions and such. This is hard for me since when it comes to writing, I am a much better sprinter than marathoner.

Now and then I get asked how one gets started as a conference speaker or consultant. My only advice (which should be considered suspect since I never deliberately planned to be such a low-life) is to write a book or two. Books still cast an aura of credibility on a person that blogs or tweets or other forms of self-publishing do not - at least for many. Often others assume that people who can write can also speak. There is no correlation as far as I can tell.

This may well be changing and I am sure there are other paths to being infamy in educational circles.

Anywho, I am always excited about a new book coming out, even if I have already read it - too many times. I know my mom will be proud and I will send the hometown library a copy so she can look me up in the catalog.

Write a book. I'll bet your mom would be proud too.