Where Will I Learn Next?

Now that I've (finally) had time to think about and digest my professional learning from last year, it's time to turn my attention to this year. Yes, being in a school is weird thanks to the "new year" starting in July. I'm already in 2018 and officially it doesn't start for another few months! Anyway,…

Personal, not private

Many years ago, when schools were just starting to think about email and giving faculty their own addresses, we were reminded that what happens on school "property" (digital or physical) belonged to the school - our searches, our emails, our content were theirs. It might have been personal, but it wasn't private. Many people in…

The next level up: #ACRLNEC17

Working in an independent school, particularly one usually considered an "elite college preparatory" school means extra pressure to be aware of what my students will be expected to do and know in their next educational institution. It makes sense to spend the day at the ACRLNEC conference because many of the colleges and universities represented…

#NEISL17 Reflections

I love the NEAISL conference. I love it even more when I'm not hosting, as I did in 2015 and 2016. For those who don't know, it's a 40-year-old conference that brings together independent school librarians in New England (and a few from NY). We meet and talk and learn together for one day and…

The Very Overdue #AISLNO17 Post (part 3)

My goal: to blog all the PD I’ve done this year before the academic year ends. In eight five four days. Get ready! **** Day Two: E-Books The best presentation advice: start on time, end early, feed participants. This is an area we explored gently over the past few years (both at Milton and Porter's)…

The Very Overdue #AISLNO17 Post (part 2)

My goal: to blog all the PD I've done this year before the academic year ends.  In eight five days.  Get ready! **** Day One: What Keeps Me Up At Night (Courtney Lewis) Courtney started by talking about some of the things that keep us all up at night: faculty still referring to their experiences…

The Very Overdue #AISLNO17 Post (part 1)

My goal: to blog all the PD I've done this year before the academic year ends.  In eight days.  Get ready! **** I haven't attended AISL in 16 years, since their 2001 Library Space Odyssey for a variety of reasons (schedule conflicted with school research season, sessions didn't really apply, etc.) but 2017 in New…

Best. PD. Ever.

I've had a lot of professional development over the years, in a variety of industries (there was a 12 year gap between college and getting my MLS).  A few times I've felt as though I should demand a refund for hours of my life absolutely wasted.  Most of the time there's been something I can…

From the sublime to the…

The past week I attended a workshop on Design Thinking in libraries at my alma mater, Emma Willard School (currently referred to as Hogwarts by students): And immediately after, I headed South to a city I never thought I'd visit (Orlando) for ALA's Annual Conference, where I stayed in the Castle Hotel: Of course, I'll…

Diverse Diversity @ #ALAN16

Diversity was a minor theme for the various professional development opportunities I had during the month or so before Winter Break.  I'm always mindful of the fact that "diversity" doesn't only mean "skin tone"; when I was co-chair of my school's accreditation self-study, we tried to think about all of NYSAIS' definition of diversity when…