Debriefing after a conference is important because it reminds me to affirm contacts made during the event and it allows me to reflect on new information. What will I choose to add to my work and what will I leave behind?

The ALSC Institute left me wondering where I’ll continue to develop my professional growth space. ALSC for me is good for personal relationships but not so much for the content. I’m a tween/teen person, always have been. I’ll watch the direction YALSA develops under its new leadership and see what happens there. I want more Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC)! I want ALA to better coordinate the conferences that fall under their umbrella and I want the momentum that began JCLC to do more than conference. I want to see them go where the old ethnic caucuses aren’t. My next conferences are NCTE (where I’m presenting) and ALAN. I’ll probably attend Children’s Literature Association conference because it’s in Indianapolis, but I don’t know that strict scholarship is my space. I’ll see!

I thoroughly enjoyed the smallness of ALSC Institute. I liked that it better facilitated the opportunity to dialog with people and I truly enjoyed catching up with friends and colleagues. I enjoyed working with them, too. I enjoyed the time spent preparing for panels that were rich opportunities for learning. I got a lot out of the public debriefing chat between Elisa Gall and Jamie Naidoo Campbell. 

I’m hoping to miss MidWinter and refill my coffers.

I received an email this morning that the Friends of Indigo Memorial reached their goal. However, you can still donate! Indigo was a member of Children of the Glades, a library book group of LGBT+ teens in Florida. Indigo recently took her own life and this has been devastating. Her friends are gathering money with this fundraiser to honor her.

We are starting this fundraiser because people are asking and wanting to give. Our library district was a haven for Indigo; a place for books and belonging. This was because our librarian Miss Ann welcomed her at the reference desk and at teen programs and guided her to books that enriched her and reflected her dreams and desires.

It’s not too late to donate! https://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-indigo-memorial And, it’s not too late to give Children of the Glades continued support by following them on Twitter. @ofGlades

A new week. A new month! Time for me to get the October releases up and to get out my dancing shoes so I can celebrate my birthday!

Happy October!