Why do I love ALSC Institutes? Because I get to . . .
Meet . . . incredible authors and subject experts and then, in turn, inform, inspire, and impress folks back home. In Salt Lake City Laura Vaccaro Seeger unveiled her fantastic One Boy and then, a few months later, when it won a Geisel Honor I felt like I knew it and its background intimately, having an inside edge on the masterpiece. Other authors and subject experts such as Christopher Paul Curtis, Carol Peterson, K. T. Horning, Betsy Diamant-Cohen, and Michele Gorman imparted their brilliance in a setting that was intimate and interactive in a way only an Institute can be.
Greet . . . old friends and amazing new acquaintances with social time and specific sessions for networking. It really is an unmatchably great chance to get to know names you recognize and those that are future friends, librarian leaders, and colleagues.
Eat . . . at the Breakfast for Bill where in honor of William C. Morris we all get a chance to sample local fare and celebrate the past, present, and future of our profession.
Repeat! Let’s do it again in Atlanta!!
Andrew Medlar
Youth Materials Specialist
Chicago Public Library