Greater St. Louis Librarians Update

We hope everyone had a wonderful, restful holiday break that allowed you time to read. This semester is JAM-PACKED with professional development opportunities for you, beginning with our Greater St. Louis School Librarians winter meeting at Ritenour High School from 9:00 am to 11:30 am on Saturday, January 27, 2018. We will continue our conversation about the Future-Ready Framework and how it applies to us as librarians. We're asking for meeting participants to contribute to our shared Google Slideshow before the meeting, and, at our meeting, be willing to briefly discuss the ways you are taking Future-Ready action in your school(s). The format will be very casual, and you are sure to gain some awesome Future-Ready ideas. We invite you to register for the event here. Bread Co. breakfast will be provided by several vendors. This event is free for members. Check to see if you are a current member here. The first 40 members to register for the meeting will receive a free copy of the AASL Standards Framework for Learners, and all meeting attendees have the chance to win a free MASL Spring Conference registration!

Please note that we recently changed the website address for our group. Check it out!

To help us build our PLNs, we are encouraging you to add your name, Twitter handle, library website, etc. to our Google Sheet. Please feel free to follow anyone of interest to you so that we can continue to learn from each other throughout the year. Check back for updates to this sheet.

EdCampSTL, the wildly popular, free "unconference" is taking place from 8am to 3pm on Saturday, February 10 at Ritenour High School. Join other passionate educators for a day of inspired learning. Topics and presenters are decided on site based on participant interest. This event fills up quickly! For more information, check out this link.

The Midwest Education Technology Community (METC) is hosting its 35th annual conference at the St. Charles Convention Center from February 12-14. If you can afford to attend the conference on only one day, consider joining your fellow librarians on Wednesday, February 14 when you can also choose to attend the Library and Media Literacy Luncheon with guest speaker Kristen Mattson. Click here for more info.

The St. Louis Regional Library Network is hosting its annual Tech Expo from 9am to 3:20pm on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at the beautiful Logan University Purser Center. Attendees will learn about a variety of technologies and have the chance to network with local librarians in school, public and academic sectors. Workshop topics include Breakout EDU, digital storytelling, digital mentorship, and data privacy. Several of the presenters work as school librarians in our region. The cost to attend is $20 for members or $35 for non-members. Click here to see if your organization is a member. Register on the SLRLN website beginning the week of January 8. Email slrln@amigos.org with questions.

The St. Charles School District is hosting their own EdCamp from 8am to 12pm on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at Jefferson Intermediate School. This EdCamp is open to anyone, and it's also free! Click here for more info.

This year's MASL Spring Conference gives you the chance to meet award-winning authors, hear from acclaimed speakers, and learn from your talented fellow librarians. We're back at Tan-Tar-A this year, and changes to the conference format include a Sunday night "suite crawl" where you can sample vendor-sponsored appetizers and desserts while learning about trendy topics and building your PLN. For more info and to register, click here.

The Lindenwood programs in Library/Media and Educational Technology will be launching a series of organized visits to school libraries and unique learning environments in the St. Louis region this spring. These will be offered once every 8-week term (or more often if other organizations are interested in partnering). LU is currently seeking recommendations for sites. Please share any ideas you have with Amy Peach, chair of Library/Media: apeach@lindenwood.edu.

Northwest High School librarian (and Greater St. Louis area officer) Melissa Ray spoke about strategies to get youngsters reading more often in 2018 on a recent segment of Great Day St. Louis. Way to represent, Melissa! See the segment here.

Kelly Oliva, President (kellyoliva@wsdr4.org)

Carolyn Allen, Vice President (cscaia@hazelwoodschools.org)

Melissa Ray, Treasurer (mray@northwestschools.net)

Andrea Head, Recording Secretary (Andrea.Head@fhsdschools.org)

Christina Thompson, Membership Secretary ( thompsonc@ritenourschools.org)

Jennifer Millikan, Past President (jmillikan@sja1840.org)