I want to thank Prairielands for this scholarship giving me the opportunity to attend my first library conference. The conference was Oct. 24-25 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, MN. The first day included a lovely keynote speaker Mychal Threets. He talked about his love for libraries as a young kid and now being part of library staff as an adult. He also touched on how important it is to take care of ourselves mentally and physically. I went to many wonderful break out sessions throughout the conference. The ones I liked the most were To Genrefy or Not to Genrefy, The READ Act, the Children’s panel of MN Children’s authors who were John Coy, Ty Chapman, and Molly Beth Griffin. It was a wonderful Q & A session. The Storytime PREP session was about how explore different methods for your story times including using Google Appsheet. Also, how to reflect on best practices for your audience. The MLA conference is important in building connections with other librarians and educators to help enhance your career in the library field. I left knowing new people and learning new skills to help me enhance my story times as children’s librarian.
Not to mention that the food was very good to, it was at the tables while eating that we came together for education, rejuvenation, and connection.