Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Professional Development by Maria Falgoust

Professional development is a great way to stay current, grow and network. It’s so important to get out of the library and visit other school libraries for inspiration. HVLA is an excellent resource for this.


There are so many conferences to choose from! They run the gamut: from huge, in terms of scope and size (Hello, ALA Annual!), to intimate and focused (Hi, Friends Council on Education!) My personal strategy has been to dabble and try out as many as I can to see for myself.


Advocating for professional development funds and the time off takes time and effort, and reflects your dedication and passion for school librarianship.


Are there any conferences, courses, or workshops you would highly recommend? If so, do share in the comments.


Local Groups



Childlit is a moderated listserv hosted by Rutgers University. Members include librarians, scholars, authors, and many others interested in children's literature.  


Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) is a non-profit organization where New York’s librarians and archivists come together to learn, share ideas, and collaborate.


A DOE list-serv that focuses on issues, concerns, and celebrations of public and non public school library personnel in the NYC School Library System. NYCSLIST Registration Instructions



Professional Development Opportunities







Conferences/Symposiums/Workshops


ALA Annual Chicago, IL June 22 - 27, 2017  


American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Phoenix, AZ November 9 - 11, 2017 “Beyond the Horizon”






Book Expo NY, NY June 3 -4, 2018




IBBY Regional Conference Seattle, WA - October 20-22, 2017 Radical Change Beyond Borders: The Transforming Power of Children's Literature in a Digital Age


International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) Annual Conference, Long Beach, California August 4-8, 2017. "Learning Without Borders".




New York Library Association (NYLA) Rochester, NY, November 7-10, 2018


NYCSLS Fall Conference Queens, NY November 2017


NYAIS NEIT New Paltz, January 24-26, 2018


NYAIS Teaching with Technology  NY, NY,  April 25, 2017


SLJ Leadership Summit, Nashville, TN October 7-8, 2017 “Confronting Our Literacy Crisis”


YALSA Symposium Louisville, KY November 3 - 5, 2017


Online Webinars/Webcasts/Classes













Maria Falgoust is the Librarian at the International School of Brooklyn, a Nursery–8th grade independent school in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY. ISB offers French and Spanish language immersion programs as well as an International Baccalaureate curriculum, which is reflected in their multilingual library collection. She serves as vice president of the Hudson Valley Library Association.




3 comments:

  1. National Storytelling Network Annual Conference: http://www.storynet.org/conference/

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. I just registered for this webinar: Digital Literacy and Fake News: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/library-2017-digital-literacy-fake-news-registration-33684268554

    Also, join a community on edweb.net, like the Emerging Tech for Librarians: https://www.edweb.net/emergingtech

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