Articles from recipients of scholarships awarded in FY12 (7/1/11-6/30/12) - you can apply for one by clicking here!

Sally Kimmes, Fair Oaks Elementary

With the AASL 15th National Conference and Exhibition being held just miles from my home, I wondered how could I not attend? Then I wondered how could I? Most of our building funds had gone to paying for additional staff, myself included. So, in the midst of a hectic end of year wrap up at school, I applied for the Lars Steltzner Scholarship, speaking in my application to how much I would like to see the workings of a national conference and the ways people across the nation are dealing with the issues of modern school librarianship to inspire and grow me as a 21st Century Teacher-Librarian.

One of the first sessions I attended was on the bookstore model applied to libraries. As the media specialist in a high poverty, PK-3 building, I see a lot of barriers to access to books. Since the students are so young and have had so few experiences in libraries, it is hard for them to grasp the organization of the library and therefore the breadth of what is available to them. I saw many positives pointed out in this session, as well as several cautions to consider before leaping into such an endeavor.

I attended a couple different sessions on ways to enhance writing. Writing is a key building goal this year and I came away with several ideas of how to use library resources to inspire writing as well as share the final product. I am especially interested in helping teachers connect to excellent writing in "mentor texts" that will illustrate different types of writing and ways to make your own writing more engaging.

Attending the AASL Conference in beautiful downtown Minneapolis was truly a highlight of this year! Thank you, Metronet and the Lars Steltzner family for the scholarship that made it all possible.

Ann Carstens, Maple Grove Junior H.S.

The AASL 15th National Conference and Exhibition was a great experience, especially for this first-time attendee and presenter. I attended great sessions covering a variety of topics, including Web 2.0 tools to lend a hand for readers advisory, and a "feast" of new teen literature. As a newcomer used to smaller conferences (shout out to MEMO!) I was amazed at the massive exhibit hall, great receptions on Friday evening and the closing dinner on Saturday evening.

The best part of the entire conference, for me, was presenting! Marcia Thompson (SCSU) and I presented a session called "The Power of Setting in Literature: Opening Windows to the World." Since early last spring when we were notified of our selection, I'd been nervously, excitedly preparing our presentation, complete with dozens of photos from the study abroad program in England that I attended and Marcia co-taught with her husband, Mert, during the summer of 2008. The presentation went well, I happily chatted with a couple of session attendees, and still get goosebumps thinking about the whole thing!

I am very glad I was able to attend the AASL conference, and am thankful for the Metronet continuing education scholarship that helped with some of the costs of attending. It was an unforgettable experience!

Click here to see the "loot" Ann picked up in the exhibit area.

Jenn Straumann, Crooked Lake Branch, Anoka County Library

Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference Report
I was grateful for support from Anoka County Library and a scholarship from Metronet which allowed me to attend MLA's Annual Conference for the first time. I enjoyed connecting with colleagues from around the state and left with contacts and information which will benefit my library in the coming year. One valuable insight was gained from a social media session by Megan Kocher. She has a wonderful way of sharing the concept of social media evolution. While we know by virtue of their nature these platforms will change, we should not be afraid to jump in because the communication concepts will transfer. What we learn will inform both our staff and our users as we move to the next iteration. Another highlight was a session by Joyce Yukawa, Assistant Professor at St. Catherine's MLIS program, detailing recent research on the Internet usage behavior and barriers for older adults (80+). A capstone program will create internships and service learning projects in partnership with area libraries. I was happy to be on the "Things in a Flash" panel sharing information about how libraries can use foursquare to reach out to mobile-savvy users. I also helped to present on the work of the Minnesota Library Futures Initiative which is tasked with envisioning the library of 2025. A great deal of energy and enthusiasm was generated as we asked the audience to discuss their vision for the future library -- looking out 15 years in 15 minutes! My first MLA Annual Conference was busy, productive and incredibly valuable. Thank you!

Metronet awarded fourteen passes to the exhibit hall of the 2011 AASL (American Association of School Librarians) conference.

Thanks again for the opportunity to attend the AASL Exhibits!  It was amazing!  I met several authors (WOW) and came home with an amazing collection of posters and free books to enhance my 2 libraries.  Best of all, however, was having an opportunity to talk to the other media specialists and "book" people!  What a treat!  Thank you!

Dawn L.
School Library Media Specialist

I want to say thank you for the pass to the AASL exhibit hall.  It was a marvelous experience and I am very glad I went.  I was there Friday morning when they opened.  This gave me an opportunity to speak with vendors without  crowds of people.  I learned how to use some reward programs that specific book companies offer, I discovered new publishers and was able to look at lots of newly published books. What fun! We use Destiny as our circulation system so I sat in on a presentation about the upcoming release and also got some one-on-one  help from the tech people regarding how to set up some search features.

Although I was not able to attend the entire conference, I am so glad I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit hall.

Renee B.
Elementary Media Specialist

I attended the exhibit area on Friday, Oct. 28.  It was fantastic.  I really enjoyed the exhibits, short demos, talking with the reps, and of course the free books and “stuff”.  Thank you for allowing me to receive one of the passes.

Dennis S.
High School Media Specialist

Click here to read reports from previous scholarship recipients