by Ann Perham

Attending a national conference is a top-notch professional experience.

Massachusetts was well-represented in DC: Bob Roth attended as an "Emerging Leader"; Kathy Lowe and Sandy Kelly represented our MSLA board; Ann Perham, Geri Fegan and Linda Friel attended AASL Affiliate Assembly. Also seen in our travels were MSLA members MaryBeth Gallant, Shelly Glantz, Alma Ramos-McDermott, and Susannah Paterson.

The ALA press release, "Record breaking attendance at ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C." indicates the popularity of the event. READ the article on the ALA website; for complete details on the speakers and features of the conference click here .

The MSLA blog says it all, as Kathy Lowe, Sandy Kelly, Linda Friel, Gerri Fegan and Ann Perham shared their experiences. Check it out!    There are articles about the press conference announcing the SKILLs amendment to NCLB, eating in THE library (Library of Congress), meeting Julie Andrews, and on and on....exuberance is the theme for the MSLA blog. To view the pictures from the conference, they are posted on Flickr .

Four years ago, MSLA gave Senator Reed (D-RI) the Legislative Award, and he continues to be a leader for changes in school libraries. The complete details of the SKILLs amendment, and talking points are now on the MSLA webpage .

For anyone who has said, "I've always wanted to go to one of those national conferences," just do it! The AASL national conference, which takes place every other year, is in Reno Nevada and registration is taking place right now.  Further down the road, the next ALA national conference is in Anaheim, California.