The 16^th National American Association of School Librarians Conference is coming to Hartford, Connecticut from November 14^th – 17^th. This biennial conference offers a gold mine of professional development opportunities for those lucky enough to attend. For school librarians serving in states where the school librarian division is only a part of their state conference, this conference devoted solely to the work and needs of school librarians may be particularly valuable.

“Rising to the Challenge” is an apt theme for this conference. Across the nation, school librarians are being asked to step up in many different ways. Demonstrating and documenting our contributions to student learning outcomes is a huge part of our challenge in 2013. In states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards or are rolling out other curriculum initiatives, school librarians are working together to determine their place in helping students and teachers succeed.

The one book, one conference title is 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done by Peter Bregman. Mr. Bregman will speak at the closing session on Saturday.

You can access information about the preconference workshops (Registration is still open), concurrent sessions, and special events on the AASL conference Web site.

Whether or not you are able to attend in person, you can join the conference Ning. You can also choose to follow the conference via social media. The Twitter hashtag is #aasl13.

There are so many ways to connect, learn, and network. “See” you there!