AASL2019 - Part Three

Yesterday (Friday) was the first full conference day. I woke early as usual, read in my room and lost track of the time. Scrambled to grab breakfast before the Morning Keynote. I went to the hotel restaurant and had so-o many delicious options, I had trouble choosing. Ended up with shrimp and grits and my, it was heavenly! And filling!

I had no idea what to expect from Dr. Adolph Brown but boy did he stir things up. After listening to a lengthy, adulatory introduction, a young man dressed in black received the mic. He barely said hello before music began blasting and he donned a sparkly jacket and danced his heart out.

Then another young man with dreads, an oversized hoodie and baggie pants and a backpack joined him. Turns out the man in black was Dr. Brown's godson. Dr. Brown turned up as his younger, needy self. 

He spoke about arriving at a superintendent's conference to speak dressed the way he was and the police were called within minutes. He commented that upon arrival at our conference, he received welcoming smiles. Yay librarians!

We all have implicit bias. We cannot deny this. Brown urged the audience to "Stop believing everything you think." This leads to confirmation bias, as the events at the super's conference confirm. Confirmation bias leads to micro-aggressions. 

He attended a Title I school, where he received a good education. "Title I describes how I eat, not how I learn." He had a school library with a librarian who helped him choose books. His favorite from childhood was John Henry.

He spoke for a long, long time. Yes, he was inspiring and provocative as well as entertaining as hell, but he did go overtime. Were it not for the spicy breakfast dish working on my insides, I probably wouldn't have minded. And, yes, he also had potty jokes in his presentation.

Exclusive Exhibit Hall time was next and I hopped on the line to receive Cassie Beasley's newest, Bootstrap Magician, a sequel to her beautiful debut, Circus Mirandus. 

Then, it was session time! My first session time started out with a bit of a dud. There were three sessions that I was interested in. The room was empty for one. No signage saying that it was cancelled or moved. I lost a bit of time finding the second room and missed the beginning of the session. It was interesting, not fascinating. But I did find a few new ideas to take away. 

There were seven sessions that I checked off for the second session. The one I ended up choosing was interesting but not something I would be able to implement at my library. 

Lunch was included but not a drink. Luckily, I only drink water and carry my own refillable water bottle, so I was fine, but there were quite a few grumbling about $4 sodas. Yikes! I strolled the exhibit aisles and sat and blogged. 

I had three things checked off for the post-lunch session but lost track of time and ended up arriving in the area late. ALL THE ROOMS WERE FULL TO CAPACITY! Gah! So I headed back to the exhibit hall. 

I checked off four possible sessions for the second afternoon slot and ended up choosing one called "Using Literature as a Spark for Social Justice." It was an author panel. I didn't notice the little red book logo next to the entry. The authors were all interesting. I had one of the books in my library already and noted the other titles to look up later. But, I was expecting a nitty-gritty, how-to session with ideas. Instead, it was a thoughtful conversation, which I appreciated and I took plenty of notes, but not what I was shopping for.

The afternoon session ended just in time to return to my hotel and attend SLJ's Evening of Dialog. That consisted of three panels: Graphically Speaking with Meg Cabot and Ridley Pearson: 

Tween Time: Must-Have Middle Grade Reads with Cassie Beasley, Rob Harrell and Jasmine Warga: 

Informed & Empowered: Notable Nonfiction with Chris Barton Holly Brochmann, Rafael Lopez and Jennifer Swanson:

Of course there was a signing afterward. I was glad I got Beasley's book at a morning signing because her line was long. I really wanted Chris Barton's newest picture book, All of a Sudden and Forever: help and healing after the Oklahoma City bombing. So I got on that line first. Then, I picked up Ridley Pearson's Super Sons: the Foxglove Mission and Meg Cabot's Black Canary: ignite. I was glad that I asked for Rob Harrell's book Wink at the booth because he ran out of books. 

All in all a fine day. Just as I was ready to curl up with the arc I'm reading to review in SLJ, I heard fireworks. I was only on the fourth floor, but I was able to catch the higher reaching fire works and the waning gibbous moon. I have no idea what the occasion was. Those girders are on the roof of the convention center.