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In thinking about how to write a post about attending the PowerUp youth conference, I thought maybe I’d take a hint from our opening keynote speaker and just tell you the story. The story started last summer when I first saw a request for presenters for the conference. I couldn’t believe there was a conference just for Youth Service Librarians! I thought that a conference where all of the sessions would be pertinent to my work sounded awesome, and also like a great venue to publicize Fostering Readers, so I reached out to Holly Campbell-Polivka and we each got preliminary approval from our bosses, and then we submitted our proposal. Fast forward a bit now, and we got approved! I sought a scholarship from the OLA Leadership committee, which was fitting since this is a leadership conference, and attending a national level conference really isn’t in the budget of our small library. Getting that grant made it much easier for me to swing attending. We came to Wisconsin on the first day of spring- a balmy and bright 22 degrees! Madison is a charming place to spend a few days and the conference itself is phenomenal. The opening keynote speaker, Lucia M. Gonzalez, told her story of being a youth services librarian even as she rose to director in her Miami library. She inspired all of us to think of our skills as youth librarians to be skills that can take us far in many directions, while also making it clear that our libraries are the most important place to be. There was a lot of sniffing in the room when she mentioned they are naming a park after her by her old library. Holly and I presented in the first session and we found that the audience was large and attentive. Fostering Readers really struck a chord with a lot of people there! We even got a shout out in a later session that they were going to add the resource to their list of resources that they share for literacy education. The first request for more information hit our inboxes before the next session started! I attended another session later that was presented by the State Youth Services consultant for South Carolina, and she also is intending to start sharing the Fostering Readers site with the librarians she works with! This is the third time we’ve presented a version of this presentation at a conference and definitely the most enthusiastic feedback so far! I think the most valuable session for me was one on a new way to collect program data that integrates practical information like the name of the program and the number in attendance, with the less quantifiable data like what participants did in the program, photos of the event in progress, and quick quotes from participants. It even includes a space for reflection and planning for the next time. It’s not yet available to libraries, but I’m going to keep an eye out for it! We capped off our conference experience by attending a post-conference session about being a Playbrarian and the value of True Play in the library. This was put on by Carissa Christner of Madison Public Library and I found it to be inspiring and attainable. I plan to have a Wild Rumpus series of summer reading events this summer to put what I learned into practice. Overall, I can’t recommend this conference enough. Next year, it will be virtual, so be sure to look out for Power Up 2025, which will be held in February.  Here are Holly and I ready to present about Fostering Readers.  Fostering Readers on the big screen and ready to roll.  This was the view from the conference - right on the lake! (Madison is on an isthmus.) AuthorSusan Cackler
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