vaasl-picI was very excited to attend my first VAASL in Norfolk as a Grad student. There were so many choices for each session that it was often hard to decide which to attend! I attended 3 different Genrification sessions, since this is going to be something my high school is about to embark on and I will be a part of that for my clinical hours. I learned A LOT about this process, and my hesitations and concerns about doing this were dissolved. I’m excited to share the ideas and resources with my two librarians this week!  I also attended a couple of sessions on research. The picture below (I’m in the center of the picture) is from a session titled, “Inquiry: Rubrics, Research, Reflection” which had several great tips, ideas, and lessons. I’ll be sharing these ideas with the English and Social Studies departments immediately, since these two departments often have students working on projects and conducting research.  By attending this conference, I was able to network and meet other people who are doing terrific things in their schools and have their contact information for future questions/contact. I also came away with many, many resources that I’ll be able to share with my colleagues to help their students, especially with research skills. My biggest takeaway though was from the three Genrification sessions, and the change of perception I had on this prior to the conference. I’m excited to start this process in our library and I have three excellent people to tap into if/when we have questions.