The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference
September 2022
Through the CLRC Professional Development Award, I had the pleasure of attending my very first conference, the Association for Rural and Small Libraries annual conference held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a new librarian, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet other professional librarians and learn from their widely varied experiences. I was impressed by the friendly atmosphere and comradery of the attendees, and the sessions were full of amazing content.
In addition to all the great information I gained from attending sessions, I was also able to make connections with several other librarians. There were quite a few New York librarian in attendance, and I was able to spend some time with them learning how they manage some of the same duties I have and gaining new ideas as well. I was also able to connect with a speaker whose research followed one of my passions: early literacy at libraries for children with disabilities. This is such an overlooked area, and it was encouraging to see that others are recognizing this fact and working hard to overcome these barriers.
I am so grateful to CLRC for the opportunity to attend the ARSL Conference. Thank you for supporting the librarian of Central New York and providing us with the ability to develop their professional skills!
Diana Cassulis
Community Outreach Librarian, Mid York Library System
Are you interested in being our next Professional Development Award recipient? Check out the award page for the rules & requirements!