Shawano County Library staff members attend & present at ARSL 2022

With the Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS) continuing education funds (and a bit more help from the Friends of Shawano County Libraries, Inc.), Shawano County Library was able to send three of its staff members to the Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from September 14-17, 2022.

Those that attended were Paige Crawford, Cataloging Librarian; Cathy Pescinski, Teen Librarian; and Kristie Hauer, Director (shown from left to right).

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The ARSL planning committee received 125 program proposals and selected about 55 to present at the conference. Cathy’s session, entitled “Dynamite Dozen,” was one of those selected. “Dynamite Dozen” focused on teen programs and had a whopping turnout with 130 libraries in attendance. It was a fabulous and very engaged audience.

Although the library's staff traveled all the way to Tennessee, a main keynote speaker hailed from Marquette University. Professor and author Maya Payne Smart spoke about early literacy for ages 0-6. They also heard from three “river city” poets, and minority authors who have experienced censorship of their works.

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The staff toured the central branch of the Chattanooga Public Library and took in a few local highlights such as a historical ghost tour of the downtown area, a trip up and down the Incline Railway, and also gave Moon Pies a try!

(Article and photos were submitted by Kristie Hauer, Library Director, Shawano County Library.)

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