Missouri K-12 School Librarians Converge on MIC for Fall Conference

By Jeff Murphy, October 16, 2018

The large conference room at The Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit recently provided the setting for guest speakers and a number of vendors who visited school librarians when the MIC served as the host site tor the Missouri Association of School Librarians’ (MASL) Fall Professional Development Conference. (MASL Photo)

WARRENSBURG, MO – K-12 school librarians from across the state got a look at The Missouri Innovation Campus (MIC) this month as it served as the host site for the Missouri Association of School Librarians’ (MASL) Fall Professional Development Conference, Oct. 6.

About 80 people attended the event, including MASL members, presenters and vendors. The meeting was coordinated and sponsored by staff and faculty within the College of Education’s Library Science and Information Services (LIS) program.

The MASL is a professional development group that includes approximately 900 members across the state who serve as librarians for elementary and secondary schools. The fall conference is an annual event that is conducted at different sites across the state for the purpose of providing professional development opportunities for these school librarians.

During the conference, participants heard an update from DESE staff related to a new legislative bill that will impact school librarians, in addition to hearing remarks from UCM representatives about projects taking place on campus that are relative to the library profession. Jenna Kammer, LIS assistant professor, spoke about open educational resources (OER), and Maya Kucij, an assistant professor and librarian at James C. Kirkpatrick Library, discussed the annual UCM Children’s Literature Festival. Other presentations included sessions on how to set up podcasts, YouTube channels and more.

The event also included a number of displays by vendors. Among them were Over-Drive, Follet Library Resources, and many others known to those attending.

Rene Burress, assistant professor and LIS program coordinator in the School of Professional Education and Leadership, worked with Rick Smetana, MIC operations manager, to set up the meeting. She noted that the event was made possible in part by the support of Robert Lee, dean of the College of Education, who had the idea to use the MIC space when MASL inquired last spring about the possibility of UCM serving as event host.

“It was a wonderful day of learning,” Burress said. “I believe it cast UCM in a very positive light for all who attended. We encouraged everyone to explore the entire space on their breaks. Everyone was impressed with the flexible learning spaces and the technology.”