Behind the Scenes in St. Louis
This fall, our Thinkering Media team set out on a mission:
to understand the engine that drives the future of learning — and the people who quietly keep it running.
That mission took us to St. Louis, to the American Association of School Librarians Conference (#AASL25) — a gathering that felt more like an ecosystem than an event.
Everywhere we turned, librarians were designing the future of schools, one story, one student, one spark at a time.
But we also saw something else: too many of them were doing it alone.
So we came with one big question — the kind that opens imagination wide:
“If there were no red tape — no funding barriers, no bureaucracy — what dream project would you create in your library?”
That question unlocked an ocean of possibility.
By the time we left St. Louis, we didn’t just understand the role of a librarian in 2025 —
we saw how Thinkering can help them lead the next revolution in humanizing learning.
“Make the Library the Living Room”
Our first conversation came from two librarians from Mount Vernon, Missouri — Kelly Krebs and Michaela Barrett — whose reflections captured the emotional core of what libraries truly are.
“I want to make the library the living room,” Michaela said.
“The place where families gather, where students come not because they have to, but because they want to. The place they go for help, or just to be.”
The living room is the emotional center of a home — a space for belonging, laughter, curiosity, and connection.
Kelly and Michaela reminded us that the library is meant to be that space inside the school: the beating heart of learning, where community is built, not just curriculum delivered.
They imagined libraries as immersive environments where learning doesn’t just happen — it feels alive.
“When kids read Gone With the Wind, imagine taking them to the actual house. When they study the Salem Witch Trials, imagine walking through Salem. Let them live the story.”
That’s not a field trip — it’s a pedagogy of empathy.
It’s what happens when learning becomes human again.
“Throw the Old Furniture on a Bonfire”
Across the convention floor, another librarian — Cassie Flores from Francis Howell Central High School — laughed when we asked her the same question.
“I’d throw my 27-year-old tables and chairs on a bonfire,” she said. “Then get new ones that actually work.”
Her humor landed, but her point hit deeper.
Physical space matters.
The outdated infrastructure of many libraries doesn’t reflect the modern, multimedia, multi-modal work librarians are doing.
Cassie’s dream wasn’t about comfort — it was about relevance.
She wants to create a space that mirrors the energy of her students — adaptable, interactive, and alive.
Meanwhile, Sarah Levine from Long Elementary shared a more technical vision:
“I’d revamp my makerspace so every student—from kindergarten to fifth grade—has access to tools that let them explore. Coding kits, 3D printers, real creation stations.”
When the conversation turned to how quickly technology changes, Sarah smiled:
“To stay relevant, we have to build spaces that evolve as fast as our kids’ curiosity.”
“Representation Fills My Cup”
Then came a moment that stopped us in our tracks.
Jessica Greider, a high school librarian from Kansas City, Missouri, shared a project that perfectly embodies what Thinkering calls humanizing learning:
a Romance Book Club that centers Black girl identity, joy, and justice.
“We read all kinds of love — romantic, platonic, familial,” Jessica said.
“It’s about growing into ourselves and seeing how love, in every form, helps us understand who we are.”
When asked why it mattered, she didn’t hesitate:
“I love that so many girls who look like me can see themselves in books. I didn’t get that when I was a teenager. Now they do. That fills my cup.”
Representation isn’t a checkbox — it’s a bridge.
Jessica’s book club transforms reading into an act of recognition, an affirmation that identity belongs at the center of learning.
When students see themselves reflected in their school library, they stop being visitors in education — they become authors of it.
“One 3D Printer, 520 Kids”
Later, we met Melanie, Alicia, and Andrea Steele — K–5 librarians from the St. Louis area who brought a mix of humor, exhaustion, and unshakable vision.
Melanie’s dream was simple but profound:
“I want to build a library of things. Our kids have spent years on screens. They need to touch, build, and explore again.”
She envisioned students checking out STEM kits, screen-free coding tools, creative materials, and even toys that teach problem-solving.
“It’s not fun when your mom tells you to get off a screen. But when your library gives you something better to do — that’s different.”
Alicia added with a smile that said everything:
“I’d love more 3D printers. I’ve got one, 520 kids, and 26 classes. It takes forever.”
That one quote became a theme of the day —
educators doing extraordinary things with impossible ratios.
Andrea, a first-year librarian, summed it up with both candor and care:
“I’m just trying to organize my library, weed out old books, and order what kids actually want to read. I want the space to feel alive again.”
Sometimes innovation starts not with new tools, but with permission to begin again.
“We Leave Here Knowing How to Help”
By the end of the conference, Garrett stood in the convention hall surrounded by hundreds of librarians, educators, and leaders.
“We came here not really understanding the role of a librarian in 2025,” he said.
“And through the voices of these amazing teacher librarians, we’re leaving fully understanding it — and knowing how Thinkering can help.”
Behind every education buzzword — AI, innovation, reform — are people like Jessica, Michaela, and Andrea quietly building the real future of learning.
Thinkering’s mission is to make sure they don’t do it alone.
Our Fellowship model is built for them:
10 weeks of mentorship with innovators and creative leaders,
Real funding pathways to make their dream projects happen,
A network of collaborators who believe that creativity belongs in the core of education.
When we connect those dots, the system starts to change itself.
The Takeaways
1. The Library is the Future Learning Lab.
Every librarian we met was already designing future-ready education — from SEL to AI literacy to cultural relevance. They just need recognition, connection, and resources.
2. Teacher Librarians are System Designers.
They understand the cross-section of learning, media, and humanity. They are the “bridge-builders” between curriculum and creativity.
3. Humanizing Learning is Already Happening.
We don’t have to invent it. We just have to listen, amplify, and co-design with the educators already doing it.
What’s Next
This is just Part 1 of our Thinkering Voices: Teacher Librarians series.
Part 2: Video Deep Dive — Voices from the floor at AASL25.
Part 3: Conversations with AASL board leaders on the evolving role of the librarian.
Part 4: ThinkerBot Analysis — Translating educator dreams into design principles for the next generation of human learning.
Because this isn’t just a story about libraries.
It’s a story about leadership, imagination, and what happens when educators are finally given permission to dream.
A Fellowship for Teacher Librarians
Teacher librarians are quietly shaping the future of learning.
And they deserve systems that recognize—and amplify—that power.
This new fellowship does exactly that.
Each Teacher Librarian Fellow will form their dream team inside their school — five educators they choose to collaborate with. Together, these six thinkers will co-design humanizing learning projects that connect classroom innovation directly to library programming.
The librarian becomes the bridge.
The team becomes the movement.
And the library becomes what it was always meant to be:
the beating heart of the school.
This fellowship represents our commitment to restoring that center—and empowering teacher librarians as the strategic leaders of educator and learner support.
Apply or Nominate a Rockstar Teacher Librarian
If this story resonates with you — or reminds you of someone whose creativity and care deserve to be amplified — we’d love to connect.
👉 Apply or Nominate a Teacher Librarian Fellow here.
Because the future of learning won’t be built by systems alone.
It’ll be built by people like you.
