2026 Hawaii School Library Conference: Full Schedule

The 2026 Hawaii School Library Conference, centered on the theme "Think. Create. Share. Grow." invites school library professionals to dive deep into the four domains of the AASL Standards Framework for Learners. This theme is a call to action, emphasizing the pivotal role school librarians play in empowering students to become ethical, critical, and collaborative citizens in the digital age.

What to Expect

Through engaging keynotes, hands-on workshops, and collaborative sessions, we will explore practical strategies to:

🧠 Think (Inquire & Analyze): Equip students with the critical thinking and research skills necessary to navigate complex information landscapes, evaluate sources, and become proficient users and creators of knowledge.
💡 Create (Design & Construct): Foster innovation and digital literacy by integrating tools and practices that encourage learners to design solutions, construct new understandings, and express their ideas creatively.
🤝 Share (Collaborate & Connect): Highlight the importance of the library as a hub for collaboration, ethical digital citizenship, and connection, promoting respectful dialogue and the responsible sharing of ideas and resources within the school and global community.
🌱 Grow (Explore & Engage): Focus on the personal and professional development of both students and librarians, championing a mindset of continuous learning, adaptation, and reflective practice that fuels lifelong literacy and intellectual growth.

Join us in celebrating the vital work of Hawaii’s school librarians as we collectively cultivate the future-ready learner by embedding these essential domains into every facet of the school library program.

10:10am HST

Inclusive Classrooms Start Here: Digital Learning in Action

Thursday August 6, 2026 10:10am - 11:10am HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

Millions of K–12 students need personalized learning support, yet many still lack access to tools designed to meet their unique needs. How can digital reading help create more equitable, engaging learning experiences?

Join Jody Brookshire for a session exploring how digital reading platforms can expand access, support differentiated instruction, and create more inclusive learning environments for students of all abilities. Discover how Sora helps educators remove barriers, personalize reading experiences, and empower students through choice, accessibility, and engagement.

We’ll also take a Hawaiʻi-focused look at the past year—celebrating successes, reviewing key trends and usage insights from the 2025–2026 school year, and identifying opportunities to continue growing reading engagement statewide.

Plus, explore some of Sora’s newest features and practical strategies you can bring back immediately, including:

List Sharing — create and share curated reading lists with peers
Reading Challenges — motivate participation and build reading momentum
Reading Time Tracking — show students how to use their Sora reading time to manually update and log minutes in Beanstack
Reading Goals — help students build reading habits and stay engaged
Data & Insights — uncover trends and make informed collection and engagement decisions

Walk away with actionable ideas to elevate your Sora experience, grow reading participation, and inspire more lifelong readers.

Speakers

Jody Brookshire

Account Executive, Sora

Jody Brookshire is a passionate Educational Account Executive with over 27 years of experience in the e-learning and digital content industry. Throughout her career, Jody has demonstrated a deep commitment to championing literacy in K-12 schools by leveraging digital content, 21st-century... Read More →

Thursday August 6, 2026 10:10am - 11:10am HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

12:50pm HST

Choice Boards and Gale Resources from HIDOE

Thursday August 6, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

Empower elementary and middle school students by giving them voice and choice through Choice Boards. Discover best practices for connecting the library to the classroom using Gale digital resources from HIDOE. In this session, you’ll explore ready-to-use Choice Board examples designed with Gale resources that promote responsible, accountable, and independent student learning. Learn more about the digital resources available through HIDOE and leave with curriculum-connected student activities for elementary and middle school. Attendees will receive Choice Board samples using HIDOE Gale resources to use in their library or share with teachers in their building. We’ll also be joined by the fantastic Ho‘okele Elementary School Librarian, Angie Ramey, who will share how she uses Gale resources to support learning in her school and library.

Speakers

Angela Ramey

School Librarian, Ho'okele Elementary School

School Librarian - Ho'okele Elementary School

Tammi Burke

Senior Training Consultant, Gale in partnership with the HIDOE

Tammi Burke is a Senior Training Consultant at Gale with over a decade of experience helping librarians and educators maximize their Gale resources. A former educator with degrees in Education and Advertising/PR, Tammi combines instructional expertise with a passion for practical... Read More →

Thursday August 6, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

2:00pm HST

The Library as Catalyst: Scaling Little-C Collaboration into Big C Change

Thursday August 6, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

The school library is uniquely positioned to transform everyday collaboration into systemic, Big-C change. In this session, participants will explore how little-c collaboration—informal conversations, low-stakes co-planning, and small instructional partnerships—can be intentionally designed, nurtured, and scaled to create sustained innovation across a school community.
Grounded in the AASL National School Library Standards, this session examines the library as a catalytic space where relationships, inquiry, and shared purpose converge. Attendees will unpack practical strategies for identifying entry points for collaboration, lowering barriers for participation, and leveraging librarian expertise to move work from isolated efforts to collective impact. Through real-world examples and reflective prompts, participants will see how incremental collaborative practices can evolve into transformational programs that influence teaching, learning, and school culture.
Participants will leave with a framework for recognizing and amplifying little-c collaborative moments, tools for aligning collaboration to instructional and organizational goals, and actionable next steps for positioning the library as a driver of Big-C change—one partnership at a time.

Speakers

Amanda Kordeliski

President, American Association of School Librarians

Amanda Kordeliski is the current president for the American Association of School Librarians and works as the Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology for Norman Public Schools. She has held a variety of leadership positions within the Oklahoma Library Association and Oklahoma... Read More →

Thursday August 6, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

10:10am HST

That’s Not How My Teacher Does It! : Use Learn360 to Foster Parents-As-Learning Partners

Friday August 7, 2026 10:10am - 11:10am HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

Showcasing classroom learning via streaming video builds transparency and fosters a strong home-school partnership. Learn360 resources, provided by the Hawaii Department of Education, help parents answer the common question, 'What did you do in school today?" and reduce homework-time frustration. Whether it’s demystifying complex formulas, visualizing abstract concepts, or bridging language barriers, Learn360 provides the tools to help parents support their child's learning. This session offers subject-specific examples educators can use to help parents navigate modern curriculum methods.

Exhibitor Representative

Carter Cook

K12 Customer Success Lead, Infobase

With 31 years experience as a classroom teacher, school librarian, and district library director, Carter Cook now works for Infobase - provider of Learn360 - assisting educators in the effective use of digital streaming and database services.

Friday August 7, 2026 10:10am - 11:10am HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

12:50pm HST

Research Tools for the Classroom: Ready-to-Use Hawaiʻi Lessons

Friday August 7, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

This session shows how to use World Book Online and the Indigenous Peoples of Hawaiʻi eBook to build research lessons across grade levels. You’ll explore practical, ready-to-use ideas for elementary, middle, and high school that help students connect with local history and make research more meaningful.

Speakers

Jennifer Clayton

Online Sales Specialist, World Book, Inc.

Jennifer Clayton is an Online Sales Specialist at World Book, supporting schools and libraries across the country with digital research and literacy solutions. She works closely with educators to integrate World Book Online into classrooms through practical, student-centered stra... Read More →

Friday August 7, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

2:00pm HST

One Platform, Every Language Learner: Digital Tools for Multilingual Students

Friday August 7, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm HST

Palolo Room 3 & 4

Multilingual learners are one of the fastest-growing student populations in U.S. schools, making equitable access to tools that support language development and literacy more important than ever.

Join Jody Brookshire for a session exploring how digital reading platforms can support multilingual learners through increased access to relevant texts, built-in accessibility tools, and opportunities for personalized reading experiences. Discover how Sora can help educators strengthen language acquisition, increase engagement, and create more inclusive reading environments that support students and families across diverse language needs.

We’ll also take a Hawaiʻi-focused look at the past year—celebrating successes, reviewing key trends and usage insights from the 2025–2026 school year, and identifying opportunities to continue growing reading engagement statewide.

Plus, explore some of Sora’s newest features and practical strategies you can bring back immediately, including:

List Sharing — create and share curated reading lists with peers
Reading Challenges — motivate participation and build reading momentum
Reading Time Tracking — show students how to use their Sora reading time to manually update and log minutes in Beanstack
Reading Goals — help students build reading habits and stay engaged
Data & Insights — uncover trends and make informed collection and engagement decisions

Walk away with actionable strategies to strengthen your Sora program, support multilingual learners and their families, increase reading participation, and inspire more students to become lifelong readers.

Speakers

Jody Brookshire

Account Executive, Sora

Friday August 7, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm HST
Palolo Room 3 & 4

Breakout

10:10am HST

12:50pm HST

2:00pm HST

10:10am HST

12:50pm HST

2:00pm HST

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