We were pleased to offer Jennifer Peake a scholarship to attend Vermont Fest 2026. Her reflections of the conference are posted below.

This year was my first time attending Vermont Fest and here are a few of my insights from the two days I attended. Every workshop I went to was amazing and sparked my imagination in different ways: from the Science and Joy of reading and how to be a stronger advocate in the library, to The 4L’s of Literacy: AI, Digital, Media, and Informational and how to better prepare students for the world we live in and all the tools that come with that. Some of the workshops affirmed what I’m already doing like How Library Play Can Save Your Sanity AND Develop Early Literacy Skills but I left with tools to show stakeholders that support the work that I’m doing in the library. Though the greatest and most meaningful part of this year's Vermont Fest was getting to participate with so many of my district colleagues. Whether we attended the same workshop and got to build our knowledge together, or went to different workshops so we could share our learning with each other, being able to check in and share our learning and joy together was the highlight. It was also wonderful to be able to put so many faces to names that I have seen on the listserv for the last 10 years. We are the most wonderful group to share and learn from and we can throw a Go Dog Go party like no other. I’m definitely inspired by all of you, and am eager to participate again next year (maybe even as a presenter myself).