Sixteen years ago, the author was the sole librarian at a suburban Chicago elementary school, teaching 24 classes a week to 450 students. She was overwhelmed and alone, and there was nobody in the building who really understood what she was going through. Although she regularly met with 15 fellow district librarians to review broad topics such as automating their libraries, they never had time to discuss important day-to-day issues such as how to best collaborate with teachers and motivate kids to read. At one of their districtwide meetings in 1989, she finally mustered enough courage to ask if anyone was interested in visiting each other's libraries and sharing ideas. Four hands shot straight in the air--and soon after the Chicago Area School Library Network (CASLN) was born. News about their group spread quickly by word-of-mouth, and they've grown to 90 media specialists from 25 Chicago area school districts who meet each month to exchange their best programs and experiences. The key to their success is the support and knowledge they give each other by e-mail, through their password-protected CASLN electronic discussion list, and especially in person. One of their greatest achievements was in 2002, when they helped prevent nearby School District 65 from firing 50 percent of its media specialists by sending a letter to the board of education signed by all of their members.