PLA Blog

As a part time library school student and full time reference worker, I understand the value of evaluating print sources.  Sometimes what is written is not what you get.  I have been to eight presentations in the past two days.  Three of the presenters commented on the title of their presentations (what was printed in the official program) were not necessarily what they had originally proposed nor did it accurately reflect what they covered.  While I think you can almost always find “nuggets” of wisdom no matter the topic, I now know to be more critical when determining what sessions to attend. 

A tip I learned, to help lighten the load you carry, is to rip out the pages from the official program that apply to that day’s sessions and bring those pages only with you.  Leave the rest of the program at the hotel.

It is great to attend this conference with coworkers because it allows you to “divide and conquer”.  We can attend different sessions and give mini-reports to each other prior to the next session.  It also allows me to immediately share ideas that I think are of value for my library with fellow employees rather than waiting until next Monday.

Today is the last day and I’m noticing many attendees walking with a hitch in their step.  The weather has been great for this time of year.  Got my picture taken with Mary Tyler Moore (her statue) and appeared on the Channel 4 CBS morning show (in the window) on the way to the convention center.  My head is abuzz with all the ideas and practical knowledge I have been exposed to during the presentions.

I think the convention center was a great place - comfortable seats (sat in a variety of them) - plenty of restrooms (Women’s Restroom on the 2nd floor usually had no waiting) - good lighting and sound systems.  The only thing I would change (this is out of PLA’s control) is the room numbering.  I looked at the diagram in the program but L100 being two floors below 100 goofed me up yesterday afternoon.  I know L meant lower level but since I was also looking for L100 F-H, I was concentrating on the room letters and not the letter in front of the room number.

We have done much walking around downtown and it is very clean.  A wide variety of eateries and attractions are easily accessed.  It has been a pleasure to be in Minneapolis.

Whew…what a conference. My first PLA and I must say I’m much impressed. And much tired. And much with good grammer too. And to think I was just one of over 9000 Public Library people that attended. Wow! That’s a big kind of number. So here then is the final run down.

After a quick packing and breakfast I attended the first of my last final prgramming sessions, “How to Deal with Difficult Patrons.” Good program, and sadly one I think more and more of us have need of. I work in a big, downtown library and there is no avoiding the fact that dealing with difficult patrons is pretty much a daily task. I liked this program for two reasons: it gave very good advice and it also outlined how you can go about teaching this to your own staff (through the online info the presenters are providing). I will definitely be dong some downloading when I get back to work tomorrow (and yes, tomorrow…no rest for the conferenced).

My final session was “From Hype to Help,” and dealt with ways of helping your organization collaborate using technology. While mostly an overview with a couple of specific samples thrown in, it did present some ideas and places to check out online that I will definitely have to investigate. I enjoyed the presenters enthusiasm and honesty. Using technology to address “communication” issues requires a lot of staff “buy-in” and that is never easy to create.

The final event of PLA was the Closing Session featuring Paula Poundstone. I knew the name, but I don’t think I had ever seen her perform and now I feel kind of bad about that. She is damn funny. I enjoy comedy quite a bit, in all it’s forms and fashions, but I have a soft spot for those comedians who think on their feet and can turn chance statements from the audience into running gags. Paula Poundstone did that and more, and I doubt I will ever look at “Public” Libraries quite the same (sorry, you had to be there).

And so it ends, my first but hopefully not my last PLA. Two years from now I’m going to face a major delimna. Do I try and encourage others in my system to attend so that they can have the experince I had this week? Or do I keep it quiet about it so there might be money left to send me again? Damn…I wonder if any of them are reading this blog?

And speaking of readers, thanks to PLA for letting me do this and thanks to you few who actually read them. I can only hope that some small part of what I experienced I was able to communicate and that two years from now, some of you who have never attended will be in Portland (with me if luck prevails) and will be blogging away about your own experiences. Sure, there are some downsides, but overall it is a fantastic opportunity and well worth the effort.

I keep coming back to one of the first comments that appeared on one my messages. Recharged? Yes I feel recharged. And why? Because being here at PLA helps give me the big picture. I am part of the world of Public Librarians, and they are all facing the same problems I am and there are those, much smarter than me, who are figuring out solutions. The least I can do is take that knowledge back with me to my system, and spread the word.

Thank you!

And before I forget, than you Minneapolis! I had a great time in this fantastic city. Cold? You betch ya! And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

My brain hurts (and make sure you say that in your best Monty Python “Gumby” voice to get the full effect). Three days have passed and my energy level is low — and there is still half a day to go. It’s going to be a close run thing, and I’m betting that I’ll be doing some serious sleeping on the flight back home tomorrow. Whew!

I’m doublely grateful for the “slow” start this morning because the afternoon sessions were quite involving, but well worth the effort. First up at 2:00 pm was “Rx for Ra - Training Library Staff in Fiction and Nonfiction.” And to be honest, this for me, was the main event and I was not disappointed. I really like they way they set it up. Three presenter, each representing a different size library system (Deanna Street, small system, Lucy Lockley, medium system, and Katie Mediator Stover, large system) outlined how they approached providing RA training for their staff. Each of their systems had simularities and differences, emphasising their seperate needs for training and the needs in supporting their systems. Their stories were just the kind of things I really needed to hear; practical outlines about how to go about getting staff trained. Will any of these work at my system? The ideas are certainly there, it’s just a question of finding the right mix. But can I accomplish what they have done? I don’t know, but I’m feeling very inspired to try right now. I just hope I can hold on to that feeling.

I think that program is what took the most out of me today. I was not only focused on what they were saying but also mentally trying to work out a plan of my own as well. I was definitely into “overthink” mode and I came out of there feeling pretty drained. Between sessions, I helped (well, stood around an chatted mostly) take down the San Antonio Public Library booth in the Placement Center, and that symbolic winding down, left me feeling even more worn. I then had a choice to make for the last session of the day: something practical or something a little more fun. Yeah, I went with fun. How’d you guess?

I didn’t realize how much fun it was going to be, though, until after it started. The session? “What’s Love Got to Do With It;” a panel discussion with 3 romance authors and one “paranormal” romance author. I went knowing that even in the already female dominated world of librarianship I would be even more in the minority than usual there. But hey, I got nothing against romances. I’ve read (and enjoyed) quite a few, I do advisory for it, and the only reason I don’t read more of them is that I’m afraid I might get addicted to them. A good story is a good story in my book (pardon the horrible pun) and it seemed like a good opportunity to further my knowledge a little bit more, but in a more lighthearted manner.

Before I go futher, let me introduce the panel; Nita Abrams, Connie Brockway, Susan Kay Law, and Kim Harrison — all names I recongized, and if you’re a romance reader, you probably recognize as well. The format was question and answer, with some questions for particular authors and others for the whole panel. After some set questions, audiences questions were entertained. Sounds like fun, no? Fun doens’t cover it. The panel consisted of four intelligent, witty, and very open authors and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much at a “training” session before. As a group, they seemed the perfect mix, playing off each other like they’d rehearsed before hand, and I can’t think of a better way to end my 3rd day at PLA. I was I could recount some of their stories and jokes, but truly you just had to be there. Thank you ladies for a very good time.

And now it is confession time. I wimped out and skipped the All Member Reception. I was just too tired. This post, in fact, is courtesy of a large cup of coffee, something I ususally avoid in the evening. But I wanted to post and there is still packing to be done. The conference is winding to a close (though 2 sessions and the closing remain) but I’m definitely feeling that desire to shut down a bit and I’ve begun to yearn for a return to my home turf. This has been a great experience and hopefully tomorrow, before I head to the airport, I’ll have a little time to make my final report and try and sum what this whole adventure has meant to me. Until then….

Since my last post was so late in the day, that will likely make this post a bit shorter than previous ones. I just finished up my last session of the day, The RA Toolkit III, and it was pretty much everything I hoped it would be. It never hurts to have not one, but three excellent presenters, but when that is coupled with a huge amount of information that I know will be very useful to me, it is undoubtably a case of having your cake and eating it too. If there is any drawback to this type of presentation, it’s the realization of how much work I’ve got waiting for me when I return home to San Antonio. But I’m glad I’ll have the opportunity to share my newly gained information, and besides, nobody said being a librarian would be easy. Well actually a lot of people said that, but they were wrong!

My evening wrapped up with one last vendor event, a lovely laid back affair sponsered by Bowker/Syndetics. For once I wasn’t a total recluse, thanks largely to those sitting at the table, who were extremely social, as were the Bowker people. Thank you all for nice little osasis in the middle of my adventure.

Since I don’t have much to report otherewise, it seems like a good time to do a little reflecting. I love the paperless conference…whoever came up with that idea needs a big raise. Not only is a lot of paper being saved, but the PLA people, through the support of one of the vendors, has created a wonderful onsite printing set up where you can get the printouts you want and it prints in duplex too. So even if you do want to go the paper route, you’re still using almost half as much paper as you might normally use. I think that deserves a big round of applause and I hope it’s a system that other library conferences will adopt.

I think I should also mention that even though I’m not the most gregarious of people, I’ve had some wonderful conversations with other librarians while just waiting in line, waiting for programs to start, or just answering “directionals” (yeah, I’m one of those people that other people tend to ask for directions…even though I usually don’t have a clue where I actually am). No, it’s not really networking, but it a nice affirmation that I and my library system, are not alone. We all face shared problems and even if we’re not finding our solutions here at PLA, just knowing there are others out there does make a big difference. So a big thank you to everyone I’ve met so far and those I meet in the next couple of days.
And finally, a little tech note, and my question for the rest of the bloggers out there. How are you physically blogging PLA? Do you do so throughout the day (even if you only post once a day)? Are you doing it on a lap top, at the internet cafe, or back in the hotel? Me? I’m using a tiny little Nokia internet tablet, and for the most part the free WiFi here at the Conference Center (my hotel’s wireless system has left a lot to be desired). Largely I’m trying to do them as the moments present themselves (between sessions, etc), while things are still relatively fresh in my mind. Thanks to a little foldaway bluetooth keyboard, I’m not having to hunt and peck out my messages. Otherwise you’d be seeing a lot more spelling errors and a lot fewer words. Its not the best solution, but it is small and very portable, and with all the running around I’ve been doing, I’ve appreciated that aspect quite a bit. So, how do you blog?

So that’s it for tonight. Once I finish off this delicious Steamed Chocolate Nirvana at Dunn Brothers (yup, my hotel’s wireless has failed me once more) it is off to some much needed sleep. All this fun and excitement is definitley starting to take it’s toll.

I wasn’t expecting to update until this evening, as my schedule was pretty packed, but thanks to my unfortunate talent at writing down number incorrectly, I ended up showing up for a meeting that was actually held yesterday. And so go those fabled plans of mice and men (and people with poor date writing skills). Fortunately, having paid attention at the New Member Reception (thank you Madame President), I had a plan B, and ultimately it makes the whole day just a tiny bit less hectic.

My second day at PLA started early with a breakfast courtsey of H. W. Wilson. Along with some excellent food, I got a further look at the new products coming out Wilson this year. Even in my short 9 year career as a librarian it’s impressive to see these companies adapting to the changing times and especially impressive when it comes from a company celebrating it’s 110th year. And to cap off the morning, the Wilson team supllied me with one of those “ah ha” moments when they mentioned that their new CX designator was literaly the roman numerals for 110. Yes it is the simple things in life that make me happy.

After breakfast I got to attend my first PLA program, “Why Do We Dewey?” In a word, “fascinating” and it certainly left me with a lot of food for thought. I particularly like the way the TSCPL are taking a system already in use (Dewey) and finding ways to legitimately bend it to the more “modern” needs of their patrons. The concept of a browsable nonfiction section has recently been on the minds of many of my fellow librarians at work, and I’m happy now that I can provide them a concrete example of how one system is working to achieve that goal.

And speaking of my fellow workers, my next stop was to check in with some of them in the Placement Services room. Okay, shameless plug alert. If you’re interested in checking out what San Antonio Public Library has to offer in the way of jobs, stop by the booth in the Placement Services room (101 I-J).

Since I had about an hour before my next appointment, I made another run through the exhibit hall. I stopped at a variety of places, but in particular I had a very nice converstation with one of the people at Evergreen. I’m a big fan of Open Source and it’s great to see how these groups are coming along and how polished their products are looking.

After my 2nd tour of the exhibit hall it was time for lunch and yet again (are you detecting a trend here), I managed to combine business with pleasure by attending the Gale luncheon for their new Books and Authors database. It was big treat having a nice lunch, a polished presentation, and an amazing view (the luncheon was held on the 50th floor of the Marquette Hotel). Readers Advisory is kind of my thing and it has been exciting to see so many online developments in this field. From what I saw of Books and Authors, it will be a fine addition in the arsenal of tools that Readers’ Advisors can use.

After lunch, and thanks to my “date mistake” I managed to start this post, but did not actually manage to finished it. I was interrupted by the need to decend to the lower levels of the conference center in order to attend one of the first afternoon sessions. Originally I thought I would be attending something about taking online services to the next level, but the room I arrived at turned out to be the encore presentation of Technozoo. Not exactly what I was looking for, but great fun nonetheless. Mr. Souza was an energetic and amusing speaker and even though I consider myself quite the geek, even I saw some stuff that I wasn’t at all familar with. In additional, as is often the case with a topic you think you “know,” hearing it come from an admitted “non-librarian” gave me some pause for thought and raised some issues that hadn’t occurred to be before. A mixed blessing to be sure, but I don’t think I will ever complain about having new things to think about.

Down to one last session for the day. I’m off to Readers’ Advisory Took Kit III. I think I already know what I’m not going to like about it…the fact that I didn’t get to see RA Tool Kits I and II.

Wow.  I’m impressed!  I didn’t think I would be, but the keynote speaker at the opening session, John Wood, impressed the heck out of me.  He was a fantastic and engaging speaker, and with a cause like Room to Read under his belt, his presentation ended up being a truly brilliant 90 minutes.  And even though he was talking about a much grander goal; bringing literacy and books to developing nations, I couldn’t help but feel proud that I’m in a profession that does much the same thing, if on a slightly smaller scale.  I’m sure most of us who work with the public have had those moments where we realized that we have just provided a service that ended up being to that patron, more than just the simple answering of a question.  so John Wood’s experience and his ambitions helped to remind me why I stick with this sometimes frustrating job, and even why I can get all “advocatey” about public libraries.  One of the comments to my last post mentioned that they felt PLA was a way to “recharge” and I certainly felt that way today after the opening session.

And after that “opening” came the opening of the exhibit hall.  I took my time getting there – with a quick and very expensive stop a the ALA shop — and I was amazed as always at the wide variety of services and products that it takes to keep libraries running.  Naturally I saw tons of stuff that I could have spent hours drooling over, knowing full well that my library system would be hard pressed to afford any of it.  But one can always dream.  I think the furniture vendors are where I get that drooly feeling the most (despite being a geek).  Oh to be able to redesign a library with an unlimited budget!

Of course I had to make a stop at Baker and Taylor to get my picture taken with the cats.  Two harder working cats you’ll never meet (and trust me, I do know what I’m talking about).  a little more roaming burned up time pretty quickly, so I settled down to a quick demo of the Graphic Novel core collection product from H. W. Wilson and then finished up my first visit with a run through the publisher tables.  Still more to see, so rest assured, I will be back.

And here’s a completely unsolicited plug that I can’t resist adding.  Check out the book “He Said Beer, She Said Wine” at the DK booth.  I’ve had the pleasure to meet one of the authors of this book, and if you like either beer or wine (or, like me, both) you’ll find this book a real hoot.

Okay, one more aside.  Is it just me or are public librarians some of the most polite people you’ve ever met?  Is it because of our job or does the job just attract that type of person?  I can only say that being in a jam packed exhibit hall with hundreds of people moving about and still being surrounded by “thank you’s” and “excuse me’s” is just an amazing feeling.

Okay, back on track.  My final activities for my first day were short visits to the New Members Reception and also to a reception hosted by Overdrive.  Both were enchanting (except perhaps for the part where I ended up walking up 14 flights of stairs…but that’s a story for another time) but I must confess that even on the best of days I’m not really a “reception” person, and after a long day like today, I am even less so.  But I do understand that a large part of PLA is the networking and the efforts taken by the PLA committees and the vendors are appreciated even by those of us who are a little less social than most.  So maybe I’ll give the All Members Reception a go on Friday.  so if you see a San Antonio librarian/blogger there, doing a fair imitation of a wall flower, do come on over and say hello.  I promise I don’t bite.

 Tomorrow, the programs begin.  I am excited!

It started off pretty relaxed this morning (a nice cup of coffee at Dunn Brothers) but things picked up pretty fast after that Unfortunately, not having an actual bus map, I calculated wrong as to where the bus stop would be, but that wasn’t a big problem. While a wee bit chilly this morning (by Minneapolis standards, hell frozen over by San Antonio standards) it turned out to be a nice day for a walk and a pretty walk it was through downtown. And even though I am staying in a “distant” hotel it didn’t take more than 30 minutes to reach the Convention Center. Fortune was with me as well, as not only did I find a MetroTransit center (and now I have a real bus map) but I also got to walk by the Mary Tyler Moore statue and the Minneapolis Public Library downtown (which I swear I will visit at some point).

Being a first timer, the whole sign-in process was a bit confusing to me (I completely missed the boothes), but using the tried and true method of asking somebody, I got my materials and still had some time to sip another cup of coffee while looking though the conference schedule. So far, I’m very impressed with the facilities here at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and the PLA folks have done a great job of making things as easy to find as possible (with the possible exception of teh sign-in booth…okay that was probably just me). If I had any complaint, it was the problem with finding a place to sit, but even that I eventually figured out as well (he typed, sitting in the “Seasons” on one of the upper levels of the Convention Center).

So on to the main event: Buzz Talk with Nancy Pearl: my first true PLA event. And it was…well, enjoyable. It ended up being a little too rushed for my tastes, but I do know I got some good tips on some upcoming books (the one that sticks in my mind is The Drunkard’s Walk by Lenard Mlodinow — a book about randomness, which is a subject near and dear to my heart) which is always a good thing. Tons of other titles were mentioned as well and now I have several publisher web sites I need to delve into further. Certainly a fun start to my first day.

I did have to slip out early, though, so that I could attend my first vendor event; EBSCO’s luncheon at the nearby Hilton (easily acessible though the skyway). Not only did I get an amazing lunch out of the deal, but also details about the new NoveList Plus (now with added nonfiction content) and the upcoming EBSCOHost 2.0 interface. I’d have to say that both impressed me greatly, and I look forward to finding out more about them.

So here I sit, listening to German Polka music wafting up from the floor below, typing up these small notes. Next up will be the Opening Session, then the Exhibit Floor, and finally the New Member Reception. No more slow time for the next couple of days I fear.

Okay, this is a blog, so I feel kind of obligated to post something that might actually generate some comments. So here, in my usual long winded way, are some questions for those reading this and attending the conference (or not, for that matter). I’m what I consider a “front-line” librarian. I work a public service desk about half of my day (i.e. the Reference Desk) so I guess I’d have to say my primary interest in attending the conference is in hearing how others do all the wonderful things I read about in the library journals (so I can…what’s the word…apropriate their great ideas). But I did notice that a lot of the people sitting around me seem to be more from the managerial side of things. So, the question, should you decided to answer it, is what brings you to the conference? And what kind of support does your library provide for those wishing to attend? Inquiring minds (or at least one mind) wants to know.

Well, here I am in Minneapolis. First time I’ve seen snow in almost 9 years, and I have to say it’s a treat. It will be interesting to see if my years in Texas have managed to thinned out my midwestern blood.

And yes, Texas, and San Antonio in particular, is where I now live and this is my first ever PLA conference. I myself am an Adult Services librarian at the Central Library of the San Antonio Public Library system (www.sanantonio.gov/library - and we are recruiting at PLA so stop by our booth), and if I had to claim any kind of focus in my “career” it would be in Readers’ Advisory with a strong side order of Technology. I’m naturally quite excited to be here but kind of overwhelmed at the same time. But am definitely looking forward to learning what I can from what appears to be a great slate of programs.

Today (Tuesday) was the start of my adventure. Leaving balmy San Antonio (mid-seventies when I left this morning) and arriving this afternoon to high 30’s was a bit of shock, but I tell myself I’ll look back fondly on this weather later this year when the Texas temps start camping out in the 100’s for weeks on end. Despite the complications of modern day travel, my flights all went smoothy, the weather was decent, and Minneapolis’ Light Rail is a great way to travel (yeah, I’m a big fan of public transit as well as public libraries). Hopefully I’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight and then find out if the Minneapolis bus system works as well as the rail system.

Next stop: Nancy Pearl Presents Book Buzz! Sounds like my kind of program!

Hi everyone! I’m Anne Robert, a children’s/teen librarian with the Jacksonville (FL) Public Library. I got to Philly early this morning (at 8am *yawn*) and have done a little sight-seeing. I recommend everyone visit Reading Market - the food there is delicious! I will write more about events happening at Midwinter the next few days. Hope everyone is having a great time in Philly!