ACRL Day 4

Today was the last day of the ACRL conference. I attended one panel presentation and the closing keynote.

Sue Polanka was the moderator for the panel featuring Marilyn Billings, Michele Sordi, Eric Frank, and Steve Acker. It was a thoughtful discussion regarding electronic textbook access from a variety of perspectives. Given many of the fund raising efforts for student books at the campus where I'm currently employed, I'm curious how this might shift those fund raising efforts. For example, owning a computer or mobile device with internet access would become even more important. Will this mean more electronic and wired classrooms? Are faculty and librarians ready to embrace this change and shift the way we teach?



The closing keynote was from Clinton Kelly. It was a great way to end the conference. I found his presentation refreshing, and really appreciated how much time he spent taking questions from the audience. Surprisingly there was a real balance between the number of men and women asking questions.



I waited in a very long line and had two copies of his book "Oh No She Didn't" signed. One is for my good friend Kristen who is certain Clinton and Stacy will show up at her classroom after one of our friends and I nominate her for crimes against fashion. One day it just might happen. I wonder if they offer a finders fee?

ACRL 2011 Day 3

April Fools Day at ACRL!

I spent much of my morning going over my notes for my panel session in the afternoon. I did manage to get to the end of the Art of Presenting workshop. It was really good and I hope they are able to present again at future conferences.

The highlight of my day was being a panelist for "Stepping up the ladder: Succession planning in libraries". Maud Mundava and Angiah Davis were kind enough to invite me to speak alongside Camila Alire, Peggy Johnson, and Ravi Sharma. I was the final speaker, and asked by Maud and Angiah to speak about challenges in moving up, how my association involvement related to my moving up, and what advice I would offer for others interested in stepping up the ladder. The title I gave to my section was "From Professional Leadership to Leadership Professional." I talked about my internal and external barriers for moving, as Camila Alire characterized it, from level four to level three in the organization. Next I discussed the networking, mentoring, leadership, and organizational understanding opportunities that involvement in professional associations have provided for me. Finally, I offered the pieces of advice for those on all rungs of the ladder related to succession planning in the profession.

A summary of our program is here. I think my presentation was well received. I am glad I was invited to participate in this session. It was a great opportunity for me to think about where I am in my career right now and what I've learned along the way. It's been useful to contextualize my goals in the profession and understand just how I got here. I definitely think this is the start of something for me.



Aaron Dobbs, Roberto Delgadillo, and Camila Alire before the session.

I enjoyed a great dinner with several people at The Continental. The highlight of dinner was playing "two truths and a lie". I actually did pretty well guessing the false statement. The food was tasty, but the company was better.






American Gothic cotton candy

After dinner we went to the all-conference reception at the National Constitution Center. On our way to the reception we had the nicest taxi driver. He was almost done with his shift and had picked up a gift for his girlfriend's birthday. I held the big Macy's box on my lap while I rode in the front seat. The cab driver spoke so fondly about her and hopeful she'd enjoy the gift. All of us approved.

ACRL 2011 Day 2

Today I took some time to get through the exhibit halls. I talked to some vendors, picked up some free stuff, and attended the Sage Reference Online product demo. I attended the Ebsco luncheon with a few friends. We scored a VIP table in the very back corner of the room where we enjoyed salad, manicotti, and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.



My afternoon was spent at a focus group sponsored by Sage regarding some product innovations. They definitely have some great resource ideas in development. It's always an honor to be a part of their process.

The evening was packed with various social events. I heard Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter speak at the ACRL Chairs Reception which took place in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Next up was some serious dancing at the event Bibliodiscotheque! Donations were collected  in support of the ALA Presidential Initiative for Spectrum and Books Through Bars.The place was definitely packed. I ended the evening talking with new friends in my hotel lobby. Good times!
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ACRL 2011 Day 1

This morning I flew to Philly for ACRL.




It was a nice quick trip. The drive would have taken 5 hours and with the cost of fuel and parking it ended up being cheaper for me to fly. Plus after a busy and event filled conference, not having to face the five hour drive home sounded good.

I was lucky to have an afternoon tea with Peter. We sat in the lobby of the Marriott where Jim Rettig visited us and later we were joined by Aaron, LJ Lafleur, and Trevor. Mario also stopped by for a few before his room was ready, and we had our first Camila sighting. The start to the an excellent conference!

I attended the opening of the exhibits. Aaron and I explored the food offerings and had a wine sample courtesy of Credo Reference. We also ran into a lot of people. Aaron had some real vendor business to do, so wandered around the show floor while he talked shop with a few vendors.

The highlight of the evening was being the host of ACRL's 1st Battledecks. I dressed for the occasion in a sequined top. It was very shiny and added to the evening's fun. The real stars were all six participants who impressed the audience and the judges with their ability to relate the random decks to the conference themes. The winner was Nancy Sims from University of Minnesota. She won an iPad 2. It was a great night and we got done thirty minutes early.




View from the stage


Another view from the stage

Professional Travel for Spring 2011

The ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego was over two months ago. Must be time for me to get back on the road!

March 20-25: Computers in Libraries, Washington, D.C.
March 30-April 2: ACRL, Philadelphia
April 7-11: ALA Executive Board Spring Meeting, Chicago
April 25-26: ALA BARC Spring Meeting, Chicago

Then I start the University's Mastering SuperVision course and go to the Penn State Erie campus:
April 27-29
May 18-20
June 1-3
June 15-16

By that point, I'm practically to the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 22-29.

ACRL Seattle

As you can see, ACRL ended on a sweet note. These delicious conference themed cookies were served at the All Conference Reception. The venue was Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. I saw lots of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia, a documentary, AND danced.

It wasn't all cookies, music, and dancing. As a member of the Scholarships Committee (despite the fact that all the printed material at the conference did not have me listed as a committee member), I attended the Scholarship Breakfast on Friday morning. The room was on the 35th floor of the Sheraton and had an amazing view. The keynote speaker, Richard Sweeney, led an interesting discussion about the millennial library generation. For me it was a thought-provoking way to begin the conference.



I also attended a colleague's Round Table Discussion on Saturday. "Social Technology Lessons Learned From The Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign" was facilitated by Alexia Hudson, Penn State Abington Library.



I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ACRL Chair's Reception at the Columbia Tower Club. We were lucky enough to have a clear night, so the city view from the 76th floor was breathtaking. It was also an opportunity to check out what is probably the coolest ladies room in the Pacific Northwest, if not the time zone or the country.