OCTOBER 2010
Image - Exterior of Coeur d'Alene Public Library
Before my preconference session I attended the lunch with Chris Crutcher http://www.chriscrutcher.com/. He talked about his most recent book 'Deadline.' This is a book that starts off with a teenager learning that he has a fatal illness and is going to die in a year. Since Crutcher has worked as a therapist he drew on that background and then talked about how we seize the day, or not. It was an awesome talk. As for the food... bleh or meh. MY session went swimmingly. We had a lot of interaction and I learned as much as they did.
Image - Art, Coeur d'Alene Public Library
The next day Oct 7th., I attended the ILA Business Meeting, and then the Keynote Address by Jess Walter http://www.jesswalter.com/, another author. He recently published 'The Financial Lives of the Poets.' He had us laughing and listening hard. "From Bookmarks Magazine:
Walter's wildly funny, heartrending novel is a clever meditation on the American Dream gone horribly wrong. Readers will be rooting for Matt, "a likable everyman" (Christian Science Monitor), even as he commits one painful error after another. Walter's writing crackles with energy, and though he seems to come close to treating some serious topics (drug use, infidelity, mental illness, and bankruptcy) superficially, his affection for his characters and his shrewd assessment of the Priors' financial and familial collapse circumvent that danger. His free-verse poetry, however, interspersed within the narrative, received mixed reviews. Praised as one of today's best new voices, Walter has penned a scathing indictment of contemporary America." -- http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Lives-Poets-Jess-Walter/dp/0061916048
Image - Story Room Coeur d'Alene Public Library
I followed up this great beginning with an awesome workshop on 'The Character of Leadership' by Phil Eastman http://www.leadershipadvisors.com/. His model of leadership is character based, not trait based and is founded on the traits of Justice, Temperance, Hope, Wisdom, Love, Courage, and Faith. It was awesome and I wish we had a longer time to spend with him. I was able to nab one of the few packets and a copy of his small book.
Image - Exterior Post Falls Public Library
I got back from lunch in time to listen to the panel 'How I Became a Science Librarian with an English Degree and Other Collection Management Miracles.' They had a lot of great ideas including using Worldcat to narrow down to specific libraries, dates, and subject to analyze your collection and/or get ideas for purchasing.
Image - Service Counter Post Falls Public Library
The awards banquet was very fun. I sat at a table with the Kuna Public Librarians and had a ball. The food was inedible, but the company more than made up for it. I think that's the longest I've spent lingering at a table at ILA ever.
Image - Internet Access Post Falls Public Library
Friday Oct 8th started off with a bang. The Academic & Special Libraries division meeting where I took notes. I also became the Chair of the Division at this meeting. Then on to the session on 'Information Literacy' and it's integration into the Idaho ICT Standards. It is focused on k-12 but this will help us. If we can get kids to learn the basics we can then build on them in college.
Image - Exterior Post Falls Public Library
My favorite session of the day was by Jim Jatkevicius and Mike Brown titled 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Developing Effective Patron Conduct Codes for Idaho Public Libraries.' They did a great job teaching us how to create codes of conduct that were enforceable and legal. Much laughter at what can and does happen in a library ensued along with cases and codes for reference for specific items such as sleeping in the library. Lastly I attended 'Free-economics' a workshop about economics research resources available freely on the web. The handout will be most useful.
A fun and interesting conference with lots of great people.
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