Conference Season, Part 1 or "Hey, I'm a Fangirl"

I haven't posted anything for almost 6 months.  It's not that I don't care; I just haven't had time.  Somehow, I can tweet multiple times a day but can't put together enough cohesive thoughts to form a full blog.  I have time and cohesiveness now.  Prepare.

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Conference Season.  I love working in libraries, but this is my time of year.  At conferences, you can learn new things.  You can meet new people.  You can see new places.  For me, this is the time of year where I get inspired.  In fact, projects that I have started at MCPL can be attributed, at least in part, to the wealth of ideas that were shared at previous conferences.

This year was different.  Yes, I went for the ideas and networking, but I was also supposed to start getting a feel for how the conference happens.  Since I'm coordinating (along with the fabulous Kelly from Kansas) the 2015 joint conference of KLA & MLA, I had to start getting things together.  So, my first stop was MLA.

Tuesday:  I was invited to the annual Board dinner before the conference.  I arrived and saw many people whom I recognized, and even helped a colleague crash the invite-only dinner!  In my/his defense, there was food that was going to go to waste, and we can't have that.  Well, he crashed and Barbara Stripling, ALA President, ended up sitting next to him.  After the dinner, we moved over to the students' reception WITH DESSERT.  While there, Barbara and I talked for what must have been an hour!  If you haven't met her or read anything about her, you should.  She's an awesome, AWESOME lady and I am proud that she is at the head of such a wonderful organization.  I think I'm a fangirl.

Uh... I just met and talked with the president of ALA, Barbara Stripling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Dan (@kasmsod) October 2, 2013

#molib2013 Dessert Social for ALA President Barbara Stripling and LIS students pic.twitter.com/Ty7ssPxwFU
— cnpryor01 (@cnpryor01) October 2, 2013

Also, I kept trying to look beautiful for the photographer, but I must have let down my guard for that pic.  However, there lies the PROOF.

Wednesday: HUMP DAYYYYYYYY!
Wednesday was fairly uneventful (as uneventful as it could have been).  I went to a nice presentation on Outreach to the Blind, and was sure to catch the Keynote address BY BARBARA STRIPLING.  This was my 3rd MLA Conference, but only my first Keynote.  Barbara spoke about her/ALA's initiative, "Declaring Our Right to Libraries."  It's pretty powerful stuff.  Libraries change lives, enrich communities, and are a necessity in the world.  Read more about it here.  That night I participated in Battledecks, a PowerPoint Karaoke of sorts involving random slides and contestants trying to bring them together in a cohesive theme.  I didn't place, but I got to enjoy a lot of Cardinals gifs and dance on a stage, which is ALWAYS a good night.

Oh, and St. Louis Public Library's newly renovated Central Branch is AMAZING.  Like Gerald Brooks said, "It's amazing what $55 million can do."

Thursday:  Thursday is when everything happened.  I presented for the first time, along with Jennifer on Making the Transition from Trainee to Trainer.  Then, after learning about integrating science into preschool events and librarian trading cards, we headed up to the room and changed into our Cardinals' attire for the annual business meeting.  Life Pro Tip: Don't yawn while sitting near the front of the meeting AND within direct line of sight of the President; they'll call you out on it.

After that, it was time to eat.  We shot up to the 12th floor to eat at Kobe, and we were easily the loudest people there.  Hibachi takes time, and we didn't make it back quite soon enough for me to see all of the awards given out.  However, I was coerced to sit at a table (instead of in back) for the awards.  I just wanted to sneak in, watch, and sneak out.  Well, as I'm getting up to leave, Candice wants me to come with her to check on everyone.  Next thing I know, I'm being introduced to State Senators in my Cardinals shirt, shorts, and boat shoes.  I was told later that they won't remember the way anyone was dressed.  FALSE; they will definitely remember the DUDE that came in to a formal dinner with a t-shirt and shorts on.

Then there were random people coming up to meet me.
Then there was the dance party, and photo booth.
Then there was the hotel bar and a night spent with Gentleman Jack.
Then the cops came to break up the loud librarians at 1:30 in the morning.
Then there were the free drink glasses.
Then I died temporarily until 8:30 this morning when I ate breakfast by myself.  It was nice to have a little bit of down time.  I felt like I was constantly talking with people (I probably was).

Friday:  After that breakfast, I stopped in on the final "Web/Tech Tools that Make You Look Cool" by the magnificent Cindy Dudenhoffer, and then proceeded to catch the end of the Performers' Showcase.

Can I live at conference forever? #molib2013
— Dan (@kasmsod) October 4, 2013

2015 is going to be amazing, guys.  Stay tuned.  For me, it's on to Hot Springs, Arkansas for a second helping of our presentation.

Questions & Calling

"A new factor, that of rapid change, has come into the world. We have not yet learned how to adjust ourselves to its economic and social consequences."

This was a quote used by Steven S. Little during his presentation at our Staff Development day yesterday.  He talked about sustainable growth in a business involving making changes, taking chances, excelling with customers, and just overall being a more productive business.  Even though libraries are non-profit, it still applies.

That quote is from the Harvard Business Review.  In 1932.  It was from the article, The Attack on Depressions, by Wallace B. Donham.  Why do I know this?  Well, Mr. Little told us where it was from initially.  He did not tell us the context though.  I saw and heard that quote and was instantly (or is it instantaneously?) curious about the context of such a quote.  What is it that posed such a change in 1932?  Common sense obviously led me to the depression, so I assumed it was something governmental.  However, it wasn't governmental at all:

Engineers working at Columbia University estimate that, before machinery, no nation ever succeeded in producing and using over 2,000 calories or units of energy per capita per day. This is little if any more than the amount required to feed, clothe and shelter a people living under rigorous conditions.  They contrast this with our present consumption of 150,000 units, or 75 times as much per capita as were used in George Washington's time. I expect their final results to show that at least 90% of this increase has taken place in the last 25 years.

The statements following that quote are startling.  The context of the statement was machinery.  Donham was talking about machinery and the incredible increase in production because of it.  In 1999, 12 exabytes encompassed the amount of information in the world.  In 2006, it was 161 exabytes.  In 2010, in was 988 exabytes.  Soon, we'll be in zettabyte range.  An exabyte is 1 BILLION GIGABYTES.  That's a lot of freaking information.  In roughly a decade, information has increased by over 8000%!  I think that's pretty astounding.

Why am I boring everyone but myself?  Because this is a presentation that solidified my desire in life.  As I sat (and stood) listening to everything that Little had to say, I realized that I was not only listening but I was also asking my own questions about things he said.  He opened by saying that he wasn't a motivational speaker, and he would leave us with questions.  The questions I was left with involved things not exactly related to his presentation:  What was the context for that quote?  Was that thing about the flag's stars and presidents true?  What's the ASL sign for "download?"  Why do they put oats on the crust of bread?  Why doesn't MCPL have video games?

All of these inquiries left me with the feeling that I did find my calling and that I made the right choice.  I really love what I do, and I like finding adventure in the mundane.  I can't tell you how many times that adventure has sprung from the mundane.  So, a presentation that was supposed to raise questions did raise questions.  They were questions that were really off the mark, but they were still raised!

P.S.  I found that article by combing the database Business Source Premier.
The permalink is: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=6765622&site=ehost-live