Conference Season!

Once again it's conference and poster season! Although, it almost feels like that aspect of librarianship is a constant. Sure, there are more in the spring and summer, but you could probably find a librarian or librarian-related conference almost any week of any year. Well that's just me speculating, anyway. The  poster I displayed at the National Diversity In Libraries Conference last summer, will be up on Thursday at the Maryland/Delaware Librarians Association conference. I finally got around to putting the poster up on slideshare and can therefore share with you some of the research I did from last year.

I was hoping to attend but will not be able to due to personal reasons. Nothing serious, only good!  I will also be signing off from the Bookie for a couple of months due to the same happy personal reasons.  But, don't despair! I've found a wonderful replacement for May. Hannah Lee, the Pauline A. Young Residency Librarian from Delaware will be posting for a few weeks, and she's pretty awesome. You will soon see!

Are we Closing One Gap While Widening Another?

Click "Menu" and "View full screen" in order to enlarge.

As for my research from last year, I'm really hoping to finally get an article together by the end of the summer on all of my findings, but in the meantime, I'll be peddling this poster. Please let me know if you would like to talk about it, or get involved in this research in any way. I'd love to hear from you!

See you all soon & happy conferencing!

Love and Happiness at NDLC 2010

The National Diversity in Libraries Conference, held at Princeton last week, was the best conference I've ever attended.  Hands down. I was completely impressed.  I met not only amazing and great librarians, but inside of every great librarian, was a really wonderful person, too.  (I realize I'm gushing, but I really loved everybody I met!)   What I found so rewarding was the ability to really network with so many wonderful librarians that are at the forefront of advocating for and promoting diversity in their libraries on every level.  It was so encouraging to be around so many people that did not need for me to explain why I believe it's important to involve ourselves in initiatives to encourage ethnic minorities and those in the LGBT community and people with disabilities to enter the profession. And regardless of anyone's background it was a passion of every person there.  Like me, many people believe that our libraries and our profession depends on successfully executing means to foster positive diversity, in all of its myriad forms, in our institutions.  Aaaah love.

Here I am talking to one of the Princeton librarians that is also a cellist - like me, (what are the chances??), -during my poster presentation.

 

So, I got hip to some things at the conference. One Keynote Address was from Luke Visconti, CEO of DiversityInc.  Check it out.  Mr. Visconti was a dynamic and informative speaker that is doing great things at DiversityInc.  They create a list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity every year, and they are quickly becoming a force with which to reckon. There should be no surprise that those companies that make the top 50 every year also tend to be more socially responsible and have larger annual gifts to charity and command the best talent. As the magazine points out, neither BP nor Goldman Sachs have ever made the list. They've only been doing this for 11 years but they've gone from 118 companies participating in 2003 to 449 participating in 2010.  I'm going to stay tuned to this.  I think it's wonderful.

Not only were the speakers great, but the Programs were amazing. One, among many, was the Speak Up! session from a group of Penn State librarians that implemented the program at their library. Speak Up! is from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the program is free.  In a nutshell, the program works by beginning discussions on how to speak out against ignorant, bigoted or any kind of conversation that goes against  fostering a positive diverse environment, by discoursing in a non-threatening manner, while supporting co-workers of all different backgrounds. It has gotten so popular there, that the University HR department is looking to implement the program campus-wide. It sounded very cool to me and I'd love to be a part of rolling this out in our library.  

There were so, so, many other great things and people that spoke, including incoming ALA president Roberta Stevenson that will be soliciting volunteers come the fall for a program to help encourage minority high school and undergrads to go into librarianship.  I'd really like to be a part of that and hope I, and a few other residents, can make the cut.  (hint, hint)

I also had my poster presentation, and that was a great experience. There was a lot of enthusiasm about my research and encouragement to publish.  Fingers crossed!

And, also, there is a place called The Bent Spoon, that had some wonderful, wonderful ice cream.  I had, Red Plum Lavender and Blueberry Lemon Basil.  So good!

ALA 2010!

I'm heading down to D.C. tomorrow for my very first ALA National Conference.  And, I'm really, really, really, excited.  I have scheduled and double-scheduled and triple-scheduled myself into sessions and happy-hours, and poster-sessions and lectures, and can't wait to meet and hear and just be inundated with the library masses.  

Here are some of the things that look especially appealing to me:

Friday:  
The Unconference / Town Hall Meeting on Diversity (Same time, different   places -decisions!)

Opening Exhibits

Resident Happy Hour in Dupont Circle (Come if you can - we're meeting at the ALA store at 7pm and then taking the metro.)

Saturday: 
LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair

POSTER SESSIONS!!!

Salmon Rushdie / Pecha Kucha Presentations of Marketing Ideas / BCALA     International Filmmakers in the DC Area  (All at the same time! What a cruel world.)

What to do Before you Digitize

Toni Morrison / University Libraries Happy Hour (ugh! same time!)

Sunday:  
Residency Interest Group Meeting

Digitization: Preserving African American Collections & Dave Isay

Teaching AAME Resources by Using Primary Source Materials

POSTER SESSIONS!

 Bookcart Drill Team World Championship (YESSSSSS!!)

Monday:  
Fundraising 101 / Graphic Novel Panel

President's Program: For the love of reference

Exhibits Closing (free swag!)
Battledecks: ALA Rumble Royal (I want to do this next year!!)

Tuesday:  
Amy Sedaris!!!

I have even more on my schedule and lunches and dinners, but this is an idea of what I'd LIKE to attend at ALA.  I know I'm going to miss some stuff or end up at something unplanned, but I'm sure the whole thing will be a big fat great tiring time.  

I'd love to hear from anyone attending and find out what you're most excited about seeing, hearing or attending.  Maybe I'll see you there!