2011 NLA Highlights: Green Bags and Nametags
I survived day one of the NLA annual conference.
Left the apartment this morning at 6AM and just got back at 9:45PM.
I didn't have to be there until 8, but thinking there would be traffic and I would get lost I left like an hour earlier than I needed to. After stopping for gas and cash I arrived at like 7:08. So I jammed in the lobby with Queen of the Known Universe and fellow LCLers. There were a lot of us there, I can count at least 12 off the top of my head. Though by the dinner banquet we were down to four.
Showed up with nothing but cereal and a diet dr. pepper and came home with a bag full of free stuff.
What is it about conferences or home and garden shows that turn you into a kleptomaniac? I mean seriously. It's my goal to go to each of the booths and get a pen or ruler or candy or whatever so I came home with this bag full of stuff and went, crap. Now what am I gonna do with it?
Granted the majority of the stuff taking up space in the bag is presents - I got something for mom, dad, the cool aunt and the boyfriend but i'm not done shopping for them yet.
And then of course came the t-shirt that the Library Goddess bought me cause she's awesome and spoils us. It's blue with the Superman logo on the front except instead of a giant S it's a giant L.
Should write in a "SA" after the L so it's a true statement as I am a Library Service Associate and not quite yet a Librarian.
So, our homework assignment from Boss's Boss's Boss is to meet someone, talk to them about what they do and then write about it to her in an email.
I think I've done that like 50 times over. And the thing about working with the Library Goddess is that she's so enthusiastic so if she doesn't know someone she'll go introduce herself and take you along with her. Like today, I met two published authors - Stephanie Bodeen aka S.A. Bodeen who wrote "The Compound" which is a Golden Sower nominee and Mary Downing Hahn - author of about 50 kids books but "Closed for the Season" was also a Golden Sower nominee, guessing the Cool Aunt is super jealous - and about 80 students in the program.
I didn't meet Tom Osborne but I did listen to him speak, and my Trainee met him in the parking lot so that's exciting.
We gave him a standing ovation. We did the a couple of times but he was the only one I actually knew. Which is amusing. People like stood up for this one chick and clapped and I was like, okay I should probably stand and clap. Who's this again?
I did learn a lot as well. As much as it physically pains me to say it, like literally pains me I'm intrigued by BISAC. I mean, I'm Dewey through and through, for serious, I think that the books are already divided up by genre why do they need to do it again with different labels, it would a pain and awful and just something else we'd have to adjust to if we switched over - but listening to a presentation about this library turning just their YA area into BISAC and having its circulation like triple intrigues me cause we don't get a lot of circulation for our nonfiction YA material. Perhaps if we had more signage and separated it out it may get more attention.
Except we don't have a lot of nonfiction for YA so that'd be something to work on first.
I'll keep it in mind. That and an App session were the only two I attended all the way through. The rest of the day I was in the booth or taking pictures of presentations if they were given by staff/students/alum of the Missouri program.
Taking pictures is fun until you get to like the second or third presentation on your list and everyone glares at you cause you're walking in late, then your camera makes noises and then you leave early getting even more glares. Blah.
Now I'll officially have to join NLA. Oh yeah, that's another person I met - the president of NLA, well as of a couple hours ago before she passed on the golden gavel to someone else. But I'll do it online this week after the dues are changed. And I'm a student so I get in for cheaper.
Hung out a lot with both of my bosses aka Superwoman and the Library Goddess. They were having an argument as to who is Boss #1 and who is Boss #2. I told them it was up to them to duke it out. It was fun hanging out with them.
I actually saw about 80 classmates who all know me cause I'm the grad assistant but I'm still learning names so I'm like, "Hey!" *pause to look at name tag* "Did you register for the iTunes giftcard raffle yet?" Thank god for nametags, seriously. My lanyard is purple and pretty but clashes with my yellow Mizzou tag.
New concept to take home from the conference but won't include in my report to the Boss's Boss's Boss:
-"The Full Monica" aka the female version of the Full Monty
Oh, and we all got our pictures taken with a cardboard cutout of Sheldon Cooper which will probably become my profile picture.
Tomorrow I'll get one with Darth Vader.
Clip of the day as recommended by the boyfriend.
Parody of a pretty much already parody.
heyyyyy wealthy ladies...
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