CLA 2009: Day One

The day began very early for me as I attended the First Timer’s breakfast. This was a good chance to meet some people in the profession. One interesting trend I’ve noticed at CLA is that there are relatively few people from Ontario (or Toronto) present. That means I’ve met lots of people from Alberta, the Maritimes and other provinces that are largely (though not complete) unknown areas. Conferences are tiring experiences, but rewarding.

The keynote address was given by Professor Joseph Janes of the University of Washington. His talk was called, “Rethinking the Library,” and it was an engaging look at this vital institution. He also provided a short and memorable summary of the defining attributes that define a library (and make it different from other things): place, collections, support, interaction, and values. I wouldn’t elaborate on each idea, but I do find it better. Also memorable, if somewhat ominous was his remark (which I am paraphrasing), “Don’t waste a recession.” In light of the fact that print will now be of ever decreasing importance, he observed we must be better online than we are now. This leads to his two part conclusion: be where are our users are & remember that “search” can also be a quest for meaning.

For the rest of the day, I went to three sessions on widely differing topics: designing an online resource, intergenerational attitudes about work and a workshop on professional image. The workshop on professional image – given by Lynne Mackay – was a high energy session with nearly a hundred people in attendence. It focused mainly on clothing, but looked at in a very thoughtful way. There’s much to learn here ranging from learning the five “levels” of dress (formal, professional, business casual, sportswear, holiday wear) to matching colours. Given that librarians absolutely love to classify knowledge, this aspect appealed to many. The session on designing an online resource was given by Margaret Fulford, a librarian at the University of Toronto, inspired me. She designed the Canadian Women Fim Directors Database and led us through how it was planned and executed. It inspired me to see that learning tools like PHP and mySQL are possible. The session that explored intergenerational views on the profession is difficult to summarize. It covered everything from how we define success, work/life balance to having conversations on career matters.

Related posts:

1. CLA 2009: Day Two
2. CLA 2009: Day Three
3. OLA 2010 Conference: Day One
4. SLA 2009 Begins