Tag Archives: Conference

Quick MLA Recap

At CMLE we are big fans of going to conferences! You get the chance to meet people, to learn new ideas, and to connect with others who do what you do in your library. So it was great to go to the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) Annual conference in Rochester.

Have you listened to our podcast about attending and presenting at conferences? Check out #209 and get some info about planning your own conference experiences!

The checking in process was fast and smooth! It’s always fun to go to conferences where things are so nicely organized. You can focus on the fun things to do, the sessions to attend, and all the interesting people you are meeting. And there were so many good things to do here – we were jam packed from start to finish!

It’s always valuable to attend conferences for your own professional development. The library profession is a fast-moving one, and the skills we used five years ago – or even last year – are not a match for the needs of today and into the future. Continuing education of all types is a must for providing good service. Conferences not only do that, they make it fun to meet people who like the same interesting things you do! (And I promise you: there is ALWAYS something interesting under discussion at conferences!)

The photo above is a somewhat blurry look at the session “Radical All Along: A Historical Look at Minnesota Librarianship.” Yes, libraries have always been exciting places to learn new things. (And if the current Minnesota Public Library Commission would like to resume their past practice of performing interpretative dances – there was popular acclaim for it in the session!)

Other sessions included:

  • Minitex: Where Libraries are Strong, Staff are Good-Looking, and Patrons are above Average
  • Let’s Talk about Serving Patrons with Dementia
  • Would Trader Joe’s Hire You? Lessons from the Best Retailers
  • Wikipedia as Community Organizing
  • Libraries: Fighting Childhood Food Insecurity Year-Round for a Better Future!
  • Planting the Seeds of Learning: The Library as a Nature Based Learning System
  • RA Crutches
  • When home Won’t Let You Stay: Telling the Story of Refugees Living in Minnesota
  • Blinded Me With Science!: STEAM-based Programs for Toddlers and Preschoolers

And there were so many more great ones! The problem was picking just one session to attend at a time; but that is a pretty high-class problem to have at an event.

We were in Rochester’s civic center, so the public library was easily accessible. Several of us toured through the building – and it’s always fun to see how different libraries arrange things. This library brings in a lot of great visuals, along with an interesting collection of materials, to provide service to their local community members. And they were very patient with the flocks of visiting library people who stopped in to ask questions and admire their stuff!

Conferences are not all networking and educational sessions – there is always time for fun! A fun thing at this conference is the silent auction, with a huge array of things you can bid on – library related and just fun. Yes, I did bid on this Nancy Pearl action figure; no, I did not win it. Drat. But last year I did win the wonderful bear, Orville, who became our Official Office Bear! (You can find his image all over our website – he’s a natural-born star.)

And there are always plenty of fun things to do outside the conference itself.  The planning committee gave a lot of useful information on fun places to go, things to see, groups going to different restaurants, and other good suggestions.  This was my first trip to Rochester, and it was really fun to check out their skyway and subway systems, trudge their walking trails (even in some rain!), and to enjoy meeting library people at all kinds of different restaurants! Attending conferences is educational in so many ways; and getting to know a new place is just one of the valuable things you learn!

This was just a quick, obviously incomplete look at attending a conference. Did you go to MLA? Share your stories with us! Are you thinking about attending another conference? We have scholarships for CMLE members!

Go! Learn! Try new things! Meet interesting people! Libraries are great, and so are library conferences!

Announcement: Open Repositories 2018 – Bozeman, Montana, USA

Sign on southwest side of campus - Montana State University - Bozeman, Montana - 2013-07-09

Mary’s note: If you have not been to this area yet, I can tell you that it is absolutely beautiful! Bozeman itself is great, and has a wonderful public library; and the National Parks nearby are some of the most amazing places I have ever seen. If you are interested in this topic, consider attending. We have some scholarship money available to help defray costs!

Press Release:

“Bozeman, MT — Montana State University is pleased to announce the 13th annual Open Repositories conference June 4-7th, 2018 in Bozeman, Montana.

We are excited to host Open Repositories 2018 in this beautiful place. We encourage you to discover more about BozemanMontana State University, the state of MontanaGlacier National Park, and Yellowstone National Park as we plan for the conference.

Montana State University is a world-class research university tucked into a small mountain town just North of Yellowstone National Park. Home to both the rugged outdoors and exciting cultural activities downtown, Bozeman has something for everyone. The university is a mid-sized doctoral granting institution with a rich research enterprise, and the library is dedicated to repository innovation. OR2018 on the campus of Montana State University will be an invigorating educational meeting in the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains.

The annual Open Repositories Conference brings together users and developers of open digital repository platforms from higher education, government, galleries, libraries, archives and museums. The Conference provides an interactive forum for delegates from around the world to come together and explore the global challenges and opportunities facing libraries and the broader scholarly information landscape.

http://or2018.net

Holly Mercer

Associate Dean for Research, Collections, & Scholarly Communication and Professor

Director, Newfound Press

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

UT Libraries

611 John C. Hodges Library

1015 Volunteer Blvd.

Knoxville, TN 37996-0000

hollymercer@utk.edu

CMLE Scholarship Recipients from FY17!

We are happy to celebrate the recipients of CMLE Scholarships from Fiscal Year 2017! We are so glad they took advantage of our scholarship program in order to attend several different conferences, which you can read about from the links below.

If you are planning on doing some professional development next year by attending conferences or taking part in continuing education, we invite you to apply for a CMLE Scholarship! More information can be found here. If you are looking for some Continuing Education opportunities, make sure to check out our Google Calendar.

Read about our CMLE Scholarship recipients from Fiscal Year 2017 below:

As we near the end of this fiscal year, we encourage you to think ahead to Continuing Education opportunities for next year, and to keep CMLE scholarships in mind to help with the financial aspect of your professional growth!

Are you going to the ALA Annual Conference? Let’s meet!

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Are you going to the ALA conference? Me too!

If you are interested in having a small gathering of Minnesota people, all out and enjoying ourselves at the lovely conference, you can email me or fill out the form below. We can set up a time and place to get together for coffee or something in McCormick Center, in between all the myriad of activities!

If you are not attending, no worries on being left out of the fun! You can follow the hashtag #ALALeftBehind on social media, and get information from attendees and from ALA. Many of the programs will be available in some format to you after the conference is over, so stay tuned to it!

Looking forward to seeing you in Chicago!

CALL: LMCC17 – Registration Is Open PLUS CFP

Library Marketing and Communications Conference

Join Us at LMCC17!
Registration & Call for Proposals Are Now Open

 The Library Marketing and Communications Conference is the only event designed exclusively for people who do library marketing and communications (MarCom) work. We are pleased to open Registration and the Call for Proposals for our 3rd annual event.

It’s time to register for #LMCC17, which will be November 16-17 at the Hotel InterContinental Dallas (in Addison, TX). Join us to attend a variety of sessions and network with your library MarCom peers.

 Our conference has sold out in the past, and while we’ve moved to a bigger hotel to accommodate more library professionals, you’ll want to ensure your spot NOW!

http://lmcc2017.ezregister.com

Continue reading CALL: LMCC17 – Registration Is Open PLUS CFP