Alberta Library Conference 2009 - Part Two!
So before I get into part two, I just wanted to talk about all the wildlife we saw in Jasper. Every day, when we would drive into the lodge, there was at least one elk standing in front of someone's cabin, grazing. And one night, when we drove back to the hotels, there was one right outside the door to Kathy's hotel! They just don't care, heh, although they are apparently more dangerous during mating season. We also saw a coyote crossing the road (as Albertans say: a Ky-Oat) and lots of deer as well. Not to mention all the Canada geese and really pretty duck species on the lake!
Ok, so now onto part two!
Day Three - April 25 (Saturday)
Another early start to the day! We headed to the lodge for breakfast (same as the previous day, only this time there was French toast instead of pancakes. Yum.) There was another speaker during breakfast, this time it was Jesse Brown, who is the host of a technology show on the CBC radio. He did a good talk about social media and how it can impact the way we interact with each other. (Facebook, forums, etc). After breakfast, it was time for the first conference session of the day. I attended Public Libraries as Community Places. I think this session would have been more interesting if the presenter hadn't been so timid.........and sick with a cold (I also had a cold so I could certainly empathize). I think if she had been a bit more outgoing and less sniffly, heh, the presentation would have been more lively. It was an interesting topic - she did a study on how people actually use public library spaces (a place to read the news every day, a meeting place, a shelter for some people, etc.), it was just a bit slow in terms of presentation style.
After that, it was lunch time (a variety of sandwiches and salads) and during lunch, we listened to a speech by Minister Danyluk, who is the Minister of Municipal Affairs in Alberta (the ministry that oversees public library funding). Recently, public libraries in Alberta were given a huge increase in funding (much to our surprise and delight!) so he was just there to talk about that and give a breakdown of how the funds would be spent (lots of new library branches and upgrades to existing branches in Edmonton!). It was a good speech, except he kept pronouncing library as "li-berry" which always makes me want to scream, heh.
After lunch, we had two last conference sessions. The first one I went to was Community Engagement and Asset Mapping: The Gateway to Rallying Customers and Communities. (I seem to have had a community theme going on, heh). Community mapping is something I've already been introduced to since I started working with EPL. Basically, communities are creating maps that showcase all of the resources and facilities in their particular area, based on specific sets of needs. For example, the lady that did this session was from a branch of the Calgary Public Library and she showed a map that had been created for seniors in her community that showed where all the resources for seniors were located in that particular neighborhood (drop-in centres, senior's homes, recreation leagues, etc). It's just a really good tool for libraries to have so that people who are new to the area know what's available to them in their community. So that was an interesting session.
My last session of the weekend was called Serving Socially Excluded Populations through Community Development Librarianship and this was presented by Amelia, the community librarian for the downtown (main) library. She gave a really good presentation on what us Community Librarians have been doing in Edmonton, and ways in which we can engage certain members of the community (the homeless, racial minorities, disabled people, etc.) It was nice to have someone represent the Community Librarians at the conference! I also saw Tanya in this session, and I haven't seen her in a long time! She told me there was a party going on in Greg's room and gave me his room number, heh. I saw Greg (another former SLIS classmate) and told him that Tanya had been giving out his room number to everybody. Greg: "Yeah, I wondered who all those people were in my room when I left today". LOL.
After the session, it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for the closing banquet and dance. We put on our nice clothes and then headed back to the lodge for a delicious dinner of prime rib, potatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert! (And of course - there was another vegetarian/vegan buffet - which I actually think they had set up for all of the meals, not just dinner.) There were lots of awesome door prizes given out - including a free registration for next year's conference and a luxury visit for two to the Jasper Park Lodge. Once again, I didn't win. Boo! Oh well. It was still fun!
After dinner, there was one last author talk. This time, it was Steven Galloway, who was there to talk about his new book. I think it was called The Cellist of Sarajevo, or something like that. It's based on a true story about a man who goes to the same spot every day, where people were killed by a bomb, and plays the cello for ten minutes. It sounds like a really powerful book, and despite the depressing subject matter, the author was really funny and entertaining to listen to.
FInally, it was time for the dance! I hadn't been out dancing in so long. It was so nice to just kick back, have a couple of (free!) drinks and dance the night away with all my library friends. I saw SLIS people I hadn't seen in a while, and mingled with some of the community librarians. Here we are below, in all our glory!
Jenny, Amelia, and Amanda with me in the back!
Funniest moment of the night: Greg spilled his drink so he put paper towels on the bottom of his shoes so he could clean it up while dancing! Heh heh heh.
Well! After all the fun and excitement, it was time to head back to the hotel.
The next day, we just woke up, had a quick breakfast in town, and headed back to Edmonton (through flurries of snow - bleah). I had SUCH a great time at this conference and can't wait to go back next year! Kyle and I have already made plans to go to Jasper for a weekend in August, so that will be nice. And of course, I will be back there a few weeks after that with my family! Yay!
Ok, so now onto part two!
Day Three - April 25 (Saturday)
Another early start to the day! We headed to the lodge for breakfast (same as the previous day, only this time there was French toast instead of pancakes. Yum.) There was another speaker during breakfast, this time it was Jesse Brown, who is the host of a technology show on the CBC radio. He did a good talk about social media and how it can impact the way we interact with each other. (Facebook, forums, etc). After breakfast, it was time for the first conference session of the day. I attended Public Libraries as Community Places. I think this session would have been more interesting if the presenter hadn't been so timid.........and sick with a cold (I also had a cold so I could certainly empathize). I think if she had been a bit more outgoing and less sniffly, heh, the presentation would have been more lively. It was an interesting topic - she did a study on how people actually use public library spaces (a place to read the news every day, a meeting place, a shelter for some people, etc.), it was just a bit slow in terms of presentation style.
After that, it was lunch time (a variety of sandwiches and salads) and during lunch, we listened to a speech by Minister Danyluk, who is the Minister of Municipal Affairs in Alberta (the ministry that oversees public library funding). Recently, public libraries in Alberta were given a huge increase in funding (much to our surprise and delight!) so he was just there to talk about that and give a breakdown of how the funds would be spent (lots of new library branches and upgrades to existing branches in Edmonton!). It was a good speech, except he kept pronouncing library as "li-berry" which always makes me want to scream, heh.
After lunch, we had two last conference sessions. The first one I went to was Community Engagement and Asset Mapping: The Gateway to Rallying Customers and Communities. (I seem to have had a community theme going on, heh). Community mapping is something I've already been introduced to since I started working with EPL. Basically, communities are creating maps that showcase all of the resources and facilities in their particular area, based on specific sets of needs. For example, the lady that did this session was from a branch of the Calgary Public Library and she showed a map that had been created for seniors in her community that showed where all the resources for seniors were located in that particular neighborhood (drop-in centres, senior's homes, recreation leagues, etc). It's just a really good tool for libraries to have so that people who are new to the area know what's available to them in their community. So that was an interesting session.
My last session of the weekend was called Serving Socially Excluded Populations through Community Development Librarianship and this was presented by Amelia, the community librarian for the downtown (main) library. She gave a really good presentation on what us Community Librarians have been doing in Edmonton, and ways in which we can engage certain members of the community (the homeless, racial minorities, disabled people, etc.) It was nice to have someone represent the Community Librarians at the conference! I also saw Tanya in this session, and I haven't seen her in a long time! She told me there was a party going on in Greg's room and gave me his room number, heh. I saw Greg (another former SLIS classmate) and told him that Tanya had been giving out his room number to everybody. Greg: "Yeah, I wondered who all those people were in my room when I left today". LOL.
After the session, it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for the closing banquet and dance. We put on our nice clothes and then headed back to the lodge for a delicious dinner of prime rib, potatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert! (And of course - there was another vegetarian/vegan buffet - which I actually think they had set up for all of the meals, not just dinner.) There were lots of awesome door prizes given out - including a free registration for next year's conference and a luxury visit for two to the Jasper Park Lodge. Once again, I didn't win. Boo! Oh well. It was still fun!
After dinner, there was one last author talk. This time, it was Steven Galloway, who was there to talk about his new book. I think it was called The Cellist of Sarajevo, or something like that. It's based on a true story about a man who goes to the same spot every day, where people were killed by a bomb, and plays the cello for ten minutes. It sounds like a really powerful book, and despite the depressing subject matter, the author was really funny and entertaining to listen to.
FInally, it was time for the dance! I hadn't been out dancing in so long. It was so nice to just kick back, have a couple of (free!) drinks and dance the night away with all my library friends. I saw SLIS people I hadn't seen in a while, and mingled with some of the community librarians. Here we are below, in all our glory!
Jenny, Amelia, and Amanda with me in the back!
Funniest moment of the night: Greg spilled his drink so he put paper towels on the bottom of his shoes so he could clean it up while dancing! Heh heh heh.
Well! After all the fun and excitement, it was time to head back to the hotel.
The next day, we just woke up, had a quick breakfast in town, and headed back to Edmonton (through flurries of snow - bleah). I had SUCH a great time at this conference and can't wait to go back next year! Kyle and I have already made plans to go to Jasper for a weekend in August, so that will be nice. And of course, I will be back there a few weeks after that with my family! Yay!