MLA/DLA 2012 Annual Conference
Ocean City, MD May
9-11, 2012
Marilyn Pontius, Branch Manager of the Hancock War Memorial Library
The Maryland Library Association (MLA), together with the
Delaware Library Association (DLA), held their joint 2012 Conference in Ocean
City, Maryland May 9-11 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. The annual conference provides an opportunity
to bring together library professionals from across the two states to “learn,
share, and grow” (MLA, 2012).
The theme of the conference was Choose
Your Own Journey.
At the time of registration, first-time conference attendees
were asked if they would like a mentor to help them navigate during the
conference. I took advantage of this
offer, as was contacted via email before the conference by Ms. Monica McAbee,
Adult Services Selection Librarian from the Prince George’s County Memorial
Library System. She was very helpful answering questions before the conference, as
well as making me feel welcome once there.
The conference included social activities, organizational
meetings, training workshops, speakers, and award presentations in a relaxed
atmosphere. The conference included a vendor area, with booths from a wide
variety of library vendors and library schools, including the University of
Tennessee Knoxville School of Information Science.
I was able to attend several training sessions including Great
Graphics on a Shoe String Budget, presented by Christine Karpovage, the Graphic
Designer/Webmaster from the Delaware Division of Libraries and Erica
Karmes-Jesonis, the Graphic Designer/Webmaster of Cecil County (Maryland)
Public Library. This workshop was targeted at librarians like me, who have
little graphic design training, but find themselves making flyers and signs for
their libraries. The workshop covered basic graphic design principles and tips
on free and legal image sources. Another
session I attended was Using the Naikan Technique for Reflective Professional
Development given by July Zamostny, Staff Development Coordinator from the
Western Maryland Regional Library. This
workshop presented a simple technique that can be used to evaluate and reflect
upon situations or events to help develop and incorporate a better
understanding of the events encountered all around us every day. The technique
uses critical thinking to examine a situation or event to identify what you gained,
what you contributed, and how your actions impacted others, in order to fully incorporate
the experience into your personal knowledgebase.
The dinner speaker on Thursday, May10, was Jay Parkinson,
MD, MPH presented What Libraries Can
Learn From Healthcare. Dr. Parkinson, a pediatrician and preventative
medicine specialist, started a medical practice in his neighborhood of
Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY in 2007. He
wanted to return to the idea of a town doctor who made house-calls, bringing
medicine to the patients rather than making patients come to the doctor’s
office. People would visit his website,
see his Google calendar, choose a time and input their symptoms. His iphone
would then alert him, and he would make the appropriate house-call. Patients
would pay via Paypal. He would follow up via email, video chat or in
person. His success lead him to co-found
Hello Health, a new way of experiencing healthcare via a Facebook-like platform
that users technology to restore a traditional doctor-patient relationship
updated for today’s lifestyle. This was
a very interesting presentation, and provided much inspiration for re-inventing
library services and service delivery.
Throughout the conference, there were informal, social situations
that promoted networking and camaraderie among the attendees. I was able to talk
to several prospective students at the University of Tennessee Knoxville School
of Information Science table in the vendor area, as well as visit several
vendors.
Friday morning, I presented Training a New Breed of Rural Librarians to approximately 20
conference attendees to discuss my scholarship grant. The presentation was
divided into three parts. First, the five phases of the Information Technology
for Rural Librarianship (ITRL) Grant from IMLS was presented. Secondly, I presented the curriculum and some of the
outcomes my library has received in response to the customization of the course
work. Finally, I reviewed the process of developing a library ‘elevator’ speech
that can be used to promote and advocate for a rural library in a variety of
situations. The presentation was well received and there were several questions
following the presentation. The slides
may be viewed at http://www.slideshare.net/MarilynPontius/training-a-new-breed-of-rural-librarians.
The closing event of the conference was a luncheon during
which several awards were presented. One of my colleagues, Ms Lisa Key, was
awarded the Maryland Library Association Paraprofessional Award. The luncheon concluded with an author
interview of Kate Alcot, the author of The
Dressmaker: A Novel. The book is about the life of a young dressmaker who
survived the sinking of the Titanic. The interview was staged to recreate two
people having tea on the Titanic, which was a nice touch.
Overall, the conference was a wonderful experience. The
conference committee did an outstanding job. I hope I will be able to attend
more MLA/DLA conferences in the future!
Reference:
MLA.
(2012). What is MLA? Retrieved May 16,
2012, from http://www.mdlib.org/Default.asp
