Cardigans, Community, and Conference Chaos
I spent the final days of May in Houston at the annual Texas Library Association (TLA) conference. A full three days traversing the massive George R. Brown Convention Center attending sessions, volunteering, and catching up with friends. TLA is always an enjoyable, yet exhausting experience. The social battery was definitely drained when I got back home.
This was an unusual conference for me as I served on the Conference Planning Committee (CPC) for this year’s event. I spent the twelve months leading up to the conference working with about twenty-five other librarians from all across Texas, and from every library type, to plan this behemoth. Guided by TLA staff, and the vision of this year’s TLA President, the CPC combed over session proposals, hashed out the theme, and served as a core group of volunteers to help make the conference a success for nearly five-thousand other Texas Librarians.
I enjoyed the experience of learning how this conference I have been attending for the past nine years comes together from the inside. Plus, it was a great opportunity to give back to the organization that has given me so much knowledge and friendship over my near decade career as a librarian.
This year’s conference theme was “Cultivating Community, Thriving Together.” I feel that theme really drives home what we librarians try to do for those we serve. School, Public, Academic, or Special, all librarians work to build up the communities they serve.
Anyways, CPC is broken up into several subcommittees. I served on the Information and Meeting Room Assistance subcommittee. In short, our little team of five librarians worked the conference’s information desks. We answered questions, helped presenters get IT support for their sessions, and gathered head counts for each session to see which topics were the most popular. That data will be used to form next year’s sessions or to create webinars. Working on the Meeting Room Assistance subcommittee felt very much like a day at the library’s circulation desk.
Other than my CPC duties, I volunteered at the author signing area in the exhibit hall. I performed crowd control while wearing a snazzy red apron and holding a dry-erase board with the author’s name on it. I got to manage the line for Katherine Center. The very popular author of romance novels like “The Bodyguard” and “The Rom-Commers.” That was a hectic but fun two hours.
To round out my volunteer duties, I worked a shift at the Partners Library Action Network (PLAN) booth in the exhibit hall. I serve on the board for that organization. Conference is a good opportunity to talk with librarians and share information about PLAN’s professional development opportunities and other services we offer to member libraries, like the popular circulating large-print collection.
Despite the busy nature of my volunteer schedule, I did manage to catch a few educational sessions. Admittedly, it wasn’t as many as I would have liked, but the few I made it to were very helpful. I went to a session on personal branding which finally inspired me to set up an online portfolio. Something I have been meaning to do for ages.
I got to see John Leguizamo talk about his new children’s book, “Kiki and the Can.” A graffiti inspired tale that discusses influential persons of Hispanic descent. I will definitely be getting a copy for my library when it comes out. I saw Library Joy spreader, and host of the recently revived “Reading Rainbow", show Mychal Threets in the hallway. I wanted to get a picture with him, but he was already surrounded by a “cardigan” (a joke term for a large group of librarians) of librarians.
I heard from Marie Semple who has a new book coming out called “Go Gentle.” A strange mashup of romance and Stoicism that I will likely not be reading despite being given a free copy. I did enjoy hearing from Christian Robinson on his new children’s book “Dad,” which I’ve already read to my youngest daughter. The heartbreaking dedication, “to caregivers who give what they never got,” really hit me as I, like Robinson, am son to an absentee father.
Kate Quinn spoke at one of the keynote sessions on her new book “The Astral Library,” which is her latest magical realism novel where downtrodden people gain access to a secret library. Any book they pick up and read actually transports them inside the storyline. That’s a power I desperately longed for as a kid, and if I am being honest, sometimes still long for as an adult. Books have always been an escape for me. A chance to live a life other than my own.
I had an enjoyable, yet exhausting, experience at this year’s conference. I love going and being surrounded by fellow book nerds and information access enthusiasts. It’s refreshing. While I enjoy the educational component of going to conference and getting to meet authors. The best part about TLA, for me, is catching up with my colleagues and friends that I have probably not seen since last year’s conference. That may sound cliche, but I have definitely found my people here and made some, what I hope will be, lifelong connections.