Conference Time with the Massachusetts Library Association

When we’re getting ready to go on a trip, my husband is the one to make the reservations, prepare checklists, get out the suitcases, remind me to pack the night before, fill up the car with gas, go over the checklists, see that all the windows are closed before we leave, etc. I’m the one who slides into the passenger seat at the last minute and says, “What’s that funny smell?”

I was going overnight to Worcester by myself yesterday for the Massachusetts Library Association Conference (Through the Library Lens) and so I did the prep work myself. Which is why, when it was time to leave the conference and check in at the hotel before coming back for dinner, I had to look in my email to see whether I was at the Hilton Garden Inn or the Holiday Inn Express, which are both right near the DCU Conference Center. (It’s possible that I rely on my smartphone too much.) And, yes, I was a teensy bit late getting to Worcester in the morning because I didn’t allow time for traffic.

I attended a morning presentation on library advocacy, which I will write more about later. A fun reader’s advisory session in the afternoon offered tips for helping readers find their next book and for not being afraid because you don’t know all the books. (“Embrace the fear!”) For the last session of the day,  I participated in a panel discussion myself on the topic of continuing education in reader’s advisory.  Talk about embracing the fear!

But the audience was great – even staying till 5:30 because it was the very last session of the day. It was fun to see how passionate so many people are about matching books with readers.

I took a walk this morning. It’s springtime in Worcester!

Today I’ll be going to Speed Dating with the Massachusetts Authors hosted by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and having lunch with some of the authors, including (I hope) Patry Francis, the author of my favorite book of 2014, The Orphans of Race Point.