Thursday, July 30, 2009

NMRT President (so far)

I've started my term as NMRT President. The committee appointments are pretty much done. I have written my first short article for the August issue of Footnotes. I've even started working with the chair of the President's Program committee about my program idea for the 2010 Annual Conference. The term is up at the end of June (a short year compared to 2008-2009) and I know it will fly by.

Speaking of the 2008-2009 president, Laurel Bliss noted that AL Direct highlighted a resume review service video featuring Sarah Johnson. Johnson was one of the speakers at the NMRT President's Program on July 11.

We're trying something new this year and hosting our orientation sessions for new board members and new committee members online. I'm almost done capturing the content from previous orientations in the session slides I'm creating. We'll do the training using Opal, the software ALA has made available for this type of work. Fingers crossed!

Friday, July 17, 2009

ALA Chicago 2009

This was my longest and busiest ALA ever. I arrived in Chicago on July 9 and did not return home until July 16. Here are some of the highlights of my week.

I answered a total of four reference questions on the streets of Chicago. Three of them were directional. Only one required a reference interview. I was actually able to answer all of them. Correctly. Definitely a highlight of my conference.

ALA Meetings: I attended all of the Council meetings (I, II, and III), ALA-APA Council, and the Council Forum on July 13. I attended the second ALA Membership Meeting on July 13. I staffed the Resolutions table in the (surprisingly conveniently located) ALA Office area on July 10, and attended the committee meeting on July 11.

NMRT Meetings: I attended part of the TOLD committee meeting the morning of July 10 before running to the other end of McCormick Place to attend the Round Table Coordinating Assembly meeting. I attended the Orientation bright and early (8-10am) on Saturday, July 11. That afternoon, Laurel Bliss and Amanda Roberts, and I represented the round table at the "Conference for a Day" luncheon. Tracie Hall was the featured speaker and is always a treat to listen to and hear. The Conference for a Day was one of Jim Rettig's wonderful Presidential initiatives. On Sunday evening, I attended the NMRT Awards Reception and took several photos. July 13 at 8am I finally arrived at the NMRT Board meeting (despite leaving my hotel and hour before due to some shuttle bus traffic) where I posted about the meeting from the NMRT Twitter.

NMRT at Membership Pavilion

Executive Board Events and Meetings: I was introduced as a new board member at the Inaugural Banquet on July 14. I was officially seated on the board at their third meeting the afternoon on July 15. We were scheduled to meet from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. We did not adjourn until 5:30pm, but it was an enjoyable meeting.

When I was not or running between meetings, there was time (although not enough of it) to connect with friends and colleagues. I also made some new friends. After the Scholarship Bash, Amanda and I wandered around Millennium Park. I'm glad she dragged me along.

Millennium Park