This post is an example of how 2.0 technology doesn’t just make itself work. It has been probably four months since I have made any updates to the blog, and I have nobody to blame but myself. My late New Year’s Resolution is to keep my blog updated more often.
So I just got back from a very intense 5 days in Seattle. I was at the ACRL 2009 conference and my days were packed with library goodness. Some of the highlights of the first few days:
Thursday
- When I found out that Naomi Klein was sick and wouldn’t be the keynote speaker, I headed down to Left Bank Books , the coolest independent bookstore in Seattle.
- Went to the orientation for ACRL n00bs. I was overwhelmed by the amount of opportunities available to use the organization to grow leadership skills. Also overwhelmed by the number of young, talented, librarians out there.
- Had Nutella Crepe from La Creperie Voila for dinner.
Friday
- This was my first, but not last, trip to Top Pot Doghnuts. (Old Fashioned Glazed)
- Went to first panel session We’re Not Playing Around: Gaming literate librarians = Information Literate Students
This sessions was really great because it talked about how to use game design theory as a tool to help design information literacy classes. The materials don’t appear to be posted on the ACRL virtual conference website yet, but are available on presenter Nicholas Schiller’s website. - Went to panel session entitled Beyond Literacy: Are Reading and Writing Doomed?. This was by far the craziest session I went to. There were reference to the Borg Collective and Q Continuum. Also, not sure if I was hearing this right, but think cylon regeneration technology was mentioned as a possibility for the far future. I love dangerous ideas, and this panel session had plenty.
- Lunch at Baguette Box. (Spanish Chorizo on Baguette with Harissa Oil, Aioli, and Caramelized Onions.)
- As part of my continuing efforts to build leadership experience I went to Advancing Your Claim to Campus Leadership: Reaching the Summit One Toehold at a Time. I actually took a lot out of this session and found myself wishing that I could have applied things I learned to previous positions. But life is all about learning, so now I can take the info and apply it to current and future endeavors.
- Went to Solve It!: Challenging students through puzzles. This session makes me wish I had gone to MIT. The library there created an advertising campaign that involved complex puzzles that could only be solved using library resources. They paid extra to have them put on the puzzle page of the student paper, and then offered a prize drawing for correct answers. PURE BRILLIANCE!
- Sherman Alexie’s Keynote speech was awesome and we were first in line to get our books signed.
Laura Dowler, Librarian 