The sun has taken its leave of us, but I must say that as a first time visitor, I’m enjoying seeing Seattle in both rainy and sunny weather. Saturday was another full day, though I’ve felt less pressured than at some other conferences, because I know that much that can be re-visited later on the virtual conference site.

I camped out in the Cyber Zed Shed for a good portion of the day where there were several widget-related presentations (Sprout, Library Subject Guide Widgets, Online Info Lit Tool) that focused on portability, flexibility, and customization. In my opinion, this is definitely where libraries are headed.

I also attended a panel session, Mapping Your Path to the Mountaintop: Planning Where You Want To Be In Your Career which was moderated by Steven Bell. It was informative and inspiring and included input from the audience too. If you missed this one, I highly recommend that you check out the recorded version.

I had dinner at Dragonfish (tasty!) before grabbing a shuttle back to SeaTac for my flight out Saturday night. I will leave Seattle with a lot to think about. And really, the conference is not over, because there are several things I missed or want to review on the virtual conference site. I hoping some of the conversations will continue too.

Maybe I’m finally getting used to the pace of things, but making my way between sessions, posters, and Cyber Zed Shed seems much more manageable on the second day. I stopped by the Resume Review Service this morning, which I can’t recommend enough for new librarians and job seekers. I believe all the sessions have been reserved, but Annual offers Resume Review for all attendees, and if you’re a member of the New Members Round Table, you can take advantage of their online resume reviewing service year-round.

As a new librarian and recent graduate, I’m especially looking forward to “Mapping Your Path to the Mountaintop: Planning Where You Want To Be In Your Career” presented by Steven Bell, John Shank, Brian Mathews, and Lauren Pressley this afternoon.

For lunch I’m going to Honey Hole in Capitol Hill on the recommendation of a friend. What can I say, I love sandwiches! Also, did I miss something or is there no time allotted for lunch like yesterday? I like attending sessions, but I also like eating!

Hi, everyone.  After last night’s first-time orientation, I decided to go out with my wife for a few sight-seeing adventures.  We went to the Space Needle (our third time), and the view was, as always, beyond my ability to describe it.  Rainier stood majestically to the south, behind Seattle’s elegant skyline.  The snow blanketed Olympics were not too shabby, either.  Afterward, we went to the Market and had a small meal at the 100-year-old Athenian Inn, a place I thoroughly recommend.  Even though it’s in the Market, the crowd didn’t seem very touristy, and it had an “authentic” vibe.  The $2.99 fish ‘n’ chips were very good, especially for the price. 

This morning’s activities have been productive and stimulating.  I went to the Beyond the Basics session, which focused on ways to provide customized research services for Faculty and Students.  Although the focus was on grad students, the session had relevance in a community college setting, as it provided new ways of thinking about what faculty (in any institution) might want from the library.  Here are the four main questions they considered and some of the answers.

1) How can librarians learn more about thier faculty and support their research?

• ask them (and really listen)
• socialize with faculty
• create institutional repositories (not really a CC thing, I suppose)
• be active on task forces and committees
• attend departmental meetings in your liaison area, whenever possible
• interview faculty about their needs

2) What types of new/customized services can librarians develop to support student/faculty research?

• IR (again)
• take services out of the library and to other sites on campus
• create course-specific content in CMS
• use blogging as a way to perform outreach (example: the EdLibReport blog by USF librarian, Susan Ariew - one of the presenters)

3) Given the ubiquity of electronic resources, how important is the library as place for faculty members/students?

• comfort with tech doesn’t necessarily equal skil with tech
• space for students and faculty to get what they need
• collaborative work
• physical interaction with library resources and librarians
• a place of their own for their research and projects (Scholar Commons)

4) What new roles can librarians play to bring library collections and services to the table?

• library as publisher
• IR (related to the publishing concept
• partner with admin and others to get the word out about the library
• conduct specialized workshops: e.g., APA, copyright, Impact Factors

Thanks to the librarians from USF and FSU who put together a very informative session!

As day one of the conference unfolded, I had two thoughts: First, there is so much going on — I can’t imagine the complexities that went into planning this event. Bravo to the organizers! Second, while there is a lot to take in, the conference is small enough and focused enough to not be completely overwhelming.

I was very glad that I made it to the First-Time Attendee Orientation. It was enlightening to find out some ways to participate beyond just committees (e.g. writing, blogging, teaching.) The virtual aspect of the conference was highlighted, and I am looking forward to continuing some of the conversations with both the virtual and in-person attendees after the conference is over. I am also cautiously optimistic about the announcement of a soon-to-be-released ALA social networking app that has the potential to break down some of the barriers and make the organization more flexible and participatory.

It was disappointing to learn that Naomi Klein would not be doing the keynote, but with the virtual conference being active for the next year, maybe when she’s feeling better, she would be willing to record her talk and post the audio there?

Since this is also my first time visiting Seattle, I did a city tour and spent lunch exploring Pike’s Place Market on this beautiful, sunny day. I had the chowder and crab roll combo at Pike Place Chowder, and all I can say is YUM! It was the best food served in a paper boat I’ve had in a while.

Today is not a normal day here in Seattle. Today is the day when thousands of academic librarians from around the country and around the world gather in sunny Seattle for the  ACRL National Conference! I am so excited! I attended the first-time attendee orientation this afternoon with my fellow MILS students and I was surprised by the size of the room and the number of librarians and future librarians who are first-time conference attendees. This eased my fears about attending a large national library conference! I met a sweet librarian from UMASS Amherst. I went to Smith for a year and took many classes at UMASS and love that UMASS has such a huge library.

In the network session after the orientation I met two cool librarians (future) from Japan! We talked a little and I learned a little about them. Turns out both worked at the National Library of Japan and had never met before! I was happy to have introduced them to one another. This experience was funny, because in a large room of people they stood only a few feet away and turns out they have the same boss in Japan! I now regret not having ordered any business cards to give out, but I told them I would find them on facebook. I remember the guy because his last name was Yoda (like from Star Wars). I will search for him later tonight.

Before leaving the networking/ connecting event I stopped by the science and technology group to say hi and pick up a brochure. The woman a the table was from University of Michigan and very friendly. Turns out she knows my boss.  Maybe I will consider becoming a science and engineering librarian, but right now I am happy just assisting them. I love working with engineers and if I went back to college I would study aerospace engineering!

My real interests are Tribal libraries, access to information for Native American communities and  incorporating Native American languages into Native community libraries, but I am also interested in international education especially in American academic libraries. I spent my junior year abroad in Germany and experienced a totally different University library system. I think that international students that come to the U.S. to study are amazed by American libraries.  Even today while talking to the Japanese students I asked many questions about libraries in Japan. 

 Today I learned that although each library is different, we can all learn something from each other. I think this is the main lesson from today’s ACRL first-time orientation.I am looking forward to learning more about what’s going on in libraries across the U.S. and around the world!

P.S. some cool places to visit:

 Seattle Public Library Central Branch-downtown

Suzzallo Library- University of Washington

Luke Wing Museum- International District Chinatown

Museum of Flight- near Boeing Field (bus available from downtown)

Seattle Art Museum- downtown and  Asian Art Collection on Capitol Hill

Ballard Locks- Ballard

What a beautiful day for a tour of the city! According to our tour guide, it is rare treat to experience the best Seattle on such a clear, crisp day. I had a great time meeting other tour goers including Paul from my hometown of Santa Clara, CA who works for Santa Clara University Library and Helga who hails from Alberta, Canada and my fellow blogger Jack from Texas!

Among the highlights of the tour was an exploration of the Crittenden Locks, a wonderful walk through Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Art Museum (my favorite sculpture was Roy McMakin’s “Love & Loss”), a scenic drive over the floating bridge to Mercer Island and through the misnamed Magnolia Bluff neighborhood, and a tromp through Pike’s Place Market. If you get a chance to get over there, I highly recommend treating yourself to a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich and cup of delicious tomato soup at Beecher’s. Mmmm, very tasty!

From the bus we saw Bill and Melinda Gates’s house, the headquarters of Amazon, UPS, and Starbucks (AND the very first Starbucks at Pike’s Place!). We were also rewarded with gorgeous views of Mount Rainier, Mount Olympus, and Mount Baker (a rare one to see). I will leave you with a picture of the pounding, misty spray at the Crittenden Locks where boats and fish alike pass between the salt waters of Puget Sound and fresh waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington.

Crittenden Locks

What about you? Did you go on a tour today? What are some of your favorite Seattle sights?

Hi Everyone,

My name is Carissa Tomlinson and I am an Emerging Technologies Librarian at Towson University outside of Baltimore.

Coming from Baltimore, I have a three hour time difference and it’s been hard adjusting. Anyone else from the east coast having problems catching up? We got in late last night which was very last eastern time. But with all of the excitement, sleep didn’t come easily, nor did sleeping in as planned. Let’s hope I make it through today with very little sleep- I’m sure the excitement will keep me going.

On another topic, anyone else staying at the Crown Plaza? You have to pay for Internet, that doesn’t seem fair, which is why I’m writing this from my phone- sorry about the mistakes! I hear the public library is down the block, I’ll be heading there soon. 

See you all soon. 

Carissa

Well, I’ve finally made it to the convention center, and I’m sitting in a comfy chair with my laptop and a cup of earl grey from Tully’s.  It’s not as good as my usual favorite brew, Rington’s, but it will do.  In fact, I hope that the replicator technology from Star Trek will become a reality in my lifetime just so I can say, “Computer. Earl Grey. Hot.”  I’d add a dash of non-fat milk, but that’s me.

Anyway, as you can probably tell from my rambling, I’ve been up since 3am.  I caught the 6 am flight out of Spokane, and I must say that Alaska Airlines, as usual, displayed a lot of courtesy and friendliness.  The flight was pretty smooth, too.  As we landed, we were again amazed at the site of Mt. Ranier.  Ranier  is truly one of the majestic sites in the U.S., and my goal in the near future is to spend time exploring Mt. Ranier National Park.  I understand it was traditionally called Tacoma (or Tahoma), the “Mother of Waters.”  I can well believe in its powers.

I’m very impressed with the venue.  The convention center affords distant views of the Sound, and its right in the midst of it all.  It’s so much better than Anaheim, which, frankly, is in the middle of nowhere, unless you like Disney and chain restaurants (not that there’s anything wrong with that, but sometimes you just need some variety). 

Unfortunately, like many a first-timer, I was not on the ball enough to be registered for any of this mornings panels.  I wanted to go to the copyright workshop, but my ignorance of procedure has prevented me.  The pains of being a newbie…

Perhaps ACRL should develop a first-timer orientation that can be delivered electronically well before the conference to help us neophytes.  I’d even volunteer to help in that effort.  What do y’all think?

After a 10 hour trip from Florida, I finally made it to Seattle. The weather here is indeed a little cooler than the 82 degrees that I left behind, but not bad at all. My colleague from Florida and I went straight to the convention center to register and pick up our programs and conference goodies before registration ended for the day. One of my reasons for wanted to do this was so that I wouldn’t have to get to the convention center *quite* so early tomorrow morning for my preconference. I’m going to the “Managing Change, Diversity and a Multi-Generational Workforce: Developing Effective Skills”  preconference tomorrow which I’m looking forward to. Before the session we were sent some tests to take that would help us identify  our leadership skills, ability to deal with change, and personality types.

I have a public librarian friend who lives here in Seattle, and she was good enough to come get me and take me out to dinner tonight in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. We had a delicious meal at a Thai restaurant there- she had a pumpkin curry that sounded strange but tasted great.  Capitol Hill looks like a really fun neighborhood with a lot of restaurants and off-beat clothes stores.

The time difference is finally catching up me, so I better say goodnight. See you all tomorrow!