PLA 2008

Public Library Association Conference
March 26-29, 2008
Minneapolis, MN

The Public Library Association Conference was an excellent opportunity to find out what people in other parts of the country are doing to manage change and innovate with new and improved service.

The opening session keynote speaker on Wednesday March 26 was John Wood founder of Room to Read. Room to Read is a non-profit dedicated to building village and school libraries in the developing world. Mr. Wood outlined the steps of how to build a successful program. He gave both managers and non-managers food for thought. After the opening session several us went to the PLA reception for new conference attendees. It was a relaxed party that gave us an opportunity to meet colleagues from other parts of the country. There really were a lot of Midwestern attendees. I met one librarian from a small town in northeast Iowa, she really did do it all at her town library.

Thursday March 27, was the first full day of conference meetings and lectures. The most useful and interesting lectures were on providing library service to the Latino community and Weeding. Both lectures provided practical information that I can put into place immediately. The weeding workshop was mostly review, but gave guidelines that all libraries can use MUSTIE (Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant and May be obtained Elsewhere). The lecture on providing services to the Latino community was a case study of a federally funded grant in Athens, GA. Some of the most interesting things this community found were using arts are bridge between communities and reaching into the community through partnerships with other service providers were keys to the success of their program.

Friday March 28 found the Montgomery County librarians going off in various directions to discover new and exciting changes in libraries. Stress Management aka Time Management was the topic in Everyone’s Getting Crabbier. I thought the 2006 MCPL staff day presentation “Make Room for Joy” was more practical and fun. Our neighbors in Howard County, Brian Auger and Amy De Groff presented a lecture on innovation entitled “Dangerous Ideas” Challenges to the status quo”. “What if we stopped cataloging, required library staff to have expertise in using technology, Cooperated fully with the FBI, embraced mistakes allowed the freedom to become risk takers, didn’t make decisions based on fear/scarcity but based on abundance and ubiquity ect.? It was thought provoking and we formed groups to discuss topics with out seating neighbors. Customer Service was the topic of Great Libraries for Dummies. This was an informative session on what 10 things all libraries should be doing to improve customer service that included ideas on empowering the customer, merchandising with impact and power, and becoming an integral part of the community.

Finally, the PLA closing session on Saturday provided entertainment by Paula Poundstone. Her take on libraries and librarians was quite funny.


Dianne Whitaker
Twinbrook Library