Library Technicians ROCK…in the mountains

This weekend I’ll be sipping tea while staring up at the snow-capped Rocky Mountains surrounding Canmore, Alberta for the 38th Annual Alberta Association of Library Technicians Conference, aptly themed “Achieving Balance”. For there’s a lot on the plates of library staff these days – with fewer forks to go around.

So we’re out there digging into the meat and potatoes aspects of our jobs: cataloguing, processing, shelving, circulation, as well as the rich desserts: readers advisory, fostering the love of reading and information literacy, inquiry-based research, literature searches, database and website maintenance, Twitter, Facebook, author visits, book fairs, special events, purchasing, collection development – all the while struggling to increase awareness of our skills, finding new ways to work with teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals to make sure they can do their jobs efficiently.

Balance. Yup, it’s a tricky thing.

Which is why conferences like this are so important. Library types can hang out (we don’t even shush each other), share resources, brain pick, and have some pretty cool “ah-ha” moments – and enjoy the glory that is nature. The trails, lakes, forests, wild life.

I can’t wait to attend the fantastic workshops I’ve registered for, catch up with my library friends, as well as present my own take on Virtual Author Visits to DIE For. My session will feature a pre-recorded message from the very cool YA steampunk author, Arthur Slade and a live Skype visit by the great YA paranormal fiction author, Shannon Delany.

Bring. It. On.