The wonderful thing about attending professional conferences is that just about anything said--even casual remarks made in passing--are significant! With that being said, I'd like to share some of the things that were most significant to me while attending this year's (2007) Texas Library Association Conference.
4/11/07 Library Instruction 2.0: Free Online Tools for Teaching with Technology - I attended this workshop because I'd been hearing "web 2.0" being bandied about and wanted to make sure I understood what it was. The presenters, Michelle Boule (Social Sciences Librarian, University of Houston) and Gary Wan (Science and Engineering Librarian, Texas A&M University, College Station) did a great job of defining this "new" technology for me.
Links to handouts they created that reflect their expertise are:
Presentation Wiki--http://garyandmichelle.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
Presentation Slides--http://garyandmichelle.pbwiki.com/Presentation
Resources 2.0--http://garyandmichelle.pbwiki.com/Resources
4/12/07 - General Session I with Isabel Allende - I purchased her latest book, Portrait in Sepia, for my high school library last year. After hearing this author's remarkable story, reading her work is now high on my list of priorties. You can find out more about her at www.isabelallende.com.
4/12/07 - Newest and the Best YA Books with Teri Lesesne - It's always a challenge for me to come up with appropriate books for my high schoolers. Teri Lesesne does a great job both with selection and booktalking the lists she makes. You can find out more about her recommendations at www.professornana.com. Follow especially her links for TLA 2007, Great Books, and 2006 Books of Note. Her booktalking PowerPoint has good pointers if you are considering doing booktalks.
4/13/07 - Tall Texans - If you or others are interested in attending the Texas Library Association's leadership development institute, visit their website at www.txla.org/groups/talltex/tallldi.html.
Google: Tales, Tools, Tips, and Tricks - the presenter showed us how to use various aspects of google to help improve search strategies. More information about using Google Tools can be found at these sites:
www.google.com/coop (to customize search engine)
books.google.com (to locate full-text books, or where to borrow or buy them)
scholar.google.com ("...Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.")
news.google.com (many news sources that are constantly updated)
earth.google.com (combines "...satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings..." with various overlays that offer even more information ranging from seismic activity to travel information.)
Texas Association of Library Administrators - I learned more about this organization while waiting for the Walking Tour to begin and visiting casually with another librarian. I definitely plan to attend one of these workshops to learn more about my roles as District Librarian and gain a greater understanding of library finances. For more information about this organization and summer workshop dates, visit
http://www.txasla.org/workshop.htm.
