Observations of Another First Timer
Even though I have been out of MLS school for 2 1/2 years, this is my first year at an MLA conference. So far I am having a wonderful time and it really is a learning experience.
Watching Nancy Pearl’s presentation was a delight. Towards the end of her presentation, she noted three “Perils of a Life of Reading”
1. You develop a reading vocabulary instead of a speaking vocabulary. For example, you pronounce “tulle” as “tul-lay”.
2. You find your vocabulary changing. If you read in terms of the context of the paragraph instead of looking the word up in a dictionary, can lead you down the wrong path. Especially when the context of “dying of consumption” leads you to belive the poor person ate to death.
3. Are your memories your’s or those of a book? Did that green dress you wore to the prom really happen to you or to the main character of “Double Date”?
After a longer than expected lunch (go to Nonna’s for good Italian!), I realized I missed my tour to see the UN Collection at Meyer Library. One conference newbie lesson learned: be flexible. So instead of touring Meyer Library, I attend a session on active learning presented by two of my colleagues at Saint Louis University. One point that Martha Allen and Mikael Kriz pointed out is that most students remember 70% of the first 10 minutes of a library instruction session. After that, they only retain 20%. Martha and Mikael talked about ways to actively teach students, instead of offering a standard lecture session that will only be partially effective.
The highlight of my sessions today was on edgy teen fiction with Lynn Evarts. Even though I work for an academic library, I have always had an interest in young adult literature. Lynn discussed how to handled a challenged book (it’s also Banned Books Week!), and offered suggestions on titles to add to your collection that are edgy, but teen readers can relate to the topics and/or characters. She remarked several times how her teens scoop up these certain books and the positive feedback she received. Lynn offered numerous recommendations on books that deal with LGBT, school violence, teacher/student relationships, abuse, and many others. Two websites Lynn mentioned for additional resources are KT Horning’s blog on LGBT teen literature (http://worththetrip.wordpress.com) and VOYA Online (http://www.voya.com).
Since I mostly handle the web design duties of Pius Library and the Medical Center Library at SLU, the majority of the sessions I am planning to attend tomorrow have to deal with web services. However, I was thinking of skipping the tagging session and attend the viticulture librarian session. Free wine samples or Library 2.0 tools. Hmm, tough decision. *No offense to the tagging session organizers, but I will probably see you there!*
~~ Jodie L. Borgerding, Electronic Resources/Web Services Reference Assistant
Saint Louis University
Tags: molib2007
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