SLA: the sixth

This is the sixth and final post in a series detailing my time in Phoenix for SLA 2017.

Tuesday brought another early morning. One of the committees I'm currently involved in is SLA's Public Task Force. This group is tasked with keeping abreast with the policies coming from the current government, and reporting how they may affect libraries or other information science areas. This was the first time we spoke in person, having only had a previous conference call, and was mostly an overview of what we wanted to focus on in the coming months. Certainly, the Copyright, and possible de-funding of the IMLS are important to our industries, and will be primary ones. The new healthcare bill was also discussed, though more discussion is still needed.

A highlight of Tuesday's sessions was Tracy Maleeff's solo presentation on Information Security in Libraries. She presented the information is such a way that made it easy-to-follow for even those with no Security experience, discussing such topics as hacking, DDOS strikes, how to protect yourselves when using public networks, and basic rules of common sense. The internet is a very public place, and in this day and age, when we're always connected, it is more important to ensure our online safety. Tracy Maleeff's presentation was a great introduction for this newbie to a lot of the terms and need-to-know rules and of safety.

And in a strong finish was the Closing Keynote, Dr. Moribah Jah. His speech tied very strongly into the theme of "Dream Jobs" from the previous day's keynote, as it sparked many discussions, both on Twitter as we all tweeted along, as well as in person, what we can accomplish with our degrees and in looking for jobs. He was dynamic, and intelligent, and sparked all our curiosities about "space trash".

Check out his Ted Talk Here:

And with his speech, so did the 2017 conference come to a close. We welcomed everyone to Baltimore for next year's conference, and said our parting words, and it was wishing friends and colleagues safe travels and warm wishes until next meeting.

As we parted ways, I met back up with C., who had spent the last three days in Tuscon with his aunt. We drove back to his cousins' house, where we would spend the night before leaving the next morning. After grabbing dinner, we also met up with his aunt, so I had a chance to visit before we left. (I had last seen/met her at C.'s father's end-of-life ceremony in 2015 - her brother - this was a much better, more pleasant meeting.)

And the next morning, we were gone. Back to Pittsburgh. Back to "real life". But there was so much I brought back with me from this conference. I spoke to a number of different vendors, the information of which I brought back to present to my boss and work as a way to help improve our library.

This year's SLA was a very different experience. It's my first attending as a Solo Librarian, and also my first, in which I was able and encouraged to bring information back. (Having previously worked for a Vendor, I was certainly not bringing back competitors' knowledge.) It's the first SLA in what I learned, and what I discussed, and what information I collected, has a real impact on the work I am doing.

What I learned this year in Phoenix, and what I continue to learn as a member of SLA, will help shape the library I currently work in. It is something I look forward to continuing doing.