A recap of my first OALT/ABO Conference experience
I was selected by the Ottawa Chapter to go to the OALT/ABO Conference this past May. I was already designated as a presenter at the Conference, but was very excited to be able to take in the full experience of the weekend! My co-presenter and I drove down from Ottawa on Wednesday night, so we would be ready to start our day on Thursday morning.
We presented at one of the morning sessions at 9 a.m. Our presentation ‘From Snaps to Apps – Social Media Use in Libraries’ was well attended. My second session of the morning was ‘AWE Books – Equality, Inclusion and Social Justice in Books’ and it was very enlightening. The presenter brought books with her that touched on a variety of topics that children and teens are facing today. This hit home a bit for me, as I have a niece who is 10 and suffers from three different types of anxiety. The presenter also had a good selection of children and teen books, and at the end we all got to take a free book! (Who doesn’t love free books?!). At lunch, I got to meet some of the members of the Association and to compare notes from our earlier sessions. After lunch, I had signed up for the Belleville Library and John M. Parrott Gallery tour. The tour was so much fun as their library is fairly new (I believe it opened in 2016). We were escorted around and shown some of the new features the library had just implemented, as they had completed a renovation to include an archives section for the county. We were also shown the gallery and the CEO talked about the types of things they include and how they go about curating their collection.
Day two started off well, as I had signed up for the ‘Wellness at Work: Ergonomics at Your Workstation and Other Tips’ session. This was not only an interactive session, where we stretched our bodies, but also very informative, as the principles of ergonomics are very important to implement, to maximize the efficiency of our work environment. The presenter gave us tips and tricks that we could take back to our workplaces, so we could set our workstations up correctly! I had originally signed up to do the tour of the Royal Canadian Air Force Museum. However, I developed a migraine and could not attend that.
I was however feeling better and finally able to attend the Awards Banquet. The staff at the hotel did a great job of setting up the room: we were greeted with a beautiful sapphire colored set-up which was quite lovely. The food was yummy and the chatter at our table was quite amusing and a great way to get to know my fellow technicians. The best part of the evening was the actual Awards Presentations. Hearing the amazing work done over her career by Sharon Wigney, the President’s Award winner, made it really hit home that library technicians are not just support staff, but are an integral part of the library.
On my final day I chose sessions that I thought would be fun. My morning started with the ‘Bullet Journaling’ session. Bullet journaling is something I have wanted to do for quite sometimes, but, I just never knew how to get started. The session was interactive and fun! The presenter showed us the tools she uses and let us create some sample pages as well. Needless to say, when I got back to Ottawa I got my very own bullet journal and started whipping up some pages! My last session before our Annual General Meeting was ‘Laughter Yoga’. I was not sure what to expect from this session — would we be doing downward dog while giggling or was it something else? Well we definitely did not get into weird poses. Laughter yoga is all about laughing as a way of relaxation and stress relief. The one thing the instructor said, and I didn’t know it was true till it happened, was that our bodies do not know the difference between fake laughter and genuine laughter. Although our group started out with some fake laugher, the situations the presenter created were amusing and we soon found ourselves with genuine laughter! Between bouts of laughter there were deep breathing exercises and even chanting. After the session ended, I think we all agreed we had a blast laughing it out.
Wrapping up the Conference was the Annual General Meeting. The thing I really enjoyed about the meeting was the open dialogue the Executive had with the members. Sometimes there are groups where the Executive and the members do not seem in touch with one another, but it was not the case here. It had been quite some time since I had been to a formal meeting, so it was great to see that in action. It was also exciting to watch the new Board members get elected and I look forward to seeing the great things they’ll do over the next year for the Association and its members.
I want to thank the Ottawa Chapter of the OALT/ABO for sponsoring me to attend this year’s Conference. I gained valuable information and made connections that I am sure I will carry with me as I continue my studies and career.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
FYI, some of the 2018 Conference session presentations are now available online at: https://oaltabo.on.ca/conference/past-conferences/2018-conference-session-materials/
Please note that OALT/ABO has been informed by a number of users who are using Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, that there are issues opening up the PowerPoint presentations on this page. Please use another browser or contact us at conference@oaltabo.on.ca for an alternative format. … Thank you!