Where's the Coffee? Experiencing the Ontario Library Association Super Conference

By Stacey Nordlund

You’ve probably heard it a million times: one of the key elements of developing your career path as an information professional is networking, networking, networking.  And what better way to network than to attend a professional conference with thousands of other librarians?

That’s exactly what I did in February when I attended the Ontario Library Association’s (OLA) Super Conference 2011 in Toronto, Ontario.  This four-day event is the largest library conference in Canada, and information professionals from across Canada – and even from the U.S. – trekked into the city to attend despite the sudden snowstorm and frigid temperatures.  Because the population in Canada is widely spread out over a large land mass, the annual Ontario Library Association conference is a unique opportunity for librarians from across the country to interact and share ideas in person.  As an added bonus, out-of-towners get to spend some time experiencing the culture and sights of the largest and most diverse city in Canada.

Meet and Greet: The California Library Association Conference

By Andrew Carlos

Every year, California librarians converge in one location to browse aisles of new library-related products, hear about new developments in the library world and share ideas with their colleagues. This past year, the California Library Association (CLA) Conference was held in Sacramento and I had the opportunity to attend and present.

One of the best things about attending a conference is learning new ideas from innovators in the library world. Even better is to be one of these innovators. I had the chance to present a poster session that would be viewable for the duration of the exhibition hall. The session was focused on technology and education: using mobile apps for education. With the wide variety of applications out there, I highlighted the ones that were useful for students: information retrieval apps and productivity apps. The session was very well received and many attendees were surprised that each of the apps were ones that I use in my everyday life.