I am back in my office after my whirlwind experience and, fortified with leftover Halloween candy, am contemplating all the exciting ideas and insights and, yes, epiphanies that I experienced at the ACRL Washington and Oregon Fall Conference this year. I would like to begin by thanking you, ACRL members, for allowing me the opportunity to attend the conference this year on a scholarship. As it turns out, we were short-staffed at our library that week and only one librarian was available to attend the conference. Since this scholarship was offered to me, I trumped the other librarian who was planning on attending. On my return, however, I made the suggestion that we always plan on having at least two of our librarians attend because I wish I could have participated in all of the sessions and been in two places at once. I realized that all of the ideas and exchanges that occurred when I thought I was just having fun were actually relevant ideas and exchanges that I needed to share with my library. It was a very positive experience.

The conference schedule and the environment at Pack Forest had all the makings for a relaxing, contemplative two days. I did not say boring! There were so many interesting people to meet, so many issues to discuss, and so much good information to digest that I am thankful that I had those moments to walk to my room, take a stroll around the grounds, enjoy the crisp, sunny fall day, the misty morning and the chilly night walk back to my room. But, by far, my favorite part of the conference were the organizers, presenters, participators in my discussion groups, total-stranger roommates, board game partners, past scholarship winners and ACRL position recruiters. It is a rare trick to be able to talk shop in a social setting and not come off as boring, but we do share interests and I was interested to hear about how other libraries function and struggle and thrive. And no, you are not boring.

I chose to attend the first session on Information Literacy from two-year to four-year educational institutions. At our two-year institution we have been asking the same questions that this session presented. What Information Literacy requirements do students have in their first year? What competencies should we require of students completing their second year? What competencies will they need to continue on to a four-year educational institution? The answer is….we need to have more dialogue between two- and four-year educational institutions before we are comfortable with an answer. I attended this session hoping that I would be given an answer, but what I received was actually better than that. Instead, the presenters facilitated group discussions that were meant to identify the competencies that we felt were appropriate for second-year students. Our comments were then presented at the end of the session and, while there were good comments that I am still considering, ultimately, the results illustrated the need for Information Literacy professionals, at all levels of education, to communicate with each other about how to measure the impact of Information Literacy instruction.

The second session I attended was called “Tale of Two Classes” and I really had no expectations for this one. I was wowed. I highly recommend you visit both of these instructors’ webpages: Theresa Mudrock from UW and Heather Ward from UO (there should be a link from the conference webpage). Let me just say, the day I returned from this conference, I was asked to teach a class that I probably would have hesitated to accept a week ago. I accepted it. Theresa and Heather reminded me how creative and fulfilling teaching can be and I am looking forward to taking some risks and taking some ownership in my teaching. It might just be the invigoration that comes after a conference, but I really don’t think I will look at Information Literacy classes in the same way.

The chapter meetings were held the evening and this was an opportunity to put faces to the names of the movers-and-shakers and the Washington ACRL chapter. Seriously, the chapter meetings are a good place to recognize peers and professionals in your state and to hear about some of the events and issues that are relevant to your area. I would like to add that I appreciate those of you who are willing to participate so that events like the fall conference happen.

The evening ended with a party in Pack Hall. Pack Hall is a large but intimate room and this is where the debriefing from the day happens. When you get a large group of individuals together, especially professionals, you sometimes need an “icebreaker” event to get people to mingle. That was not the case here.

I don’t know how many of the members of ACRL are old friends, but I am new, and I felt as comfortable as if I were with old friends. There was food, “spirits,” competition (board games) and conversation. On top of everything that I learned on this day, I also learned to always pick the librarian to be on your team if you are playing a board game.

The first session I attended Friday morning was titled “What are Hallmarks of Collections for First and Second Year College Students?” Good question! Once again, this is a question I had been wondering about and was planning on researching and, once again, I had expectations of a definitive answer, a list, that I could walk away with. I didn’t walk away with a “core collection” list, but I am grateful that Natalie and Jennifer researched the question for me. Basically, the core collection list does not exist, because every library needs to identify who they serve, what curriculum they support and what the library’s collection mission is. I do feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about my approach to collection development after their presentation, which included an opportunity for other librarians to share what they do and have in their collection.

I was also looking forward to gathering some ideas and insights about how to collaborate more/better with faculty at my college. The second session I attended on Friday was titled “The Collaborative Environment” and was presented by librarians and faculty from Western Washington University. Cecilia and Margaret shared some of the strategies they use to establish partnerships on campus and outside the library. They also invited a faculty member, Dr. Keith Hyatt, to give insight from the faculty’s point of view. It is very helpful to see ongoing and successful collaborations between librarians and faculty and I wrote copious notes with all of the ideas appearing in this session. Once again, the discussion time set aside to offer other librarians an opportunity to discuss and compare their unique experiences was very helpful.

The closing session was a memorable presentation titled “Information and the Quality of Life” and I was open to hearing what David Levy had to say. Ultimately, I was reminded, I needed to take all of the information that I had absorbed in the past two days and make it relevant and meaningful in my life. It was good to acknowledge that most of us struggle with balancing what is urgent with what is important, and that we need to be conscious about the quality of our lives. As educators that deal with frantic students every day, maybe we should look into this concept a little deeper, for our students as well as for ourselves. I have been peppering my discussions with the words “contemplate” and “zen” since I’ve gotten back to work.

I am very appreciative of the opportunity to attend the ACRL Fall Conference, and I highly recommend the experience to all of you out there who have not gone to one yet and think that this writing will suffice. There is really no way to give the experience justice in a concise manner. I am looking forward to see you again next year (on my dime). Next time I will bring a colleague with me and I hope to see new faces as well.

Kiki Tommila