"The Visible Librarian: Establish Your Presence on Campus" was not only my first ACRL-WA experience, but was also my first out-of-town professional conference. In addition to being a University of Washington iSchool student, I also work at Foley Center Library at Gonzaga University and was in the wonderful position of being able to bond with some of my Gonzaga co-workers on the drive across our state. Excitement and just a hint of self-deprecating humor (complete with campground signs edited to say that "All Librarians Must Be Leashed") were in the air as we pulled into the Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest. I would soon realize that this playful, informal tone (along with an incredible amount of hard work put in by the conference planning committee and ACRL-WA/OR officers) created an atmosphere that fostered sharing, collegial friendships, and much professional growth.

Jan Davis' opening session, "Library Marketing: A Private Sector Perspective," challenged those of us who are a bit introverted (like me) to change our service behaviors and our patron expectations. We can best meet the needs of our patron populations by building relationships with them and talking positively about the services we provide (like any small business person must to do), instead of waiting for patrons to connect with us. With Jan's unique perspective in mind, we scattered to find our Participant Presentations.

I chose to attend "Science Experiments: Reaching Out to Our Users," put on by dynamic and innovative librarians from the University of Washington. UW Map Librarian Matt Parsons' talk included drawing people into the library with Geocaching (high-tech GPS meets a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt), and Linda Whang shared her experience with setting up a satellite reference desk in the Computer Science and Engineering building. Laura Barrett talked about the personal service she is able to give the UW Psychology department because of her significant presence on the department's website. Stephanie Wright emphasized that the internet could be a middle ground for patrons and librarians if we make library web pages part of the workflow of patrons. We can do this with blogs and RSS feeds, and can track our success using Google Analytics to evaluate our web traffic. Lori Tschirhart added to the web tools discussion by addressing the significance of a library presence within Web 2.0 applications like Facebook, Meebo (embedded instant messaging), and Second Life. Finally, Maureen Nolan illustrated just how powerful a little bit of controversy can be during her discussion of "Topic Tables" at the UW libraries. Topic Tables are double sided and often "deliberately provocative" displays on a particular issue. In one case, a Topic Table called "Global Warming: Myth? Reality?" sparked such a controversy that a group of students created their own poster in response. That's the kind of engagement we'd all love students to have in our libraries! Looking back on this presentation, it's amazing to me that these librarians were able to meaningfully discuss such an impressive number of valuable ideas, projects, and experiences during their allotted hour.

After a quick break, we launched right into Session 2 of the Participant Presentations. I attended "Special Connections: Putting the Power of Special Collections to Work," presented by Steve Silver and Beth Aydelott of Northwest Christian College. Silver is the Library Director at NCC, while Aydelott is a Professor of English, and their collaborations illustrate the incredible potential of librarian/subject instructor relationship. Silver emphasized that making the library a standard part of the learning process was not just good for the students and faculty involved. Such participation also fights the "marginalization of the library." I was inspired by the photos of students reveling in their opportunity to interact with pre-Gutenberg bibles, and invigorated by Aydelott and Silver's enthusiasm for utilizing all the resources at their disposal. Students learn what they do, and bringing them to the special collections department can enhance their personal connection with the subjects of their studies.

After dinner (which included a delectable sundae station from the incredible Pack Forest staff), there were chapter meetings and then a party at Pack Hall. The fliers promised "beverages" and "adult beverages," so I knew we'd all have a blast! The white elephant book exchange sparked a few spontaneous book talks (personally, I can't truly enjoy a party that doesn't have a little bit of a readers' advisory service included).

Julie Cook compiled an exceptionally detailed game of Halloween trivia; I can honestly say that I've never had so much fun correcting a test (even though I only got 25 out of 40 correct)! For instance, did you know that spiders were commonly used in an attempt to cure leprosy in the Middle Ages? I didn't.

After having summer-camp flashbacks while stumbling over tree roots en route to the bathroom at 2 a.m. (wearing my fuzzy bright pink pajamas as a handy alternative to open-season orange), we tucked into a hearty breakfast. I was eager for Dr. Julie Todaro's two-part presentation, "The Power of Personal Persuasion," and was not disappointed.

In addition to the title of 2007-08 ACRL President, Todaro possesses a quick, dry wit and a wealth of personal experience that she smoothly translates into concise advice. She talked in detail about putting persuasion techniques in the appropriate cultural context, a subtle point that I found immensely relevant to working with diverse populations in academic settings. Her encouragement to find "faculty champions" to go to bat for the library prompted me to look at the special collections collaboration between library and faculty at Northwest Christian College from a different angle. In addition, I was very impressed with Dr. Todaro's ability to provide relevant and insightful answers to complex questions from conference attendees. I think two of the best strategies I absorbed from Dr. Todaro's talk were 1) when making a pitch for more money/resources/etc., lead with your weaknesses so that your strengths have a more solid foundation, and 2) instead of talking exclusively about what will be gained if your proposal is accepted, also explain what will be lost if your proposal is not accepted. Dr. Todaro's talk concluded the conference on an energizing positive note, leaving me eager get home and put what I had learned during the last two days into practice.

I was eager to get home for another reason: my son was turning one year old the next day, and I had an evening of cake-baking and snuggling ahead of me. As a mom who works full-time, I don't take out-of-town trips on a whim. However, I would come back to ACRL-WA/OR in a heartbeat. The conference planners ensured that everything went without a hitch, the speakers encouraged and fostered meaningful professional discourse, and the staff at Pack Forest gave us a hard-to-beat combination of the comforts of home while surrounded by the beauty of the woods. I was wholly impressed with the content of the presentations and the talented people I met. My sincere thanks go out to ACRL-WA for giving me the opportunity to attend with a student scholarship.