My Heart Weeps at the Dubliner

My Heart Weeps at the Dubliner or How I was rescued from certain disaster in the middle of the flight due to an overabundant supply of V8 and conversation.


Introduction

I’d like to begin by saying this was an eye opening experience that I’ll always cherish. It not only allowed me a chance to broaden my views and ideas of what a successful library is, but it also awakened ideas and passions I didn’t know I held until I attended my classes. I also enjoyed the often candid times I was allowed to spend with my fellow co-workers and the relationships I was able to foster and develop because of this experience.

Day 1: Thursday

We all arrived safely to our hotels on Thursday and split up to do our individual things. Well actually we had planned to all go out to eat together at DuPont Circle, but Theron and I split up with the group on our way to the subway and ended up running into a splinter cell of Trish, Mary Ann, and Patty. We invited them to join the gang but Patty was the only one that wanted to so the three of us made our way to the red line platform to await the rest of the group. After three trains had come and gone we decided we were the ones that were behind and jumped the next train. Once we got to DuPont Circle we asked a local bookstore employee for a good place to eat and found the Luna Café. Our waitress was nice but newly arrived from Balkans, so we had a few moments of translation blurbs, but our food arrived well and good. I had a lovely meatloaf with great mashed potatoes. Right before we finished the rain began and ended quickly just enough to give a refreshing burst of humidity.
We decided to walk from DuPont Circle back to our hotel, which ended up being a fun stroll. We passed several Embassies along the way home, Peru and Uzbekistan to name a few. We also walked the west backend of the mall if that makes sense, where Patty got verbally challenged by someone that looked to have had a bad day. We went to the White House and walked around it and learned that the White House doesn’t have a backyard. Patty also broke four Federal laws by stealing some of the grass from the lawn of the White House. We then made our way to the Capital were it appeared that there was a protest of sorts amassing on the steps, but by that time we were tired and so we went home to rest. I made my way up to the hotel roof and enjoyed a nice swim while it lightly rained.

Day 2: Friday

We started early and had a nice walk up to the Judiciary Square stop on the Redline to get more acquainted with our surroundings. From there we went to the Library of Congress and met a very unfriendly greater that made sure to make us feel unwelcome and part of the masses. Our tour guide was a wonderful older gentleman that took us on a great tour of the library and explained some of the interesting facts and hidden secrets of the library; like the fact that part of the fresco of the library is aluminum leafed because at the time of construction it cost more to use that than gold and it would show off the power of America. We also learned that artists dealt with copyright issues at the time of construction and went so far as to sign the finished works “copyrighted” along with their signature. There is some amazing symbolism in the library’s construction that would be a wonderful future study. The high note of the tour was looking at the Gutenberg Bible and hand-written Bible side by side. They were both created at the same time and it shows the end of one method and the beginning of another mode of creation for the word.

After the tour was over we were all allowed free time to go and explore the city and spend the day in meditation and contemplation over the future of our country and field of Library Studies. I choose to begin my day visiting Arlington Cemetery. It was a nice trip that began with Trish, Mary Ann, Patty, and Holly joining me on my way there. Once there we split up and went to the different sites. I went to JFK’s grave and memorial, as well as the tomb of the unknown solider. It was a humbling experience to be among those that lived and died for our country.
I then went solo for the rest of the day as I made my way to the International Spy Museum. This was a great museum that is dedicated to the history of espionage. I highly recommend this museum for anyone with a pulse. Next door there was also a great hotdog shop with Leninade. From there I made my way to Ford’s Theatre to find out it was closed, but I did go to the Peterson’s house where I found out that the house was not historically correct in that it didn’t have any of the actual items from the time period in the house, just antiques from the time period, so that was a let down. It was still interesting to be in the same building that President Lincoln died in.
I then went to the National Archives to see the Bill of Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other important American documents. They also had two great exhibits, one about the lives of the Presidents before they held office and one about the archives themselves and what unusual items they had. There was great stuff on congressional hearings on how comic books are corrupting the youth and the government files on UFOs. From there I walked back to the hotel and had a relaxing time looking over the ALA packet and deciding on what classes I should take. At 8:30, Theron, Kevin, and I went to meet the group at Old Ebbitt Grill for our big group dinner. On the platform we ran into Ann and joined her on the trip. We had to wait for our table and everyone got a bit goofy waiting, Holly even danced like a monkey for pennies. The food was amazing and Lynnda was generous enough to pay for all. Thanks Lynnda! I had an Italian dish with pasta, ham, spinach and a wonderful white cream sauce. I also tried some of Mary Ann’s pork, which was great, and one of Theron’s muscles, which were spicy, and some of Karen’s chicken, which was nice and crispy, and the mash potatoes were also great. Deborah and I then walked over the White House at night so she could get a picture of it and then we walked home. It was a long busy day full of fun.

Day 3: Saturday

I started the day off early with an 8am lecture by Film Director Ken Burns. He was showcasing his new documentary “War.” It was a great film, but as Theron astutely pointed out, “All his movies have been the same since Civil War.” It’s definitely worth watching, but it’s the same thing except a different war. Burns did say, “Libraries are the DNA of our society,” and “When a Man dies we lose a library.”
My next classes were called Bringing in the Boys: Using Multiple Intelligences to Plan Programs that Appeal to Boys. It was an interesting class on the eight types of intelligences that are out there and how to plan programs around those intelligences to encourage boys to take part in the library programs. It was a great class with some interesting insights that would be worth looking into. If you want to learn more there is a wiki at www.multipleintelligences.pbwiki.com . You can also contact one of the instructors by email at abrown@worthingtonlibraries.org . I then went to meet the group for the “Conference Opening General Session” with guest speaker Bill Bradley. I have to be honest and say it’s nice that a bunch of ancient librarians are being recognized and given awards, but it’s boring as all get out to watch. I think they need to have a special awards show and get them all over with at once instead of making us suffer through them before the speaker comes out. Bill’s speech was short and political. There is a theme at this conference toward the political. After the speech, Theron and I went to the ballgame, the Washington Nationals against the Cleveland Indians. It was my first pro game and a lot of fun. We got lost and missed the first 4 innings but the last five made up for it. It went back and forth at the end with the Indians winning the game. I had a blast. The crowd was a lot of fun to watch.

Day 4: Sunday

My first class in the morning was called Using Technology to Market to Young Adults. This was a good class on how to get teens involved in creating an environment for them at the library. The main thing to remember is to make them apart of the creation process so that they feel invested in the programs and area. Get their feedback as much as possible; let them know that their opinions matter. They also stressed the importance of a teen space online that is part of the library. Ideally, a library should have a teen webpage. If that isn’t possible, an account on myspace or at the least a teen blog will help. The point is to make the teens feel like they have a place at our library, a place to voice their opinions, and a way to communicate with each other. They also stressed that for rural libraries or library systems that cover a large area of land an online space can allow teens who share the same interests the chance to communicate with each other and build bonds and friendships through the library. I think we should take serious thought in creating a teen blog. It’s something that IT wouldn’t have to create or manage. We could use Blogger.com to create an account and one to two Librarians could moderate the discussions. Since coming back from DC, Sarah and I have thrown some ideas around and we even came up with a name that we could use that is still available on blogger- TheThiiird. It has great brand appeal with the roman numerals III as a potential visual brand. It also sets up the three rules of any teen group 1. Respect yourself 2. Respect others 3. Respect the place. It’s something to consider. One of the presenter’s blogs is http://indielibrarian.blogspot.com/ and another website to look at for further information is www.ypulse.com .
My next class was called Off the Chain: Reader’s Advisory for Exploding Genres. I took this class to help me create better collection development for fiction. It was a great class that focused on different up and coming genre’s to look at for the twenty-something age range. They also mentioned some great literature review sources that we as a library don’t have and should think about subscribing to. I’ve sent out requests for a free sample copy of the publications in hopes that I can sample them before requesting that we subscribe to them.
The next class was the LAMA President’s Program. It was on leadership and the main speaker was Frances Hesselbein who used to be the president of the Girl Scouts. It was a good speech on how to be a better leader.
My last class for the day was called Video Games as Service: Hosting Tournaments @ Your Library. I wanted to take this class in preparation for the South Branch opening and would like to attempt a Beta version at OVB or Main before we open. It really broke down the steps you need to take in setting it up and how actually hosting tournaments is cheaper and more cost effective than buying material for check out. It went over what platforms and games are the best for tournaments and even talked about how you can promote the tournaments. For more info checkout http://www.aadl.org/files/ala-gaming.pdf .
I ended the night with a nice dinner at the Irish Pub called the Dubliner. I had a delicious Beef O’Flannery. I also enjoyed the company of Trish, Kathy, Deborah, and Holly. After they left I stayed to enjoy the live Irish music.

Day 5: Monday

My first class of the day was You Must Write It: 50 Tips for Publishing with YALSA. It was a wonderful class that talked about the importance of publishing in the library field and the best way to go about getting published in YALSA. It inspired me to not allow myself to get lazy after finishing Library School. I’ve even enlisted Sarah to help with an article/book idea that we can submit for publication.
My last class for the conference was The European Union Today: Forging European Identity. This was an interesting class on how different Europe’s libraries are from America’s and how their libraries and universities are changing in the 21st century. We also learned about how the EU is changing the way European’s look at their identity and how that can be used in America to see how our libraries are changing the way we look at ourselves as Americans.
I then went to the National Aquarium and spent some time there enjoying the fish. I also walked the Mall as I made my way to the Museum of Natural History so I could see the Hope Diamond.
Later that night I made my way with Deborah, Kathy, Holly, and Monet on the Monuments by Moonlight tour. It was a fun time seeing the city as the sun went down. The highlights of the night were the World War II monument, Marines Monument (Iwo Jima), and the Einstein Monument.

Day 6: Tuesday

To end the trip on a high note Theron and I went to see the National Cathedral. We arrived at about 9am and the tours didn’t start until 10:30 so we walked the grounds of the cathedral and found an open door that we wondered into. From there we were able to spend an hour on a private tour of the cathedral passing several different employees including a security guard. It wasn’t until we rode down the elevator with one of the maintenance men after viewing the seventh floor observation deck that the cleaning lady stopped us and kicked us out of the cathedral. After that we walked the gardens and waited until the gift shop opened and then made our way back to the Hotel where we meet up with the rest of our group and started the journey home.
In closing I’d like to thank Lynnda and the Library Board for allowing me to attend my first ALA conference and for giving me a scholarship. It was very kind and generous. I learned a lot and have many new plans for the future of our library.

Here are the pics
http://travel.webshots.com/album/559685924TGrlWD