OLA SuperConference 2019 Abridged Reflections Part 2 - "The Best Possible Outcome"

This is a continuation of my photos and experiences at this year's 2019 OLA SuperConference. The subtitle for Part 2 is "The Best Possible Outcome". Many people asked me about how I felt about the results of the meeting that inspired last week's blog post, and my common refrain was that it was the "best possible outcome" - not wonderful, not terrible, but considering the circumstances, the path that was the most beneficial to take. Despite that one hour looming large, there was plenty to see, hear and do before and after.

Dinner the night before at a lovely restaurant could have also ended with a bad taste in our mouths, but I hope that things will proceed like how that late-night dinner ended - with an admission that mistakes were made on both sides but that a positive resolution that satisfied all parties was found.

 Thursday, January 31, 2019
8:00 am

Duties begin early. Alanna and I started with the TALCO (The Association of Library Consultants of Ontario) AGM and breakfast. I skipped the 9:00 am Keynote address by Robyn Doolittle to help out at the front desk with participants who needed to collect their badge holders, print their badges, or deal with registration issues.



Thursday, January 31, 2019
10:45 am

Attendees really like sessions that have hands-on components to them. While Alanna took care of the session Let's Get Together: School and Academic Librarians Unite to Tackle the IL Gap Between Secondary and Post-Secondary Education, I helped convenor extraordinaire Dawn Telfer support Stephanie Morris and JEn Taylor with their talk, called Investigating Makerspace: Tools and Strategies to Support and Engage All Learners. A huge crowd attended (123, based on my count) and there were so many activities to try. I bonded with a new friend over at the paper craft area - I'd share the photo I took of her with the simple-but-stunning card she made, but I don't have her permission. I'll have to locate her email and send the picture to her directly. I think I want to invest in either a button maker or those magnetic shapes that can create 3D solids. Once again, participation at one event meant forgoing another event. There were two amazing spotlights on at 10:45 am, the Public Libraries Spotlight by Ryan Dowd on the The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness and the Intellectual Freedom Spotlight by James Turk, Pilar Martinez and Michael Vonn entitled What is Hate Speech, and What Do We Do About It?

Thursday, January 31, 2019
12:30 pm

No pictures here. It was the OLA AGM, rescheduled from 9:00 am. The atmosphere was tense. Proxies were arranged and people even attended online using Adobe Connect. Those in favour of and against the motion being proposed made decent points. In the end, someone brought to the floor an alternate motion, recommending that a committee, consisting of representation by all impacted stakeholders, be formed to deal with the language of the by-law and that a recommendation be made two months before the next OLA AGM. Even though there were enough bodies and votes to strike down the original motion, I think it was better to decide on this path of action. It was the best possible outcome. The next steps won't be easy. Despite the "best possible outcome", there were a lot of hurt and stressed out people exiting that meeting. As someone told me, a lot of healing is going to need to occur, especially since Peter Roger (former OSLA and OLA president) pointed out that this is an issue that has plagued the organization for 40 years and has been the downfall of one version of the Canadian equivalent organization. I know it negatively tinged some of my OLA SuperConference experience. I just hope we can move forward.

Thursday, January 31, 2019
2:00 pm

This was probably the busiest time slot for OSLA sessions. Three started at 2:00 pm and continued 'til 3:30, and two more started at 2:50 pm and ended at the same time as the others. Another started at 2:00 pm and ended at 2:40 and I missed it completely, to my great disappointment. I really wanted to see Game-Based Learning Using Minecraft in the Learning Commons because of the speaker, the inspirational Jen Apgar, who was a wonderful last-minute replacement for a speaker who was unable to come. I got to see five-minute chunks of Doing Data: A Fun and Innovative Way to Count What Matters by Caroline Freibauer and Anita Brooks-Kirkland, Make Writing: Making Creating and Communicating by Melanie Mulcaster, Angela Stockman, and Amanda Williams-Yeagers, and Fostering Wellness in the LLC: Stories from Around the Board by Enid Wray, Caroline Schoales, and Adrienne Kennedy. Alanna checked in on Learning and Unlearning: Coordinating Cultural Competency Training for Information Professionals, as well as Beyond "Evidence": Narrative and Graphic Mental Health Literature in a Clinical Collection. Stephen Hurley continued to record audio for VoicEd Radio and we also had Peter Skillen donate books to distribute for free. Books were shared at the OSLA Council-run session at 3:45 pm How School Libraries Advocate for the People! An Advocacy Story (as well as at the OSLA AGM and Friday's Sandbox). At 3:45 pm I was monitoring Tough Topics: Talking to Children about Prejudice, Tragedy and Online Safety with Dr. Jillian Roberts, but convenor Lauren Flattery had things in control so solidly that I was able to briefly take a peek at the Expo Hall, filled with exceptional authors, great vendors and super swag. I didn't have time to grab anything for myself, but at least I made it up there. Another "if I only could clone myself" would have been to visit Helanie Becker as she talked about The Next Wave: Diversity in Picture Book Biographies, as well as a session that was so crowded that people were spilling into the hall to listen, Dismantling the Resilience Narrative: Honest Talk about Burnout, Morale Issues and Negative Workplace Culture in Our Libraries.

Thursday, January 31, 2019
5:30 pm

The OSLA AGM was held in an unique space in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Saunders Book Company sponsored the event, for which we are extremely grateful. I know I needed a beverage and a snack around this time of the day, despite filling my pockets with granola bars and portable munchies to keep me energized throughout the day. The president and treasurer report was shared, the new council was introduced and we had awards. Congratulations to Amanda Chapman, the OSLA Administrator of the Year, Leigh Cassell and the Live Learning Canada - digital Human Library won the OSLA Award for Special Achievement, and we had two OSLA Teacher-Librarians of the Year, Kate Tuff and Glenn Turner. We also hosted the OLA Technical Services Award, which went to the Library Support Services Team from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. My job at the AGM involved furniture relocation, award distribution, and photography.

Thursday, January 31, 2019
8:00 pm

A planner's work is never done. After the OSLA AGM (and some great conversation with Joel Krentz and Andrea Sykes), I was supposed to attend both the Karaoke Pub Night and the Games Night Social. I could only make the Games Night event. I didn't get to play any games and I skipped dinner, but I had some more wonderful conversations with Connie Scott, Michelle Goodridge, and Matthew Rohweder. Although I ended the night earlier than Wednesday (10:30 vs midnight), I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, but I had a sense that I tried my best and did as much as I could ("enough", one might say) and that I had to let go and be ready for the next day.