When I think of attending conferences for professional development, I focus on the variety of opportunities that I will encounter: networking with professionals in my field; vendors promoting the latest and greatest of their services and products, and often the most attractive benefit: time away from the work environment. Some may agree or disagree, add or subtract from the short list of opportunities listed; however, I did discover one benefit that I did not realize before – a sense that I was not alone in whatever concerns or issues that I faced in my own library environment. During one session where the presenter shared their library’s experience with embedding libraries and librarians into their academic institution’s curriculum – the institution being a prestigious Ivy-league university – she also spoke of her often frustrating experience with hierarchy at her institution — an almost impenetrable infrastructure which often delayed many projects she and her staff painstakingly developed to enhance the education and research objectives of their institution’s users (made up of faculty, research scholars, undergraduate and graduate students).
When she rather off-handedly shared this revelation, I recognized a kindred spirit with some of my own frustrations with my library’s equally slow response to similar circumstances. Watching others in the audience nod their head in agreement and/or acknowledgement served as further confirmation that information professionals across a variety of settings face the similar challenges, regardless of the library setting. I felt on common ground with others who share what I like to refer to as bureaucratic constipation.
What was also confirmed is my membership in a wonderful collective of information professionals, folks who believe in doing what is best for our individual communities. And we do this while often facing difficult challenges ranging from lack of funding, lack of resources, and often, a seemingly reluctant bureaucratic body necessary to progress. Our users are always at the forefront of everything that we do. We want nothing less than to provide the best resources and services available. One of the ways to do this is to participate in conferences such as this to discover innovative ways and changes which will help all of us remain relevant and connected to our users and, to share our experiences, our challenges, and successes. Some may walk away from these sessions and know that a particular experience would not be possible in their respective setting; however, I think that the possibility of developing something similar is the better perspective to take away. Sharing and exchanging experiences (the positive and the negative), I think, may plant the seed for other, new possibilities. This is collaboration at its best.
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