Tomorrow will see me, along with hundreds of my colleagues, converging on the city of Monterey, CA, for the 2010 Internet Librarian Conference. It's an opportunity for me to get away from the routine of daily cataloging, beating on computers and the circulation desk. It's an opportunity for me to sharpen my IT skills, get new ideas to help us be a better library, and provide better services for our patrons. Finally, it's an opportunity for me to meet colleagues I follow on Twitter and Facebook, as well as meet new ones.

I'm really looking forward to this conference, and I realize just how fortunate I am to have both my Library Director's and Board of Directors' support for this conference. With the number of states and communities ending support for their public libraries, and the funding cuts we have sustained here in Kentucky, I fear that major conferences like this will fade away due to lack of attendees. So it's vitally important to attend this conference to see what my colleagues are up to in the realm of technology, because technology is what drives the world and the consumption of information more so today than in years past. For libraries to stay relevant to everyone, we must adopt those technologies and instruct our patrons in its use. If you haven't been to your local public library lately, you ought to go check them out. You never know what you might find behind those doors!

We must also teach each other our ideas that work well, and help each other figure out why other ideas haven't. E-mail is good, and there's always the phone, but you can't beat one-on-one, personal interaction when there is a tough or complicated issue to discuss. Plus, it's just plain cool to be able to tell your co-workers, "See you next month!" :)

I'll be posting from the conference some, so keep an eye open for my new posts.

'Til next time.