conference superlights

I love conference; it's like being back in school without any of the drawbacks (e.g. homework, exams, etcetera). This year, like all the years I've attended, is marked by snow and bad weather. I hate that we have our biggest conference in the middle of winter; I also hate that we don't get reimbursed for hotel expenses. The whole experience really is a dichotomous undertaking: I love being there, I hate getting there. Anyway, moving on...

This year's plenary speakers were fantastic: from the Richard Florida's invigorating creative revolution to Mayor David Miller's vision of a city, from CBC's Michael Enright to Justin Trudeau's remarkably stirring call to be the facilitators of knowledge that we always have been and will continue to be, not despite the overwhelming amount of information available, but precisely because of it.

There were many (many, many) memorable moments, but in an ADHD world of soundbites, I shall only list my favourites.

1) Realising that Toronto is the home of choice for those who wish to live in a culturally significant city that's on the bleeding edge of creativity ... and I'm only a 20 minute drive away.

2) Having my suspicions confirmed (reading on a computer screen actually works against the human brain's mapping system and leads to markedly less memory retention than when reading the same information on paper) made me love my notebook even more.

3) Hearing that Justin Trudeau and I had the same thought upon walking into a library for the first time: "I'm never going to finish of all these!"

4) Watching a bunch of normally staid, professional librarians learn to salsa and wind.

5) Remembering to thank the Minister of Culture for the open bar; that bar provided me much amusement.

6) Connecting with friends I haven't seen since last year's conference and discussing library things without being thought of as a complete geek.

7) Meeting Janette from Cobourg, with whom I had this exchange:
Janette: Excuse me. Could you tell me what kind of music this is?
Me: Um, salsa... Latin-American.
J: Where is it from?
M: Oh, well this band is from Cuba. But I guess the music is from Central and South America.
J: *Showing me her badge* I'm from Cobourg; we don't get this kind of music there.
...what later blew blew my mind is when she asked me if I was South-American.
M: uhh, no. I'm from... umm, India.
J: oh? Whereabouts? I have friends visiting there.
M: The south-east region... well, actually, I'm from a little country called Bangladesh that's right next to India.
J: You should have said so! Are you from Dhaka?
M: *flabbergasted* well, yes, actually.
J: why did you say India? If you're Bangladeshi, be proud of that! Have you read the Brick Lane? That was a wonderful book.
M: No, I haven't. I guess you recommend it?
J: Surely!
... I know, right? The woman doesn't recognise salsa music when she hears it, but knows all about Bengali culture and geography. That's the power of books, right there.

Here's looking forward to more mind-bending conferences.