The annual meeting of the Medical Library Association is almost upon us. This year we’ll be meeting in Detroit, MI and be joined by our colleagues from the Special Libraries Association. I’m very much looking forward to both of these aspects of the meeting, along with all of the expected great networking, seeing old friends, making new friends, finding new ideas and energy for the work ahead. But I’ve also never been to Detroit (other than stops in the airport and once shuttled through on my way to Ann Arbor) and I really appreciate the membership of SLA. During my time working for the UMass Center for Clinical & Translational Science, I joined SLA. I found it a great home during those years. The work I was doing in evaluation and the aspects of clinical and translational science coincided with those members of SLA who are rooted in pharmaceuticals, biotech, biological sciences, and other related industries. I believe having our two organizations together in Detroit will bring a lot to all of the attendees.
And thinking of MLA annual meetings, a friend reminded me that it was 10 years ago today that I gave the “Welcome to New England” bit at the opening of the meeting in Boston that year. I was the president of our regional chapter of MLA that year (NAHSL) and thus got the chance to do the welcome. So I wrote a little poem. My friend posted a video of me reading it and I had to go look it up. It was a stroke o’ genius, that one. Clearly came to me from some other realm! 🙂
I’m scrambling today to finish up a presentation for this coming Monday’s annual meeting of the Massachusetts Library Association. They call themselves MLA, too, but that confuses me. My presentation is on the interplay between creativity, empathy, and justice. I’m needing another one of those genius strokes to pull it together. I have so much material that I’m having a hard time getting it to come together the way that I want it to. But I still have the weekend!
It feels so good to be thinking about and attending meetings again. I find the in-person connection to be vital to my mental health, as well as my professional growth. The pandemic opened our eyes to new ways of doing conferences that do make them more accessible to everyone, but I’m just not a person who gets as much from virtual meetings. I’m happy to be back together with my frolleagues. Looking forward to seeing folks soon!
Back to that presentation!
A Librarian by Any Other Name 
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