ALA Midwinter: Day 1 Recap

I'm writing this blog post from warm Atlanta, Georgia. It's suppose to rain but hey, it's not freezing rain so I really can't complain. I'm in Atlanta for the American Library Association's Midwinter conference. This year, they chose a warm location (unlike Boston last year and Chicago the year before). It's a smaller conference than the well known (and massive) Annual conference that happens in June. However, I had a pretty good case to attend this year's Midwinter so volia...here I am. I've always found professional conferences to be refreshing and re-energizing so I'm happy to have the opportunity to participate this year. 

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Lessons Learned: Residence Hall Libraries

I'm in my third month of employment at Penn State. It has been a whirlwind of 90 days -- the weeks fly by and the weekends are nearly long enough for all the adventuring myself and my new friends would like to do. I feel settled even though I'm still adjusting to my Sunday-Thursday hours.

Now that I'm three months in, I've had a chance help undergraduates find information and to teach a few library instruction classes. I feel that I'm getting the experience I need as a new professional and the support I need to succeed. I'm also now starting to think about myself as a professional and the things I need to support my practice: a teaching philosophy, a teaching style in the classroom, and better articulating where my expertise lies. For me, part of understanding myself as a professional means reflecting on the experiences that shaped me.

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Technology as Tools: Make It 2.0

After two years of dabbling around but not directly with 3D printing, I finally got my chance today. I've had a complicated relationship with 3D printing; struggling to find a community of people who are interested in moving beyond the "wow" factor of 3D printing to the purpose and function of the tool. Or perhaps struggling to find a community where my inexperience and awareness that I'm not stellar with spatial movement is not a barrier to my participation with the tool. In many ways, my two years dabbling around 3D printing allowed me learn all the programs and various facets of the tool WITHOUT actually trying it myself.

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