Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Better (a month and a half late) Than Never!

Quite a bit of time has passed since my last posting.

The end of June found me in Chicago for ALA Annual. This conference found me chasing myself day in and day out. To start it off, I was fasting (for Ramadan) so my energy levels were rather low. I arrived on Friday in time to attend a get together hosted by the President-Elect for those of us that will be on committees. I will be interning for the Committee on Diversity for the next two years.

(The view from the hotel suite that the reception was held)

Saturday found me once again fasting. I had a meeting with the Europe Committee, a committee that I will also be volunteering with for two years. I also received more information about the session I would be moderating. Having never moderated a session, I was extremely nervous. Later that day, I attended a session being moderated by a colleague on the committee in order to get a better idea of what would be expected of me.

Sunday found me rather tense and extremely nervous. It was Eid (the Islamic Holiday that comes after Ramadan) and I found myself racing to find a mosque for prayers before jetting to meetings. In the morning I attended a meeting for PLA Continuing Advisory committee. I guess I didnt realize how much I was taking on until I found myself running from one thing to another and missing out on the Exhibit hall which is one of my favorite parts of ALA conferences. Later that day, I arrived to the room in which I would be moderating. The session was titled "Serving Refugees: Experiences from German Libraries". I was able to get my nerves under control and was floored by the presenters. Even though I was there to moderate, it was such an interesting discussion, I found myself, along with many others in the room, completely wrapped up in the topic.

(Here I am with the presenters from the session I was moderating)

Monday I was able to enjoy myself on the exhibit floor. Overall, it was a very enjoyable conference and I had a complete blast. I learned so much from others, from myself, and from my constantly shifting situations.

(On last day I took this photo of my awesome husband who was forever patient as I stressed all over the place and helped keep my head on my shoulders)

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