Share the PLA Conference!

Many of us are freshly back--and newly inspired--from the PLA National Conference, held last week in Minneapolis. Staff from several Northwest Iowa libraries were there, from Onawa to Orange City and lots of towns in between. This year saw an estimated attendance of 9,500, with over 400 vendors in the exhibit hall. In the coming weeks, we'll use EYE-OPENER to share the learning and NWILS Bulletin Board Blog to share the experience!

For my money, the opening and closing keynote speakers were the best in memory. John Wood, author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, was the opening keynote speaker. With a photo slideshow, he told about leaving his executive job at Microsoft after a life-changing vacation to Nepal. He quickly went on to establish a non-profit organization called Room to Read, which now fundraises to build schools and libraries in developing countries. His aim is ambitious because the statistics are staggering:
110 million children in developing nations between the ages of 4 and 10 are not enrolled in school
1/7 of the world's population is illiterate
2/3 of these groups are girls and women

He described these "grand challenges" behind Room to Read:
To build schools in places where there are none
To provide reading rooms with multi lingual books in these schools
To offer scholarships to girls in third world countries who otherwise would not have the chance to attend school

John Wood has a great story and Room to Read is a great cause for library advocates to know about.

The closing keynote speaker was Paula Poundstone, comedian and author of a new book There's Nothing in This Book I Meant to Say. With her trademark stool, microphone, and diet Pepsi, she had the crowd roaring. It was a fresh and entertaining way to close out a conference jammed packed with information and ideas.

So that was the beginning and the end. Of course, there's lots to relay about everything in the middle, so I'll continue sharing PLA sessions in the coming weeks. And for all Northwest library staff and trustees who attended, be sure to comment here with your favorite PLA moment.

And take a minute to watch our slide show thanks to our gal blogger and conference photographer Sue Kroesche.