Recent meetings: the North Dakota Library Association and the Border Regional Library Association/Texas Library Association District 6 Meeting

Last week I was fortunate to participate in the North Dakota Library Association annual conference, marking the 100th anniversary of the Association. Thank you, Mark Holman, librarian at Sitting Bull College, for arranging for this opportunity and taking care of my travel arrangements. ALA had a prominent booth near the exhibits space and a number of NDLA attendees sported blue "ALA Member" ribbons affixed to their conference badges.


I started my meeting by attending a dinner for alumni of the second Emporia State University North Dakota distance education class. These energetic new professionals graduated in May 2006 and strongly endorse the cohort model in distance delivery programs. The Mayor of Fargo opened the conference, reporting on his attendance at a recent gathering of mayors in Alaska and encouraged librarians to provide their patrons with information on the real issue of global warming. He affirmed his support of libraries; his mother was a long-standing library volunteer. I joined the meeting of the public library section. The lunch time speaker on the first day was Leif Enger, author of the novel, "Peace Like a River” who spoke about place as described in fiction. ALA Past-President Michael Gorman was the evening banquet speaker and he shared his experience in the construction of a new academic library. I was the closing luncheon speaker and provided a preview of plans for my ALA Presidential year. I met a number of tribal librarians and authors. Lenore Look has written “Ruby Lu, Brave and True,” “Henry’s First-Moon Birthday” and “Love as Strong as Ginger.” Joan Hiatt Harlow wrote “Midnight Rider,” ‘Thunder from the Sea,” and “Shadows on the Sea.” Roxane Salonen wrote “First Salmon” and “P is For Peace Garden.”

I traveled to northern Minnesota after the conference and visited the White Earth Tribal College Library (library visit #29) in Mahnomen with a stop also at the Charter School in Naytahwaush.

This week I traveled to El Paso and the Border Regional Library Association/Texas Library Association District 6 meeting. Thank you iSchool graduate, Patricia Hernandez, for your help in arranging for trip. I spent much of the first day on site at the tribal public library at the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (library visit #30) in Socorro with a stop at Mujer Obrera in downtown El Paso. The library event opened with a dinner at the Hacienda Restaurant where I gave an address on plans for ALA presidential events. Workshops were held on Saturday 30 September at the El Paso Community College’s Northwest Campus in the new Jenna Welch and Laura Bush Community Library (library visit #31, a combined community college and public library) and in classrooms at the college. I met author Sherry York, who has produced a number of guides for teachers, librarians, students, and their parents. Cinco Puntos Press arranged for the delivery of several books by Choctaw author, Tim Tingle. I attended programs on health information in Spanish and the Sunset review of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
The regional REFORMA chapter is also active and well in this border area.
Recent conferences: NDLA and BRLA