NLS4 post #1

It has been a long time between posts and that isn't because I haven't had much to say. A lot of it has been because I have been too busy to put anything together in what I feel would be a coherent form! It is almost embarrassing to find I am posting in reply to people emailing me about posting (or 'not posting').

NLS4 has finally been and gone and in the lead up I had a major change of job positions - now working for the ever fabulous Yarra Plenty Regional Library, as Mill Park Library Branch Manager. I'll discuss that more another time - something that has made such a big impact on me career wise deserves more than a one liner in the middle of a post on another topic.

As indicated by the title of this post, I plan to have a few postings on my thoughts on NLS4 and this one was not supposed to be the first! It has actually come about from many emails I have received in relation to my closing for the conference, which highlighted just how much work goes into preparing and planning for such an event. Not many realise this and some actually thought that it took about 3 months from start to finish (obviously they had not been subscribing to the news feeds!). When reflecting on the entire process of NLS, from start to finish, in preparation for my closing speech, I realised that although I knew it took a lot of work and dedication to make an event such as NLS happen and happen seamlessly and successfully, it may not necessarily be apparent to those attending. Not only this, but the two year timeframe for the committee to put NLS together was not done in isolation to other commitments. During these 2 years, collectively within the committee, there have been:

• 7 new jobs;
• 4 promotions;
• 2 engagements (mine and the ALIA Events Manager, Kamara Schlegal);
• 3 weddings (Gemma's, Jill's and mine);
• 2 pregnancies (Gemma and Jill);
• 2 births (Sharon and Jill);
• Over 600 papers marked (by Margie and myself and this is a conservative estimate);
• 3 Aurorans (Trevor, Jill and myself);
• 35 attendances at national conferences;
• 4 attendances at international conferences;
• 38 papers presented and
• 36 articles written

Every single one of us works full time and 5 of us have young families, so when factoring all of these into the planning process, you can see just how much more of a challenge things have been!

The reviews of NLS have been great, and I'll end this post with a small snapshot of some blog posts about it.

• Connecting Librarian (Michelle live blogged throughout the conference);
• ALIA Board Blog
• Librarian Idol (Andrew was Marketing and Promotions Coordinator for NLS4)
• Libraries Interact
• Quilter Jo
• Roxanne Missingham

And photos too of course :)