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Like Craig and Heather I also volunteered to help with this conference and was able to attend multiple session. The first keynote speaker Joyce Ogburn had an interesting suggestion on the way we think about our profession and an information profession. She suggested we think of it as a knowledge profession. To think of our libraries as place information technology, libraries as an integrated environment for research and accessing technology. With open source information out there we have an open future. To help our faculty and students with integrating the new technology into the classrooms. Joyce spoke of innovation and how to make innovation happen here are her suggestions:

• Fast Design
• Adapt and Adjust
• Step out of comfort zone
• Create new areas
• Share Information
• It takes multiple ideas to make innovation happen.

I also attended Competing for Fun and Funds this presentation was put on by our own Mary Beth with some long distance help from Erik and Susan. I helped with the 5K run last year and wanted to learn more about what happen before I came on the scene. The presentation was full of tidbits of lessons learned and what and where to start to put on an event of this magnitude. It was neat that Eric and Susan where there in picture and voice from their South trip with a video that was sent to Mary Beth. Gotta love the technology.

Enriching the Academic Experience: The Library and Experiential Learning at Middle Tennessee State University was one of the most interesting presentations that I attended. They are partnering with different departments across campus to give the students real life experiences and meet their needs. Some examples that they gave where partnering with the Anthropology Department to have the student do a study that helped the library find out what the students needs were that were not being met. They have already started to implement programs to meet these needs. They also teamed with the Art Department to help bring awareness to the use of paper (the students print for free) by having the are students make art work showing how much paper was being used. They later found out that two projects involing the library also occured. They were some athropology students study the garbology of the library and found that students usually went to the same are to sudy every day. They also found that students usually brought in outside food while workers usually brought food from home. The last thing that was discussed was working with facilities to have a carptenter and a wielder make a replication of Thomas Edison’s printing press. They use it to help educate in multiple departments including history, anthorpology and education. They use it on campus to clebrate our american heritage. They use it for visiting artists and for hands on demonstrations to elementry school childern. They have the thinking that the more they can get the student involved with the library and give them real life experiences it is a win win situation.