Don't Forget the Snow Globe | From the Bell Tower
ALA Annual is a big conference with big names and big events, but sometimes it's the small things that matter most Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Jul 14, 2011
When the LJ folks first invited me to contribute this column they said I could write about anything I wanted. Freedom is nice, but three years later I have rarely deviated from the intersection of higher education and academic libraries. This week, however, I am. Over the years I've attended many conferences and programs for academic librarians, but at this American Library Association (ALA) conference I got to thinking about something I had not reflected on for quite some time.
The new parents
A decade has passed since any of my children were living at home, so I no longer go through the ritual of hunting for the gifts that are just right to bring back from professional trips. Something happened at this conference that made me recall that hunt for the first time in many years. My friend Brian Mathews and I teamed up to present a preconference program. We spent many months in preparation, all virtually, but realized we needed just one day together in New Orleans to attend to final details.
Brian is a fairly new parent, and it was his first trip away from home in California since Leo arrived. I could imagine that he was feeling a little off-kilter, and it got me thinking that I knew quite a few other new parents at the conference. In one session, the presenter announced he'd just become a parent a few weeks ago - and included pictures of the baby in his slides even though they had nothing to do with the talk - another proud parent, I guess.
Far away yet so close
I have no way of knowing if we're seeing a trend here, but my anecdotal evidence alone confirms what we could suspect: that some of our next gen colleagues, now in their thirties, are starting families. That means the ALA Child Care service, an asset for librarians with young children, will likely have customers for some years to come.
I learned from Brian that more than our profession is radically different thanks to new technology; so is the way today's families stay in touch. When my children were young and I was away at a conference we looked forward to that one - expensive -daily long-distance call. Now parents can text, instant message, or Skype at any and all times of the day. At one point Brian, who by the way recently became the first academic librarian invited to join the Chronicle of Higher Education's Blog Network, pulled out his iPhone and initiated a Facetime session with the folks back home. It just doesn't get any easier than that.
My universal gift strategies
While today's parents of infants and young children have vast technology at their disposal for staying in touch, they should always remember the importance of the "visit gift" (a.k.a., souvenir). At a certain age children mysteriously develop a keen sense that Mom or Dad is supposed to come home from a trip with a special gift for you-know-who. I was glad to learn that Brian was well aware of this although Leo is too young to expect the visit gift. No harm in starting early with this practice though - for parents and children.
I shared my strategy with Brian, which is "start early." Be on the lookout for the gift as soon as you arrive. Waiting till the end of the trip tends to create more stress, especially if you are looking for something just right. Try to avoid souvenir shops if possible. Conference receptions are good opportunities, especially if they lead to a museum gift shop where more unique items can be found. Airport gift shops are a last resort, although older kids might appreciate some specialty food items you can find there.
Then there's the dreaded "it's the last day of the conference and I've got nothing" situation. What do you do? My fallback gift was the always available snow globe. They are typically found in downtown souvenir shops or the airport. They are inexpensive and easy to transport - and kids never seem to get tired of turning them upside down then right side up - well at least before kids had incredibly cool video games. Over the years my boys put together a pretty decent collection of them. The one from Boston with a lobster trap. The Chicago skyline. The Washington Monument. New Orleans? I didn't look, but I can imagine one with a party-goer holding up a Bourbon St. sign post.
Snow globes back in my future
I thought I was all done with visit gifts. Then I became a grandfather on June 16. It got me thinking that I may once again be in the market for souvenirs for my granddaughter, Ava-Elizabeth. She's too small to appreciate a snow globe for now, and I wasn't in "find a gift" mode in New Orleans. But then I stopped by the booth belonging to the folks who do the Unshelved comic strip. I wanted to talk to them about using the strip that accompanies this column. I saw it in the ALA Cognotes and thought it was a good fit with the theme.
These folks sell lots of merchandise at their booth. One item was a "onesie" that said "Read to Me" on it. How could I pass up getting such a great visit gift? The cycle starts again. Before long I'll be bringing back snow globes.
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Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, will be the incoming vice president/president-elect of ACRL. For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his website. |
