Some ideas and concepts I gleaned from this year’s MLA Conference were: Project Management – make even tedious internal projects such as inventory fun by adding small celebrations at the half-way point, handing out silly reqrd stickers, having a contest to guess how many items have been inventoried at certain points. Locked Box Challenges–I’d heard of Locked Room Mysteries but this session brought it down to a more portable, flexible scale–connecting several lockes to a toolbox and creating clues that lead you to unlocking numerical, alpha and directional locks. We worked on a Harry Potter-themed lockset; others have done Zombies – find the cure before the apocolypse; Manga; Minecraft, etc. Ages 1st grade and up, with the younger kids actually doing quite well against the older. Box can be hidden as well. Services for those dealing with Dementia/Alzheimers – kits both for taking as outreach to senior facilities and for caregivers to check out and use at home. Kits include Music CD with songsheet, sensory items such as scratch and scniff, perfume, essential oils, 3-D glasses, photos and pictures to guide storytelling, books. Topics for kits included Drive-In Movie, Northwoods (camping, Scouting, etc.), Pets. Also inclued are information handouts with helpful hints. In-Library programming featured book discussions for caregivers (Before I Forget, by Bea Smith; Slow Dancing with a Stranger; Half a Chance by Cynthia Long), the Glen Campbell DVD Still Me; topics of when to limit a loved ones’ independence, genetic tesing, living wills, etc. COMPAS offered a little “art break” (and discussion of how COMPAS can collaborate with libraries) where we learned a simple, inexpensive and no-mess “painting” with rice flour. I also attended a session on Learning for Everyone on how to have all staff learn about serivces, databases, and other important information to help them better serve the public. The vendors this year were very interesting and I enjoyed speaking with many of them about their services and products. A big thank you to SAMMIE for making it possible for me to attend this year’s MLA!