I learned a lot and was reenergized for my work by attending the MLA conference.
I have been applying the principles shared in the excellent session on merchandising. They recommended following vetted sales techniques, such as decluttering, setting things up in straight lines and pyramids and odd numbers, displaying items face forward, thinking about balance and symmetry, and not putting decorative items on a display with things we want checked out.
I gained new ideas from the session on partnering with a local farm organization such as Farm Bureau. I would not have thought to reach out to them, but I plan to, since it appears they have resources and may be open to partnering for special events. My libraries would likely get a good response from offering a farm week.
I absorbed couple of new ideas from the session on fundraising that I brought back to our foundation board. I plan to offer opportunities for the public to comment on what the library means to them, letting them know we may use their comments anonymously in a future fundraising letter.
The session on self-censorship gave me ideas to ponder on best practices. The session on story times in small libraries was encouraging, and I plan to share some of the ideas with staff members I supervise in very small towns.
I appreciate this opportunity to attend two days of the conference and update my knowledge!