Another great year at MLA! Prior Lake was a new venue for MLA and Mystic Lake did not disappoint! I attended both the 40 in 50 non-fiction and fiction book blasts — I love listening to people talk about books quickly and effectively. Definitely got some new book ideas! I ran the Intellectual Freedom Committee Roundtable Meeting and we talked about some good ideas for future years. The best program I attended was put on by folks from the St. Paul Public Library — “We Haven’t Broken the Library: Challenging Perceptions and Creating Access Through Eliminating Late Fines” A wealth of knowledge was imparted during this program — if any library is considering (or dreaming about) going fine-free, these are the people to talk to. They presented how they began to think about the process, how they collected useful data (both before going fine-free AND after), promotional materials they made, and more. They talked about all the key players in the process, what has happened since, and how the process really works. If you’re a non-believer in going fine-free, you should have attended this program — their stats don’t lie. SPPL’s new card registrations went up 8.2% after going fine-free, after years of steady decline. Systemwide circulation went up 1.8% (while almost all public libraries see downtrends in this area). I was totally inspired after listening to this program. I also attended the pre-conference, about finding your mid-career mojo. That workshop, coupled with the SPPL program, made me feel invigorated and excited about trying new things and getting back into things (especially post-summer). Thanks for a great MLA!