When I attended Library School, I had no idea my work would be so heavily appreciated. When I started developing relationships with my patrons and my community, acting as a liaison and an advocate for our patrons, my whole perspective in librarianship changed. I appreciate so much of OLA efforts to bring us a conference that highlighted our value as librarians, beyond our academic capability. I feel the 2019 OLA conference was the beginning of a movement where we, as librarians, are encouraged to be more involved with our patrons’ world.
Bringing speakers such as Ryan Dowd to talk about individuals experience with homelessness and opening up a session for librarians of color was a benefit for me in particular. The presentation given by Alyssa Porter, Kimberly Tate-Malone and Sharon Spence–Wilcox named “I too: Unmasking Emotional Labor for Women of Color Librarians” was superb! I wish we had more time to explore this subject because the whole presentation was an amazing tool to help us manage emotional labor, racial fatigue, and the micro- aggression we are subjected on a daily basis.
The connections I made during the 2019 OLA Conference are still generating great results. The fact I was there, and determined to help REFORMA Oregon being proactive, networking and promoting our chapter, resulted in great partnerships and friendships that I will certainly cultivate for a life time.
Once again, I thank REFORMA Oregon for the scholarship and I also thank OLA for this fantastic event that contribute so much for our growth as librarians.
Check out Marci's Featured Reformista Post