Steven Covey was one of the featured speakers at the ISTE conference this year. One of Mr. Covey's 7 Habits is "Sharpening the Saw," which has to do with the spiritual renewal necessary to remain fresh and vital in one's profession. That's why I go to ISTE. I find it energizing to be among like-minded people and to listen to and learn from the shining lights of the library profession.
The truth of the matter is that the last 2 years of my career have been very difficult for a variety of reasons. I have not felt successful in creating a vibrant and dynamic library program since I moved to Dallas. I've even considered moving more in the direction of instructional technology and leaving behind the title 'librarian.'
There were many great speakers, including Mr. Covey, but the most amazing presentation was Buffy Hamilton's on creating enchantment in the library. This is a woman that really gets what libraries are all about and her talk was full of passion and authenticity. I'm very grateful that I was among the 250 people in the room for the SIGMS forum. Ms. Hamilton's talk reminded me of why I chose this career and really got me motivated to make the library program at my new campus something special. I think everyone in the library profession should see her speak. If we all took her message to heart, we could go along way towards preserving the library profession just as it preserved my desire to say in it. Here's her slide presentation, and hopefully the video will be available soon.
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