So I just finished cleaning up (mostly) and putting things away (kind of) with my SWILA (Southwest Idaho Library Association, region 3) peeps after, I think, a great conference at the Kathryn Albertson International Center in the College of Idaho in downtown Caldwell, ID. Being part of the planning committee was fantastic, not only because you get to see the whole conference take shape and see it through its (hopefully successfully!) fruition, but you get to consider just how wide you must cast your conference sessions to appeal to a variety of library denizens and service points: youth services, circulation, cataloging, reference, reader’s advisory, virtual services, etcetera, etcetera.

But what brings me to my aha! point, though, is that no matter your whizzbang tool, approach, service, tweak, or magical unicorn gift your ultimate goal is to serve: your staff and your library users–if the spirit of service is missing from your efforts people are going to notice. Yes, sometimes there will be instances when you are unable to make something better but take heart, there are individuals out there who can help; they are sitting next to you in conferences; having a second (or twelve…who’s counting?) cup of coffee during session breaks, talking to other library denizens, discovering similar problems, asking the same questions but also sharing solutions and ideas. After all, one of the great things about conferences is all about sharing our best and most successful stories, right? The ones where you or your library provided GREAT service.