2022 Tennessee Library Association Conference

Just about 6 weeks after my knee surgery, I was in Knoxville for the 2022 Tennessee Library Association Conference. The TNLA conference is held each year in various cities across the state. But this one was a bit different, I was coming into the business meeting and the conference as the incoming president of TNLA. That meant speaking during the business meeting, handing out awards, and trying to find board member volunteers for my term.

The conference was April 12-14 at the Knoxville Convention Center. The hotel was in walking distance for most normal people across the street at the Marriott Knoxville Downtown. I've been a long time awards member so I scored a parking space near the hotel entrance and early check-in.  The room TV already had my name on it when I walked in.

The Knoxville Convention Center is in the same location where the 1982 Worlds Fair was held. Remnants of that fair are the World's Fair Park and the Sunsphere. The Sunsphere is a golden orb that people can travel to the top if they wish. I didn't do any exploring - I considered myself luck getting across the street on a knee still in physical therapy. But easy enough to take a picture of it.

The conference was really good, and I picked up a lot of names for the board. People just came up right to me and said they wanted to volunteer! Gotta love the volunteer spirit of librarians and of library staff! I attended the 2023 Conference Committee and impressed everyone with a theme already. Let's go!

One of the best conference workshops was on the topic of algorithms. Algorithms are not neutral - when we are searching databases and search engines, we need to be aware that there are built-in biases in the search engines that ignore large swaths of society.

 Now onto the 2023 conference planning and forward!

On July 1, 2022, I became president of the Tennessee Library Association.