I attended my first MLA conference last month and I can safely say that I did everything I set out to do. Of course, I realized by my second day as I was running from meeting to meeting that I had bitten off slightly more than I could chew during the first part of the conference.

In my quest to take advantage of all the conference had to offer, I scheduled myself a little more tightly than I would have preferred. But now that I’ve done things like have a mentor and had my resume reviewed, I can pass on those offerings next year and spend more time on the sessions and posters.

I came home with a ton of exciting ideas that I can’t wait to explore further at my own institution. Here are just a few:

• Promote awareness of open access by celebrating Open Access Week in the library
• Developing and applying a common standard and process to the library’s LibGuides
• Conduct a space audit in the fall to see if we can better utilize our library space
• Provide “office hours” in a room or other area where students attend classes

Next year, MLA will be in Atlanta, GA. That might be a harder sell to my boss than a city that is only four hours away, but I would still love to go and maybe present a poster of my own. The call for submissions should come later this summer, so I will be keeping track of that!