I've been out of town for a few days, up in Spokane at the Washington Library Association's conference. Spokane's a nice city, or at least I liked what I saw. The rapids that run through the middle of town were beautiful. Lots of snowmelt this time of year, which equalled a very big white fall coming out of the dam. Gorgeous.

The preconference panel I sat on ("One Size Doesn't Fit All") was great, although the audience was more public than academic librarians, and my talk was pitched pretty strongly to LC systems. Still, it was great to hear the other panelists talk about ESL, continuing ed, and younger, "Gen Y" patrons. We get a lot of ESL users here, because of our international student body, and I've had a mix of Gen Y and returning students in classes before, which can be a little disorienting. The practical advice was useful. Also very good to mingle with public librarians--there are so many dedicated people working in that branch of librarianship, and it's great to get a hit off their energy.

Just one hour of active duty today. So far:

• Where can I get the MIT Encyclopedia of Communication Disorders?
• Where do I get books that are in the Math Reserves room? (This is unusual for us; the math library is a tiny, mostly unstaffed branch in another building.)
• Where can I find general books about the Lakota? What about the Iroquois?
• Where can I get the fourth edition of the Handbook of Social Psychology?

I'm reading a couple of George P. Pelecanos's mysteries, and liking them a lot. Although Washington, D.C. isn't seeming like such a great place to live at this point.