COLT’s 2006 annual conference is just a memory, but a sweet one. The COLT Board had the same tough decision to make as when the Toronto conference was cancelled during the SARS outbreak – should we go to New Orleans? We made the decision to go – and there has been no regret. The City welcomed us with open arms. We feel we became part of New Orleans history.

The COLT conference was held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel right on Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter. The accommodations, food and service we received were first rate. The Royal Sonesta staff provided a seamless conference experience for us.

Of course – a conference isn’t just about the food and accommodations, or so I’m told – it’s about rejuvenating our batteries and learning new things to bring back to our libraries. This conference delivered that also. Our keynote speaker, Beth Vandersteen, Assistant Director of the Rapides Parish Library in Alexandria, LA, started us off with an uplifting validation of how library support staff, "Get the Job Done". Our luncheon speaker was Tania Tetlow, Associate Professor, Tulane Law School, New Orleans, LA and Chair of the New Orleans Public Library Board. She broke our hearts with her stories of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and the damage to the libraries. She was also a testament on how the library community didn’t just sit back and wait for help, they pushed up their shirtsleeves and started work on rebuilding with fundraising – Getting the Job Done".

The conference sessions were set up so that all attendees could attend every session and not miss out. Our speakers this year surpassed our expectations. Our own Stan Cieplinski gave us insight on how technical services are performed at the Maricopa Colleges; Anne Harrison and Marla Chesler of FEDLINK simplified the mystery of Connexion and OCLC First Search/ILL; Troy Juliard of Recorded Books gave us the inside track on the how and why titles become available on cassette and/or CD; Andy Bush from OCLC followed that up with NetLibrary’s collection of downloadable titles – the hot trend right now; Sandy Smith from Showcases gave us invaluable tips on how to package those multi format items our libraries receive. To help balance out these topics, Dianne Harmon, Illinois Library Association President shared with us strategies for developing our staff; Cal Shepard of SOLINET refreshed us all on customer service and communication; Jennifer Kutzik of LSSIRT, showed us how to make the most of our library careers; and Linda Slusar, Coordinator of the Library and Information Technology Program @ COD shared with us the educational opportunities/programs across the US for library support staff. The conference ended with our banquet where we honored Library Mosaics and staff: Ed Martinez and Charlie Fox. Ray and Ruth Roney were unable to attend, but they were there in spirit.

In case I was too subtle in stating my feelings – THIS WAS A GREAT CONFERENCE! My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who worked on the event . We understood why many of our members could not attend – but you missed out on a great experience, and we missed you. So --- mark you calendars for June 20-22, 2007, Washington D.C., COLT’s 40th annual conference. We’ll see you there!!!