This week I had the opportunity to attend the Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) annual conference in Indianapolis to present at the poster session.  There were many interesting exhibits there, on a number of hot topics in the library world.

Ball State showcased a presentation on their evolving web interface.  Purdue University featured the results of embedding liaison librarians in their departments for regular office hours each week.  Notre Dame charted usage statistics from their experiments with mobile reference using an iPhone.  I gave a presentation on IU East’s action figure tour, online at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IENKivi3pEg

There were more besides.  It struck me, as I interacted with attendees, how important collegiality and sharing are for librarians.  We can read articles and attend webinar on trends and innovations but nothing beats actually talking with other colleagues, who willingly share different views and experiences about how they are making new ideas work in their library.

As many of you graduate and leave the academic world entirely for the professional.  I hope that you, too, will form professional friendships with diverse colleagues, and continue to grow and learn from their experiences as well as your own.  If there’s one lesson to learn, it’s that we are stronger the more ideas we share and explore.

Photograph is from Ball State University.