A few weeks ago I attended the 4th Reforma National Conference (RNC4) in Denver, Colorado. The theme was Elevation Latino Services to a Higher Level and celebrating 40 years of Reforma. I have to say, I've been to my share of library conferences, but this one was by far my favorite. The sessions were good and relevant to my work, the socials were entertaining and lively, the city was gorgeous, the conference committee and staff were organized and friendly, and the people I met were awesome! I also liked that it was a much more intimate conference than what I'm used to, by the last day I felt as though I' had interacted with the majority of the attendees. The vibe was relaxed and I didn't feel as though I had to rush to cram everything in, the earliest sessions started at 9:30am. Overall it was a good time and worth the investment.
Here's a list of what made RNC4 a worthwhile experience for me:
- Networked with other librarians serving similar populations and exchanged ideas.
- Promoted and recruited presenters for an upcoming workshop I'm hosting at my library.
- Learned about the history of Reforma and connected with some of the pioneers that paved the way in the organization for incoming librarians.
- Got inspired to better serve Spanish speaking communities and brought home two new program ideas to implement at my library.
- Learned about oral storytelling programs and listened to talented story tellers during the "Noche de Cunetos".
- Met several bilingual children's book authors and even booked some of them for upcoming library programs.
- Talked to Spanish book vendors and learned more about the Guadalajara book fair experience.
- Learned about YA book titles with Latino characters and attended a session where several of these authors Skyped in to talk about their work.
- Did a little site seeing and experienced the city culture.
- Met active inspiring library professionals and made new friends!
To learn more about Reforma and RNC4 check out their website: http://www.reforma.org/
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