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OLA Superconference 2025
Feb. 3rd, 2025 03:03 pmI just got back from an enjoyable but exhausting trip to Toronto to attend the Ontario Library Association (OLA) annual conference.
It's a great conference with lots of choice of sessions to attend, beginning at 8:15 AM and lasting into the evening. But for some reason, they always have to hold it in late January or early February, which is just about my least favourite time of year for travelling. And this year, the keynote sessions were all held in the late afternoon or early evening, when I'm generally not feeling up for anything too strenuous. That's part of the reason I hesitated about going.
Another big reason was my month-old arm injury, which I wrote about in some recent blog posts. Clearly backpacking it wasn't a good idea. But a wheeled carry-on suitcase and a not-too-heavy crossbody bag was just about doable. And my home base would be the Royal York Hotel, in the same complex as the railway station and just a short walk from the convention centre. If I needed to take the subway, I'd avoid rush hour and I can use my Presto transit card in Toronto just as I do in Ottawa. As far as conference sessions went, I reminded myself that I was under absolutely no obligation to cram a session into every available time slot, especially since as a retiree, I faced no pressure to report back to an employer and colleagues or demonstrate what a wonderful asset I could be to my organization.
So ... I attended the opening keynote on Wednesday evening, but skipped the Welcome Reception afterwards. I didn't go to either the Thursday or Friday keynote - while somewhat tempting, I don't much like crowded venues. I ended up going to 3 sessions on Thursday and another 3 on Friday, which stil left enough time to rest or do other stuff. I think my favourite session had to be the conversation between Alicia Elliott, author of the award-winning book And Then She Fell, and Danielle Big Canoe Snake, librarian at the Rama First Nation Public Library. The book is described as "a jarring novel about indigenous reality, mental health and motherhood" and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. I'm expecting a good helping of humour along with pathos - she said she was not into writing "trauma porn" - but I'll have to experience it for myself before saying more!
Anyway, I also attended interesting sessions on intellectual freedom, copyright, the international scene, Connecting Rural Libraries and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Communities, and "All Brains Are Welcome! A strategy to raise awareness and foster belonging for our neurodiverse community".
I took a brief tour of the Superexpo (trade show, posters and other relevant exhibits) where I picked up a little bit of swag - bookmarks, pens and little notepads that would be easy to take back home. I also got to cuddle a robocat:
https://shop.elephantrobotics.com/en-ca/products/metacat
I just sort of stroked it like I would a real cat: under its chin, a little scritch behind the ears. Its fur was soft and it purred in a fairly realistic way, which I guess was kind of calming. However, I was unsuccessful with any of the commands it was supposed to respond to, either because I have a weird voice or because just like a real cat, it didn't deign to be ordered about by some inferior humanoid! I don't know if it could play or chase a laser pointer or fishing-rod toy or leap up on a shelf and knock stuff off or hide under a bed...
After travelling to Toronto, I didn't want to limit myself to just conference stuff - I wanted to see the sights a bit too! So I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (twice actually, although the second time was for my alumni reception in the Bistro, and I didn't actually get to look at the art).
Two of the special exhibitions, both of them featuring Inuit artists, were about to end, so I decided at a minimum to look at those:
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/tarralik-duffy-lets-go-quickstop
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/lucy-qinnuayuak
I also had a quick look at Moments in Modernism, and may possibly manage to go again if I'm back in Toronto before it closes.
I went to the ROM, where I visited the Auschwitz exhibit. An important exhibit, although pretty intense.
Finally, on Friday evening, after enjoying an excellent meal at Planta:
https://www.plantarestaurants.com/location/planta-queen-toronto/
I went to the opening night of La Reine-Garçon at the Canadian Opera Company. Spectacular! It's about 17th century Queen Cristina of Sweden, who was very interesting and unconventional and strove to transform Stockholm into a cultural mecca akin to Athens while the men around her mostly craved war and conquest!
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/this-swedish-queen-was-raised-as-a-boy-fell-in-love-with-a-woman-and/article_71b69684-dce4-11ef-a84d-1f8da33320c8.html
I'd recommend it, even if you're not normally into opera.
It's a great conference with lots of choice of sessions to attend, beginning at 8:15 AM and lasting into the evening. But for some reason, they always have to hold it in late January or early February, which is just about my least favourite time of year for travelling. And this year, the keynote sessions were all held in the late afternoon or early evening, when I'm generally not feeling up for anything too strenuous. That's part of the reason I hesitated about going.
Another big reason was my month-old arm injury, which I wrote about in some recent blog posts. Clearly backpacking it wasn't a good idea. But a wheeled carry-on suitcase and a not-too-heavy crossbody bag was just about doable. And my home base would be the Royal York Hotel, in the same complex as the railway station and just a short walk from the convention centre. If I needed to take the subway, I'd avoid rush hour and I can use my Presto transit card in Toronto just as I do in Ottawa. As far as conference sessions went, I reminded myself that I was under absolutely no obligation to cram a session into every available time slot, especially since as a retiree, I faced no pressure to report back to an employer and colleagues or demonstrate what a wonderful asset I could be to my organization.
So ... I attended the opening keynote on Wednesday evening, but skipped the Welcome Reception afterwards. I didn't go to either the Thursday or Friday keynote - while somewhat tempting, I don't much like crowded venues. I ended up going to 3 sessions on Thursday and another 3 on Friday, which stil left enough time to rest or do other stuff. I think my favourite session had to be the conversation between Alicia Elliott, author of the award-winning book And Then She Fell, and Danielle Big Canoe Snake, librarian at the Rama First Nation Public Library. The book is described as "a jarring novel about indigenous reality, mental health and motherhood" and I'm very much looking forward to reading it. I'm expecting a good helping of humour along with pathos - she said she was not into writing "trauma porn" - but I'll have to experience it for myself before saying more!
Anyway, I also attended interesting sessions on intellectual freedom, copyright, the international scene, Connecting Rural Libraries and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Communities, and "All Brains Are Welcome! A strategy to raise awareness and foster belonging for our neurodiverse community".
I took a brief tour of the Superexpo (trade show, posters and other relevant exhibits) where I picked up a little bit of swag - bookmarks, pens and little notepads that would be easy to take back home. I also got to cuddle a robocat:
https://shop.elephantrobotics.com/en-ca/products/metacat
I just sort of stroked it like I would a real cat: under its chin, a little scritch behind the ears. Its fur was soft and it purred in a fairly realistic way, which I guess was kind of calming. However, I was unsuccessful with any of the commands it was supposed to respond to, either because I have a weird voice or because just like a real cat, it didn't deign to be ordered about by some inferior humanoid! I don't know if it could play or chase a laser pointer or fishing-rod toy or leap up on a shelf and knock stuff off or hide under a bed...
After travelling to Toronto, I didn't want to limit myself to just conference stuff - I wanted to see the sights a bit too! So I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (twice actually, although the second time was for my alumni reception in the Bistro, and I didn't actually get to look at the art).
Two of the special exhibitions, both of them featuring Inuit artists, were about to end, so I decided at a minimum to look at those:
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/tarralik-duffy-lets-go-quickstop
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/lucy-qinnuayuak
I also had a quick look at Moments in Modernism, and may possibly manage to go again if I'm back in Toronto before it closes.
I went to the ROM, where I visited the Auschwitz exhibit. An important exhibit, although pretty intense.
Finally, on Friday evening, after enjoying an excellent meal at Planta:
https://www.plantarestaurants.com/location/planta-queen-toronto/
I went to the opening night of La Reine-Garçon at the Canadian Opera Company. Spectacular! It's about 17th century Queen Cristina of Sweden, who was very interesting and unconventional and strove to transform Stockholm into a cultural mecca akin to Athens while the men around her mostly craved war and conquest!
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/this-swedish-queen-was-raised-as-a-boy-fell-in-love-with-a-woman-and/article_71b69684-dce4-11ef-a84d-1f8da33320c8.html
I'd recommend it, even if you're not normally into opera.
