Day 1

LoDo, Denver

Wheeeee! Rode the B-cycle to the hotel this morning, crisp (39° F) air filling my lungs, the streets still quiet.  The sweet bed-n-breakfast where I am staying is in the “LoDo” neighborhood. The Victorian style homes are being painted, prepped and pampered. Sidewalks are slabs of textured red rock, rolling out down the street. As I zoomed (an exaggeration, no doubt) toward the hotel, the early shift of Yoga devotees poured out of the studio, lilting toward their cars and bicycles. At the hotel, click! I returned the B-cycle to a rack and boarded the bus with 120 other librarians. Then the real work began. We traveled to Graland Country Day School for breakfast and an author visit.

We wrote an entirely silly sentence as an exercise. Our first speaker, Ingrid Law, is an author and Newbery Award winner. She encouraged us to put the editor away and write with abandon, to embrace metaphor and the power of the story.  She showed us the way words “move;” the roll of the sounds, the structure of the letters. Words that move are fun. They help create pictures and emotions.  Sometimes, there just isn’t the right word. That’s when making up words is essential. Ingrid shared her favorite made up words with us. Here’s one: jim-jammed – when you are really nervous about something.

In our digital storytelling workshop, I wrote a digital composition, collecting pictures, audio and narration. It is easy to see how a digital composition could be effective for personal stories, poetry interpretation, framing historical events, and promoting library services.

After a powerwalk to lunch, we heard a lecture on plagiarism called, “No More Cat and Mouse.” Before I tell you more about this one, I need to relive the lecture through my notes.  There was abundant information, theory and practical application. 

The best thing about today was the intangibles. Watching the elementary school students flee the classroom to recess, then return, filled with anticipation for their next lesson. 

A wide-eyed Denver cat greeted me when I returned this evening, hinting at a shared chicken dinner. It has been a full first day.