President's Message

KATHY WATSON

The PNLA Manual states that the president “represents PNLA at state and provincial conferences, or names an alternate.” Last October, I attended the Idaho Library Association Annual Conference in Idaho Falls , a short 60 miles away from my home. It was a great conference, and a good one to cut my presidential teeth on as I knew many of the Idahoans attending, and had just worked with most of the vendors at the August PNLA conference in Post Falls . As a matter of fact, I was so busy enjoying the ILA conference that I almost missed my opportunity to speak at the business meeting!

March 12, 2009 saw me heading off to Kodiak , Alaska for the Alaska Library Association's Annual Conference. Flying out of Pocatello these days means that you must fly first to Salt Lake City , Utah , a lovely city and a fine airport, but is a route that does not make for a direct flight to anywhere. Then off to Anchorage , part of a night in a hotel, and a short morning flight on to Kodiak Island . Much of the flight was above the cloud cover, but when I opened my eyes it was just in time to see a stunning view. Snow covered peaks, flashing water, and green and brown islands stretched before me; the Kodiak Archipelago.

As I watched the land and seascape below me, I heard the passenger seated in front of me tell her seatmate that landing on the airstrip could be “a bit tricky.” Well, that was of interest too! As I watched, the landing strip appeared…first lots of sea water, then what appeared to be a short bluff, then the runway. No problem for the pilot, hardly even a bump when we landed, and we stayed well away from the snow covered mountain at the far end of the landing strip! I remembered the drop off into the icy water at the end of the runway when I left the following Monday. Pull her up; I'm thinking as the plane taxis toward the edge of the bluff, pull her up!

I was warmly greeted at the Best Western by Helen Hill, Alaska's PNLA Representative (Library Director at Homer), and Jen Stutesman, one of my roommates from Leadership Institute. Jen is now a librarian at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has made it through her first winter in Alaska . I was just in time to join the Russian Church, Seminary, & Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Tour, but must confess that I abandoned the tour right after the Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center. We were very near the harbor, and although the wind was blowing, the sun was shining, and there is nothing like Kodiak's harbor in Idaho !

Keynote Speakers Willie Hensley and Father Michael Oleksa, speaking about culture, family, and community, touched not only my mind, but my heart. The sense of a strong community, of family, was evident in the Alaska Library Association, and it reminded me that in reality, community and family are what we are about in the Pacific Northwest Library Association also. So, when the PNLA Board worked on strategic planning in February, the reality is that we were looking for ways to strengthen the bond of community throughout that part of the library world represented by our provinces and states.

Whatever it takes, we must continue to forge those bonds. Difficult financial times may call for a wider variety of ways in which we make those necessary connections, but together we must stay. It is my heartfelt belief that we must continue the face to face gatherings of annual conferences and at least some other meetings even though technology may make it seem less necessary.

With that thought in mind, I will end my message with a reminder that this year PNLA celebrates the Centennial Anniversary of our coming together as community and family. The conference will be in Missoula , Montana August 5-7, 2009, and I hope to see every one of you there!