My fall marathon of chapter meetings started off with the Pacific Northwest Chapter’s 47th meeting. Gathering in Billings, MT for the first time, the meeting had the theme of “Boot Up under the Big Sky.” Some photos I took at the meeting are available on Flickr.

The meeting planners put together a great program. Some highlights for me included keynote speaker Greg Notess, a reference librarian at Montana State University. He spoke on Web 2.0 and medical librarians. As Greg explained to a nodding (that’s agreeing, not sleepy) audience, librarianship is becoming more complicated as the electronic and physical worlds merge in our collections. As difficult as it is for us, it can be very confusing for our users. Greg gave several hints and a brief introduction to some Web 2.0 tools that can be useful for instruction. There were a few I hadn’t heard of before, such as Scribd, where documents can be shared online. I was glad to hear him mention Connotea, a free scientific social bookmarking tool that could be very useful for our researchers, clinicians, and scientists. Greg’s PowerPoint presentation is available online at authorSTREAM, one of many presentation-sharing tools. Check out these Web 2.0 tools, if your IT department lets you…

Another highlight was Dr. Michael Spence, an infectious disease specialist, who spoke on clostridium difficile and methicillin-resistant Staph aureus, a superbug now widespread in hospitals. Both bugs have become more dangerous because of the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. I think all the members of the audience tripled their handwashing after his presentation.

The trip wasn’t all meeting, as Carolyn and I took a few hours to visit the Yellowstone Art Museum, just a few block from the hotel. They happened to have a great retrospective of Roy Lichtenstein’s prints, which knocked us out. We’re lucky enough to own a Lichtenstein print (Haystack #6), so this was a special treat.

I was particularly impressed by the number of attendees who made it to Billings. The Pacific Northwest covers a huge area, and seven people from Alaska made it there. Anne Girling from Anchorage made it after a six day drive, over 2000 miles. That’s dedication, and it’s why this association is so special. Many thanks to everyone who made me feel very welcome.