Adventures at OLA

I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Super Conference in Toronto last week. This was my 4th time attending in person and I always have a wonderful time learning from other library professionals from across the province and beyond.

OLASC consists of informative sessions and meet-ups held within the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Topics I learned about this year included advice on running productive teen nights, tips for hope-based climate change readers advisory, insight into the importance of Own Voices regarding Black stories, and ideas for creating interactive children's zones centered around STEM-based activities.

Another component of OLA is the Expo floor, a massive room filled with vendors and publisher booths. In years past, I've come home with more pamphlets and swag than I knew what to do with. In an attempt to curtail this behaviour, I took a smaller suitcase. I did indeed manage to keep my collecting of such items to a minimum, but I neglected to account for a much larger problem: the books.

Every year, some of the publishing houses that attend the Expo feature authors via onsite book signings. Conference attendees haul around bins full of these freshly-signed books and I used to wonder how they could afford to purchase so many titles. I finally learned last year that they don't have to afford them because a free copy of the book is supplied at the signing. As you can see, I took full advantage of author signings this time around with only 5 of the below books not bearing a signature.

I loved interacting with the authors and was sure to thank them for their time. I not-so-secretly hope that I can be on their side of the table someday. Perhaps I can convince Contrarian Publishing to go some year! A girl can dream.

The first book I had signed was A Lady Would Know Better. I had a moment to ask author Emma Theriault what, in her experience, was the most difficult thing about trad publishing. She answered that it was the lack of control. This was yet another solidifying moment for me that my decision to partner with Contrarian was the right one. They truly are the ideal combination of expertise and creative control.

Have you had the opportunity to attend OLA before? If so, what was your favourite part?