I know, I know, you’re probably wondering what a Pinzgauer is and what it has to do with libraries!
Several years ago when I was President of the Mountain Plains Library Association, I attended the New Mexico Library Association Conference as part of my MPLA presidential responsibilities. While there, MPLA Vice-President Wayne Hanway and I decided to tour the Farmington Public Library. After the tour of a truly stellar modern library facility (http://www.infoway.org/LibraryTour/index.html), we began to talk with the Security Officers. In the course of the conversation, I discovered that one of them had worked with the Forestry Service just one mile from my home town in California (population 1200). After reminiscing about various places, the security guard invited Wayne and me out to the parking lot to see something unusual. You guessed it: the Pinzgauer! This six-wheel drive Swiss Army vehicle sure beats the Humvee! Wayne and I were taken for an exhilarating ride over Bureau of Land Management land; over boulders and up and down sheer hills, through sand and water. It was a once in a lifetime experience! If we had not taken the time to connect with the staff, we would have completely missed out on this opportunity.
Ironically, the theme of the conference was Making Connections. By making this particular connection, Wayne and I experienced something new. Let me encourage you to make connections—through membership in NLA, NSLA, MPLA or ALA; through attending the annual joint conference; and through making new acquaintances with other people at system sponsored events. Your connections may not bring you something as fun as riding in the Pinzgauer but they can bring you friends and colleagues who can help you in many other ways, such as new job opportunities, help with problems or just a shoulder to cry on!
(Pinzgauer picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12394349@N06/. Used under creative commons license.)