My name is Sarah Carter and I am a rising senior at Baldwin Wallace University. I’m wrapping up my dual degree in Music Composition and Arts Management with a minor in Public History, and am just starting the process of applying to MLIS programs. While I was introduced to MLA through Paul Cary, BW’s conservatory librarian, this is the first year I’ve really had a chance to start getting involved and attend an MLA Conference.
Truthfully, I hadn’t initially planned to attend the 2022 MLA Conference. When Salt Lake City was announced as the conference location, I had taken a look at flights before ultimately realizing that, due to cost and logistics, attending was not an option. And to be completely honest, I wasn’t even sure if I — an anxious undergraduate who decided to pursue music librarianship — would be welcomed. While I’d certainly been to conferences in the past, they’d all been oriented specifically towards undergraduate students. Even though I’d grown to love library science while working at BW’s Riemenschneider Bach Institute, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself at a conference full of career professionals. But two things changed my mind. The conference was announced as a virtual meeting, which removed all logistical challenges. Then, Paul suggested I should give it a try. Despite lingering concerns, I figured Professor Cary knew a lot more about the conference than I did, and if he thought it was a good idea, I could trust him.
When registering for the conference, I discovered the option to participate as a mentor or mentee. I felt really relieved to see a structure in place to welcome newcomers, so I eagerly filled out the form. Then, a week or so before the conference, I was connected with my mentor, Holling Smith-Borne. We held a Zoom chat before the conference, which gave me the opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into upcoming sessions. It was so wonderful to go into the conference knowing a friendly face!
The conference itself felt like a bit of a whirlwind. I attended the First Time Attendees reception, which provided a wonderful introduction to all things MLA. I found it really comforting to know that there was a space committed to welcoming new members to the conference and, as with the mentorship program, it truly helped make the entire event feel more accessible. Even though my class schedule prevented me from attending the Get Involved session, I’d already learned about opportunities to continue expanding my involvement with MLA over the course of the rest of my career. During the rest of the conference, I hopped in and out of all sessions I could manage between–or sometimes, even during–shh!–my classes.
One session I particularly enjoyed was the Community Choice session, which included two presentations: “Maybe You Should Talk to a Music Librarian: Insights for Music Librarians Supporting Music Therapy Programs” and “The Frontlog Quandary: A Case Study of DEI in the Cataloging Community.” Both of these sessions improved my professional knowledge. While I’ve gotten to know several music therapy students at Baldwin Wallace, their research needs have been a bit of a mystery. During “Maybe You Should Talk to a Music Librarian”, it was fascinating to hear the presenters describe special considerations when serving music therapy students. I really appreciated how Brendan Higgins, Jessica Abbazio, and Karen Berry took time to thoroughly introduce the Music Therapy field, its certification requirements, and the programs at each of their universities. Not only did this provide base knowledge for the entire audience, but it also revealed varying perspectives based on different institutional structures. I also thoroughly enjoyed Jeremiah Kamtman’s “The Frontlog Quandry” presentation. Holling had already introduced me to Jeremiah when I mentioned I’d be visiting Indiana University Bloomington over spring break — which coincided with the conference — to learn more about their MLS program. It was fascinating to learn how IU’s Frontlog operates and the issues that can present when trying to make newly-published works, especially those by BIPOC composers, more accessible. While the technical nature of the session meant some things went over my head, it was wonderful to dive in and be exposed to a lot of new cataloging terminology and concepts!
Another conference highlight was attending the MLStEP (Music Library Students & Emerging Professionals) Interest Group meeting. I actually tuned into the meeting from a hotel lobby in Bloomington, and it was wonderful to meet everyone. I even met a few folks from IU, whom I planned to meet in person later that week, and I look forward to staying involved in MLStEP as I enter into my graduate studies.
Ultimately, I loved attending my first MLA Conference! While there are definitely shortcomings to virtual conferences, it did make things a lot more accessible for me. Participating in the mentorship program and joining the First-Time Attendees session made conference attendance a lot less intimidating. It was wonderful to learn about so many different aspects of music librarianship, meet new faces, and discover new ways to get involved in MLA. I suspect this was the first of many more conferences to come!