ASSOCIATES (vol. 3, no. 3, March 1997) - associates.ucr.edu
*COLT MID-WINTER CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.* reported by Joyce Nielsen COLT Public Relations Chair Van Wylen Library Circulation Associate Hope College Holland, MI MI.nielsenj@hope.edu http://www.hope.edu/resources/lib The Mid-Winter Conference of the Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT) brought 40 people to the Washington, D.C., Chapter Conference held February 13-14, 1997. A pleasant reception Thursday evening gave all of us participants a chance to become better acquainted and to exchange ideas about our library work. The Conference featured a workshop, Combating Stress in the Workplace, presented by psychologists Dodi Christiano Ardalan and Erica Moltz. They described the physical and emotional evidence of stress in people and discussed some of the stressors in our lives. We considered the need to prioritize from urgent, important projects to insignificant, unimportant activities. Then the facilitators lead the group through several exercises in relaxation and sensory imagery, giving each participant feelings of calm and sanctuary and a group of metaphorical gifts to take home while teaching techniques to help each one recover these sensations when they are needed in stressful situations. A session such as this one brings out new ideas and reinforces those we've learned earlier. The participants seemed to find this workshop very satisfying. Each of us received a very handsome and colorful certificate at the end of the session. The formal part of the conference was completed with a nice buffet luncheon and the awarding of certificates of appreciation to various COLT members who had worked to make the conference a success. In the afternoon many of the group took advantage of the tours arranged at the Supreme Court and at the Library of Congress. Our guides were very knowledgeable and the tours extremely interesting. Visits to special sites are features that make each conference unique, broadening each member's experience and enabling members to know each other more personally.