After our visits to Manhattan and Bentonville, our whirlwind November continued with a trip over to St. Louis so I could attend the Library Marketing and Communications Conference. We began the journey with ride aboard Amtrak’s Missouri River Roller, which proved to be not quite as leisurely as we imagined.
Catching the River Roller
The Missouri River Roller runs daily between Kansas City and St. Louis. Nate and I planned to take the KC Streetcar from our neighborhood to Union Station, where we would board the train. However, the streetcar was a bit behind schedule that morning, which put us at the station five minutes before departure and that is apparently too late.
The station attendant who had just locked the access door told us if we hurried, we could catch the train in Lee’s Summit. That’s about 30 minutes away. So we ordered a Lyft, and hoped for the best. Fortunately, the driver was understanding and did his best to get there with two minutes to spare.
We love the idea of taking the train over driving or flying. You don’t have to mess with airport security, the seats are generally spacious and comfortable, and you can watch the scenery or read instead of focusing on the road. However, if you’re in a coach with less considerate passengers who talk on speakerphones or listen to devices without headphones, or the automated announcement system is faulty and obnoxiously loud, it can make for a less pleasant journey.
We were glad when the River Roller finally pulled into the station in St. Louis, where we would take one more transit, the MetroLink, to a stop nearest the conference hotel.
Library Marketing & Communications Conference
LMCC is specifically geared toward library staff that are involved with marketing, communications, social media, and outreach at public, academic, and special libraries. As both the social media team lead at my library and the chair of the Kansas Library Association‘s Communications Committee, I was excited to connect with other library workers with a similar focus, learn about current trends in the industry, and bring ideas back to my library.
One highlight of the conference was hearing from Scott Bonner, Director of the Ferguson Municipal Library. He was the opening keynote and spoke about his experience during the 2014 protests that followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by FPD officer Darren Wilson.
I also enjoyed sessions on how “not to hate social media,” communicating during an expansion or renovation, and attracting new users with open houses and library weeks. They also had a swag swap where attendees could share and pick up different examples of bags, pins, buttons, newsletters, and other marketing materials.
Up on the Rooftop at 360
While there are a number of restaurants and breweries we like revisiting when we go to St. Louis, the most memorable from this trip was the Up on the Rooftop holiday pop-up bar at 360. Located atop the Hilton St. Louis, this bar and eatery boasts a fantastic view of downtown and the arch. Decked out for the holiday, it was the perfect spot to downshift after a full day of conferencing and peopling.
On our first visit, Nate enjoyed the Spiced Pumpkin Painkiller, served in an adorable gingerbread man shaped cup (which you could purchase if you wanted), and I went with the Sugarplum Old Fashioned. We also had the margherita pizza and the carrot cake. We loved it so much we had to revisit the evening before heading back to KC!
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