{"id":23100,"date":"2013-05-14T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=23100"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:06:08","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:06:08","slug":"tips-for-a-library-conference-newbie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=23100","title":{"rendered":"Tips For a Library Conference Newbie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, <a title=\"INALJ Florida\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?page_id=5680\" target=\"_blank\">INALJ Florida<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b>Tips For a Library Conference Newbie<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/shelleym1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-11047 alignleft\" alt=\"shelleym1\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/shelleym1.jpg\" width=\"132\" height=\"106\" \/><\/a>Raise your hand if you have never been to a library conference&#8230;&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Me either.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To tell you the truth, the idea of going to a conference is a little scary and intimidating.\u00a0 So, I did what any good librarian would do.\u00a0 I researched it.\u00a0 Information makes things less scary, right?<\/p>\n<p>Since I can&#8217;t be the only one, I thought I would share with you what I learned about going to conferences.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>You don&#8217;t have to go to one of the biggies first. <\/b>\u00a0You may want to test the waters at a smaller, local conference.\u00a0 One the plus side, these tend to be cheaper and closer.\u00a0 Here is ALA&#8217;s listings of conferences to get you started.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ala.org\/conferencesevents\/afficalendar\">ALA affiliates conference &amp; event calendar 2013-2024<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Wear comfortable shoes.\u00a0 <\/b>This may seem obvious, but as a first timer, you may think about dressing professionally at the expense of your feet.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t.\u00a0 Conferences typically require a lot of walking and standing.\u00a0 It is hard to be at your best with blister-covered feet crammed into your best high heeled shoes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Bring water and snacks.\u00a0 <\/b>Apparently,<b> <\/b>dehydration due to a lack of access to drinks and starvation due to a dearth of snack foods can be the downfall of many a new conference attendee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Do some pre-conference networking.\u00a0 <\/b>Check your social media and networking sites.\u00a0 See if anyone else is going.\u00a0 Make plans to meet up.\u00a0 Some conferences even have online schedulers or apps were you can connect with people planning to attend the same events as you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Look for newbie conference information.\u00a0 <\/b>Check the schedule and program guide to see what events are scheduled for first time attendees.\u00a0 Many conferences provide this service.\u00a0 They should be able to supply you with valuable information about making the most of your first conference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Make a schedule.\u00a0 <\/b>Study the schedule of proceedings.\u00a0 Decide on the events that interest you the most.\u00a0\u00a0 Attend at least one that is outside your area.\u00a0\u00a0 Conferences are for learning, right?\u00a0 Plan your day around those.\u00a0 Make sure you don&#8217;t over schedule.\u00a0 Set aside free time to visit places outside the conference, to socialize, to eat, heck maybe even to sleep.\u00a0 I hear librarians at conferences like to party hard until the wee hours.\u00a0 Be prepared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Make a backup schedule.\u00a0 <\/b>You may find one of your events is already full or not what you thought is was going to be.\u00a0 It may even be information you are already familiar with.\u00a0 If, after 5-10 minutes, you decide this is not for you, leave.\u00a0 This is not rude, it is the norm.\u00a0 Librarians love matching the right people with the right information!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Visit the exhibits.\u00a0 <\/b>Leave time in your schedule to check out all the cool vendors, products, and services.\u00a0 Librarian play time!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Business cards&#8230;get some.\u00a0 <\/b>Bring lots and lots of business cards.\u00a0 You may want to create digital ones along with\u00a0 paper ones.\u00a0 You may also want to consider including a QR code linking to your website, Linkedin, etc.\u00a0 Theses can easily be scanned by those who prefer it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Talk to people.\u00a0 <\/b>This will be one of the hardest for me, being introverted by nature.\u00a0 It may be a good idea to develop an introduction for yourself.\u00a0 <i>My name is so and so and I work\/volunteer\/attend so and so.\u00a0 My focus is on&#8230;. <\/i>\u00a0You get the picture.\u00a0 Talk to people who seem to be interested in the same exhibits or programs as you.\u00a0 Talk to people who are interested in things outside your comfort area.\u00a0 Talk to people before programs, on buses, at tables, during cocktails, and any other opportunity you get.\u00a0 You never know what this may lead to.\u00a0 At the worst it leads to nothing.\u00a0 But, at the best, it could lead to a new acquaintance, a lifelong friend, a new opportunity, a learning experience&#8230;who knows.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Volunteer.\u00a0 <\/b>I love this tip! \u00a0Especially if you are still nervous about the idea of starting conversations with people.\u00a0 This is a great way to ease into it.\u00a0 Just contact your chosen committee or group before the conference and let them know you want to help.\u00a0 Simple as that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>You don&#8217;t have to take every handout or pamphlet.\u00a0 <\/b>If you don&#8217;t want or need it, don&#8217;t take it.\u00a0\u00a0 The less you take, the less you have to carry around and take home.\u00a0 Bonus points for being green!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Synthesize and organize.\u00a0 <\/b>After the conference, you should process all the information you received while it is still fresh in your mind.\u00a0 Then, it will be easily accessed later when you need it.\u00a0 You won&#8217;t have to dig through piles of paper hoping against hope to find that one yellow sheet (or was it blue?) that you so desperately need, yet eludes your best search efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Follow up on your new acquaintances.\u00a0 <\/b>Connect with the people you meet via Linkedin, email, facebook, etc.\u00a0 You can learn more about them and let them know you are interested in maintaining contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hopefully, these tips helped make the idea of a first conference less overwhelming and scary.\u00a0\u00a0 Information IS power.\u00a0 So maybe we can all work up the nerve to attend a conference in the near future.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I would love to see you there!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Tips For a Library Conference Newbie Raise your hand if you have never been to a library conference&#8230;&#8230; Me either. To tell you the truth, the idea of going to a conference is a little scary and intimidating.\u00a0 So, I did what any good librarian would do.\u00a0 I&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=23100\">Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,4126,4238,3652,4375,3920],"class_list":["post-23100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-conference","tag-conferences","tag-inalj-florida","tag-newbie","tag-shelley-macon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-60A","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}