{"id":28176,"date":"2013-06-25T12:15:50","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T16:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=28176"},"modified":"2013-06-26T08:08:02","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T12:08:02","slug":"kate-goes-conferencing-part-2-tips-and-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=28176","title":{"rendered":"Kate Goes Conferencing, Part 2: Tips and Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, <a title=\"INALJ New York State\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?page_id=5716\" target=\"_blank\">INALJ New York State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" id=\"docs-internal-guid-5fd47c15-4527-1514-ed98-bbf030afd5d3\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Kate Goes Conferencing, Part 2: Tips and Tricks<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/inalj_kosturski_nystate.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-29173\" alt=\"inalj_kosturski_nystate\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/inalj_kosturski_nystate-300x225.jpg\" width=\"210\" height=\"158\" \/><\/a>In my <a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=25706\" target=\"_blank\">last blog post<\/a>, I talked about stretching out of your conference comfort zone and attending non-librarian conferences. \u00a0\u00a0Now that you have a list of conferences in your toolbox, and you\u2019re getting ready to attend your first (or 50th) conference, how can you make it a success?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m a regular contributor to the <a href=\"http:\/\/tisfortraining.wordpress.com\/\">T is for Training podcast<\/a> (we record every other Friday at 2 PM EST &#8211; if you\u2019re interested in joining the party contact me and I will provide details!), and on our last podcast before ALA Annual (<a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/DAFMjXNFqe\">Episode #120 &#8211; Congress With a Two Drink Minimum<\/a>), our show focused on all our favorite tips for making the most of your conference experience. \u00a0\u00a0Here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Speak with your feet.<\/strong> \u00a0If you\u2019re in a session and it\u2019s not meeting your expectations, it\u2019s perfectly okay to get up and leave for something else. \u00a0Conversely, if you\u2019re a speaker and you see people leaving here and there, there is no reason to panic. \u00a0(However, if you see the entire audience getting up and leaving, that\u2019s another story and definitely reason to panic!)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Talk to people, other than the folk you came with<\/strong> (friends, significant other, co-workers). \u00a0\u00a0Get to know new people and new perspectives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Don\u2019t be afraid to talk to those that may be rockstars or MVPs. \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0We were new once too, in your shoes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When introducing yourself, <strong>be sure to have a business<\/strong> card or something with your contact information in hand. \u00a0You will introduce yourself, and be introduced to, many people when you\u2019re at conference. \u00a0Unless you have an amazing photographic memory, you\u2019re not going to remember everyone.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>If you can\u2019t make a session, that\u2019s okay. \u00a0<\/strong>Most likely, someone else you know is tweeting or taking notes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Make time to visit the exhibitors<\/strong> (some conferences, such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uksg.org\/events\/annualconference\">UK Serials Group<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.liber2013.de\/\">LIBER<\/a>, schedule coffee breaks\/no-conflict times to visit exhibitors) and thank them for any sponsorship they provide. \u00a0Vendors are the ones that provide you with snacks in the exhibit hall, free wifi, shuttle buses, badge holders &#8211; be sure to show your gratitude!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Don\u2019t be too grabby hands with the freebies.<\/strong> \u00a0Ask before taking. Thank the vendors for whatever freebies they do provide. \u00a0If you do find yourself taking a lot more than you can handle, just mail it to yourself! \u00a0Many conferences have a postal center on site, or you can find a post office nearby.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>The most valuable experiences will not happen in formal presentations<\/strong> &#8211; they happen at social events, happy hours, sometimes just in the hall when you\u2019re charging your phone!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This one is ALA-specific, but probably also applies to other conferences: \u00a0<strong>Unless otherwise stated as a closed sessions, all board meetings, Council Sessions, committee meetings, etc.are open! \u00a0<\/strong>You are free to sit in, observe, and learn.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Outside of being a good conference attendee, self-care is important.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If you need to be at an early session, it\u2019s okay to say no to a late night social event. <strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t burn the candle at both ends!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Take a break.<\/strong> \u00a0Enjoy the conference city and its attractions. \u00a0I love to bookend my conference with a day or two of playing tourist. \u00a0Since I missed the last ALA Annual in Chicago (2009) due to a family obligation, spending time at the Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and a White Sox game at Comiskey park are high on my to-do list!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Plan your work time off accordingly.<\/strong> \u00a0If you have a late or red-eye flight home, maybe take the following day off from work or telecommute (if that is an option for you).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Take off your conference badge when you leave the conference site,<strong> and don\u2019t walk around the city with the conference totebag.<\/strong> \u00a0It marks you as a tourist, which marks you as a target to thieves and other undesirables.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I won\u2019t touch on what or how to pack for a conference; there are many great sources out there with ideas. (Librarian Wardrobe has <a href=\"http:\/\/librarianwardrobe.com\/post\/52247128226\/what-the-to-pack-for-ala2013\">a nice roundup<\/a> of posts with suggestions.) \u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s some of the items we talked about on T is for Training:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Chargers!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Just in case you can\u2019t get to a charger, you may want to <strong>invest in backup batteries for your mobile device.<\/strong> \u00a0iPhone users may want to look at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mophie.com\/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4S-battery-case-p\/1145_jpa-ip4-blk.htm\">Mophie Juice Pack<\/a> &#8211; I bought this back in 2011 when Hurricane Irene was due to hit New Jersey, and it\u2019s paid for itself over and over.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Snacks<\/strong> &#8211; I buy boxes of pre-wrapped cookies or crackers, which are easy enough to slip in your bag or purse, and cheaper than convention center food.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Vitamin C\/Airborne<\/strong>, to help ward off any potential conference illness from close contact with 20,000 librarians or swift temperature drops<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>A sweater or jacket<\/strong>, because convention center rooms will either be ridiculously warm or ridiculously cold. \u00a0They\u2019ll be the latter if you don\u2019t have that jacket with you.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Enjoy your conference! \u00a0If you\u2019re going to Annual, look for a redhead with a tiny top hat and very long conference badge (that\u2019s me), and come say hello.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Kate Kosturski, Head Editor, INALJ New York State Kate Goes Conferencing, Part 2: Tips and Tricks In my last blog post, I talked about stretching out of your conference comfort zone and attending non-librarian conferences. \u00a0\u00a0Now that you have a list of conferences in your toolbox, and you\u2019re getting ready to attend your first&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=28176\">Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":28845,"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":[231,4414,4535,233,3592,4668,3665,4139],"class_list":["post-28176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-ala","tag-ala-annual","tag-ala13","tag-articles-2","tag-blog","tag-conference-tips","tag-inalj-new-york-state","tag-kate-kosturski"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/katekosturski.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-7ks","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28176","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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}