Back in 2004 when I attended the American Library Association Annual Conference (in Orlando) for the first time, I wrote up a recap for the ALA NMRT publication, Footnotes. While it's still available on the web, it loads slowly and the images are gone. Just in case it should disappear from the interwebs at some point, I thought I'd repost it here.
Footnotes, Vol. 34, Issue 1, August 2004
by Rachael Cathcart
For my first ALA Conference, I made several efforts to be prepared. I found a roommate (friend/colleague Amanda Roberts), made the hotel reservation, signed up for an NMRT Conference Mentor, used the MyAgenda feature on the ALA website, and looked for conference tips on Liscareer.com. I "knew" there would be snags and aspects to the experience that I wouldn't be able to anticipate, and I was not disappointed. Yet, it was not only the snags that characterized my experience but how rewarding it all was in the end.
My introduction to one recurring theme of the conference (namely, getting lost) occurred early on, as Amanda and I drove into the Orlando area late Thursday night (June 24th). Missing our exit off of the Beeline Expressway, we found ourselves up near the Orlando Airport. By the time we found our hotel (Travelodge South), it was well past 2:00am. There would be at least two more brushes with the "getting lost" theme: one the next morning while trying to find the nearest Publix grocery store (somehow it took us two hours to find it and, then our hotel again), and the other while en route to the NMRT Orientation (I'll just say that an unnecessary excursion on the Beeline, a frustrating attempt at finding the Peabody hotel, and the requisite first-conference-breakdown were involved). During the conference, I also found that sticking to my schedule, as previous conference goers had warned, was not going to happen. You finish a program, you're hungry, the next program is several hotels away in a direction you're not sure of (and just about to begin), and oh, there's something else that looks interesting just a few rooms away. On the plus side, you also quickly learn that-where programs are concerned, at least-coming and going both early and late really are ok. In fact, it is necessary if you are going to see more than a few of them. At the end of the conference, there was another snag: my car's battery died. It was Monday, I'd packed up the car, and was ready to turn on that nice A/C and check out of the hotel on my way to the Convention Center. Nothing. No A/C, no engine, no sound but a faint click. Scratch one of the programs I was really looking forward to, scratch the in-depth assault on the exhibits, and scratch the last day of the conference. The remainder of the day was spent waiting-at the hotel for AAA, at the dealership for them to fix the battery and take an extraordinarily long time trekking across town for a new battery cable. In the end, however, it certainly could have been worse.
Lest I convince you the experience was nothing but frustration, let me attempt to enumerate the many positive aspects of my conference experience. The NMRT Conference Orientation for one, in addition to easing the sense of overwhelm that had culminated in the embarrassing breakdown that morning, netted one large and quite adorable stuffed llama. Not one to be on the receiving end of prizes very often, I found it to be a nice highlight to the conference. In general, the encounters I had with NMRT members, officers, and events were overall a very positive contribution to the rewarding nature of my experience. Tagging along with Amanda on Friday into the exhibits area, I was able to meet the NMRT booth committee. At the NMRT Orientation, I saw people I knew from both library school and my current place of employment. At the NMRT Meet-Up and the NMRT/3M Social, I got a chance to meet a great bunch of people from across the country, catch up with old friends, get to know my conference mentor a little better, and kick up my heels on the dance floor. I didn't spend all my time attending NMRT events though. I went to some great programs relating to marketing, information literacy, academic libraries, and research (the "Wrestling with Research" program was my favorite). I made a quick run through the poster-sessions, grabbing handouts and chatting a bit with the presenters. I also made a couple of superficial runs through the exhibits hall, and found my inner librarian-groupie with a signature from Nancy Pearl (she graciously signed my newly purchased "Book Lust," even though she was no longer engaged in a book signing and I believe had just finished lunch).
More than I'd expected, the conference experience left me energized, with a renewed sense of purpose within the profession and for my career. I was exposed to a wide range of ideas and practices to be taken back to my library and shared with my colleagues. I was reminded of the universal nature of the types of problems encountered by libraries, and some of the unique and creative ways of addressing those problems. I remain in awe of the feeling of community I felt in Orlando and the fresh perspective I gained as a result of the energy that was generated.
Overall, my primary lessons were these:
Footnotes, Vol. 34, Issue 1, August 2004
by Rachael Cathcart
For my first ALA Conference, I made several efforts to be prepared. I found a roommate (friend/colleague Amanda Roberts), made the hotel reservation, signed up for an NMRT Conference Mentor, used the MyAgenda feature on the ALA website, and looked for conference tips on Liscareer.com. I "knew" there would be snags and aspects to the experience that I wouldn't be able to anticipate, and I was not disappointed. Yet, it was not only the snags that characterized my experience but how rewarding it all was in the end.
My introduction to one recurring theme of the conference (namely, getting lost) occurred early on, as Amanda and I drove into the Orlando area late Thursday night (June 24th). Missing our exit off of the Beeline Expressway, we found ourselves up near the Orlando Airport. By the time we found our hotel (Travelodge South), it was well past 2:00am. There would be at least two more brushes with the "getting lost" theme: one the next morning while trying to find the nearest Publix grocery store (somehow it took us two hours to find it and, then our hotel again), and the other while en route to the NMRT Orientation (I'll just say that an unnecessary excursion on the Beeline, a frustrating attempt at finding the Peabody hotel, and the requisite first-conference-breakdown were involved). During the conference, I also found that sticking to my schedule, as previous conference goers had warned, was not going to happen. You finish a program, you're hungry, the next program is several hotels away in a direction you're not sure of (and just about to begin), and oh, there's something else that looks interesting just a few rooms away. On the plus side, you also quickly learn that-where programs are concerned, at least-coming and going both early and late really are ok. In fact, it is necessary if you are going to see more than a few of them. At the end of the conference, there was another snag: my car's battery died. It was Monday, I'd packed up the car, and was ready to turn on that nice A/C and check out of the hotel on my way to the Convention Center. Nothing. No A/C, no engine, no sound but a faint click. Scratch one of the programs I was really looking forward to, scratch the in-depth assault on the exhibits, and scratch the last day of the conference. The remainder of the day was spent waiting-at the hotel for AAA, at the dealership for them to fix the battery and take an extraordinarily long time trekking across town for a new battery cable. In the end, however, it certainly could have been worse.
Lest I convince you the experience was nothing but frustration, let me attempt to enumerate the many positive aspects of my conference experience. The NMRT Conference Orientation for one, in addition to easing the sense of overwhelm that had culminated in the embarrassing breakdown that morning, netted one large and quite adorable stuffed llama. Not one to be on the receiving end of prizes very often, I found it to be a nice highlight to the conference. In general, the encounters I had with NMRT members, officers, and events were overall a very positive contribution to the rewarding nature of my experience. Tagging along with Amanda on Friday into the exhibits area, I was able to meet the NMRT booth committee. At the NMRT Orientation, I saw people I knew from both library school and my current place of employment. At the NMRT Meet-Up and the NMRT/3M Social, I got a chance to meet a great bunch of people from across the country, catch up with old friends, get to know my conference mentor a little better, and kick up my heels on the dance floor. I didn't spend all my time attending NMRT events though. I went to some great programs relating to marketing, information literacy, academic libraries, and research (the "Wrestling with Research" program was my favorite). I made a quick run through the poster-sessions, grabbing handouts and chatting a bit with the presenters. I also made a couple of superficial runs through the exhibits hall, and found my inner librarian-groupie with a signature from Nancy Pearl (she graciously signed my newly purchased "Book Lust," even though she was no longer engaged in a book signing and I believe had just finished lunch).
More than I'd expected, the conference experience left me energized, with a renewed sense of purpose within the profession and for my career. I was exposed to a wide range of ideas and practices to be taken back to my library and shared with my colleagues. I was reminded of the universal nature of the types of problems encountered by libraries, and some of the unique and creative ways of addressing those problems. I remain in awe of the feeling of community I felt in Orlando and the fresh perspective I gained as a result of the energy that was generated.
Overall, my primary lessons were these:
- Plan more than you need to (I could have used a complete car service before-hand, for instance, and a much better look at the maps of the conference area).
- Be FLEXIBLE when your plans inevitably require change, and heed the advice of others to carry both your intended schedule and a list of alternates as well.
- When writing your list of events and alternates, remember to write the extra details, such as building name and location, room number, and full event title. Taking note of the shuttle you'll need wouldn't hurt, either. Knowing you want to attend the "Information Literacy Session" that begins in a few minutes doesn't help much when you don't know where it is being held or which information literacy session you're trying to get to.
- Join NMRT well in advance of your first conference (I believe the conference could have been even more rewarding, had I joined as a student-instead of a mere three or so months before attending ALA).
- Bring some colorful post-it style bookmarks for the ALA program (that you won't feel like shuffling through in the midst of your mad dash to the next event you can't remember the location of).
- Write down ahead of time, a list of anyone you might like to find at the conference, and include their cell #, hotel name and number, and any events you both plan to attend. Also, be sure your friends/colleagues are aware of the message center offered by ALA. These computer terminals allow you to look up people by name and send them messages-i.e., "I'm running late to our meeting" or "There's a library school reunion that's been arranged last minute." And unlike the internet terminals, these rarely have a line.
- Eschew from the very beginning, the notion that you'll be able to accomplish everything you hope to, even after you shorten your list. There were several committee meetings I'd hoped to sit in on that I regrettably didn't get to, and some programs wasn't able to attend, including one that I was really looking forward to (thanks to my car problems).
- Have fun, and plan on a rewarding experience no matter what snags or highlights you encounter.