by Kathryn Kane
I am an MLlS student slowly creeping upon graduation, so when I found out that the Pacific Northwest Library Association annual conference was going to be in my hometown of Vancouver, Washington, I jumped at the chance to hobnob with some professionals. It was to be my first conference and I had high hopes. In my daydreams, I chatted with everyone, exchanged fist-fulls of business cards, and even received a job offer or two.
When the big day arrived, I was prepared: I had on my best professional outfit, complete with the most perfect pair of black patent heels; I had fifty business cards that I had designed myself and a smart little holder for them; and most importantly, a cup of coffee from my favorite cafe. I was ready to charm the business casual pants off these library people.
The first three hours were spent volunteering at the registration desk. I thought it would give me an opportunity to talk with other attendees in a low-pressure situation. What I did not figure into my social calculations was that it was the last day of the conference and just about everyone had already checked in. I ended up checking in a total of about six people who were more interested in getting breakfast than talking to me in the lobby. So much for charm.
There were about 250 people at the conference and about four seminars per breakout. I was anticipating big rooms full of chattering librarians who were eager to discuss the exciting ideas being presented to us. Approximately ten of the most reticent attendees went to any one of the seminars I went to. I guess clinical trials, online learning, and virtual reference aren’t on the cutting edge of the library world. And to be honest, I had to work hard myself to maintain an interest. It felt like I was back in one of my undergrad classes with one eye permanently locked on the clock. By the end of the conference, my feet were sore and I hadn’t given out a single business card. Nobody was impressed with my charm and l left with the same job I had walked in with. Suffice it to say that my expectations were thoroughly disappointed.
So my first conference wasn’t the thrill-a-minute I was expecting. But I can’t say I regret the experience because I still learned some valuable lessons. I was exceptionally proud of myself for working myself up to ask a question during the seminar on clinical trials about minimum metadata requirements and was disappointed to hear that the presenter didn’t know the answer. I realized later that that was the only time during the conference l felt a genuine interest in the presentation. So l am going to refocus on digital curation and metadata during my last year of library school; I’m confident now that that is where I will find the most professional fulfillment.
Kathryn Kane
My name is Kathryn Kane, and I have one year left in my MLIS program at SJSU. I completed my undergraduate studies at Washington State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in biology. During Summer 2015, I did an internship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research working with metadata and have decided to pursue that area further during my remaining year in the program. I would like to end up in a career performing digital curation for a scientific organization.
