Dispatch from SLA ’14, Vancouver, BC.

Photo rights: Cory Laurence

by Cory Laurence

I attended the SLA 2014 Annual Conference in Vancouver, Canada this June.  I had a fabulous time and would absolutely recommend going to anyone who has an opportunity to do so.  Now that it’s over and I’ve had some time to reflect, I’ve come up with a list of the top 10 things I learned.

1. Get financial help. I know of several chapters and divisions who offered stipends to members who applied.  I met the student sponsored by the New England Chapter, as well as the students sponsored by the San Francisco Chapter and the Military Libraries Division.  I also met someone from the business and finance division who recommended applying for a stipend from their division.  My own chapter did not offer a stipend for the conference, but I did volunteer to help with registration at the conference in exchange for free conference registration.
2. Volunteer:  I volunteered at the registration desk all day on Sunday, the first day of the conference. On the plus side, I met lots of people and really got to know my fellow volunteers, mostly students like me, and a couple of SLA staff members. Unfortunately, working the desk meant that I only got to see one session on Sunday; I was particularly bummed to miss the opening keynote and award ceremony.  It was also a very long shift – I arrived at 6:30 am Sunday and was supposed to work until 7 pm; luckily, we were all let go around 3 pm.  Volunteering at the registration desk is not the only option, though; I know of a few divisions that wanted volunteers to help with some sessions in exchange for free conference registration.
3. Socialize: From what I could tell, the myriad gatherings, open houses, vendor events, dinners, drinks, dance parties, karaoke nights, trivia nights, etc etc, are where most of the action occurs at SLA.  I arrived in Vancouver just in time to attend first the SJSU SLIS reception on Saturday afternoon, immediately followed by the Fellows and First Timers meet.  At the SLIS reception, it turned out that I was one of the only students present, so I found myself being introduced to nearly everyone there.  At the Fellows and Firsts Meet I met even more people, and ended up going to dinner with a couple of my new friends.  It was like this every night!  I came home with lots of business cards.  The Military Libraries Division put on a few free breakfasts and an open house – lots of free food, and a great opportunity to talk to those in the profession.  For something a little different, they even have a ‘customary puzzle’ for everyone to work on at their open house on the last night.
4. Network: This is maybe the same thing as socializing, but perhaps with more purpose. A lot of us in this profession are introverts; networking is hard work for us!  The hardest part of all these events, for me, was not latching on to one person and talking just to them for the rest of the night.  I definitely need to work on my networking skills- “working the room” rather than dominating one person, and remembering to listen and ask questions.  Every event I left, I met some great people, but I knew I had missed talking to a great majority of the people there.  I did get better at asking questions at this conference, I think, and I also got better at approaching complete strangers by the end of the weekend.
5. Get creative when looking for accommodation: When I went to book my hotel, all of the discounted conference hotel rooms were gone, and hotel prices were pretty high in Vancouver.  I thought about asking someone to share a room, but I didn’t know anyone well enough who was going.  Instead, I check out airbnb.com.  I found a fantastic room in a shared apartment, just 10 minutes’ walk from the convention center, for half the cost of a hotel room.  I was able to use the kitchen to keep food and prepare breakfast, and it was close enough for me to come back an have a nap when necessary!
6. Learn about SLA and the profession: At the Fellows and Firsts Meet, one of the “Fellows” [http://www.sla.org/get-involved/awards/fellows-of-sla/] gave me a quick rundown of the history and structure of SLA (divisions, chapters, units, caucuses, etc.), which helped me understand it a bit better.  Every time I met someone new, I asked them where they worked, what kinds of things they did in their job, and – most importantly – whether they enjoyed it.  Everyone I met claimed to love their jobs, so unless they were all trying to trick me, I came away feeling pretty positive overall about my career choice!
7. Take notes: I am a big fan of Evernote.  I have the app on my phone, and in each session I attended, I took notes.  One great feature in Evernote is the ability to take photos within a note.  This meant that when a presenter had a particularly wordy slide, I was able to just take a photo of it, and it showed up right in my notes.  I was able to share my notes with a couple of friends who did not attend the same sessions as I did. Of course, most people I saw took notes the old-fashioned way (with paper and pens); if this is your preference, don’t forget to bring something to take notes with!  I know someone who took a photo of someone else’s handwritten notes with her iPhone and then passed them on to me; whatever works!
8. Follow up: When I got home, I had a small stack of business cards from people I met at the conference.  I made sure to go through the stack and either email or send a personalized LinkedIn request to everyone I met.  I met one person who made notes right onto my business card when I met him.  This seemed like a great idea, although I didn’t collect quite enough business cards this time for it to be necessary.  I found it just as easy to review my stack each night and remind myself who each person was, so that by the time I got home I had looked at each card a few times and could remember the circumstances of our meetings and even conversations we had.
9. Find niche groups:  I discovered that there is an SLA runners group.  Since I joined a triathlon club last year, I was kind of bummed at the idea of missing out on five days of exercise while at the conference.  The runners group has a Facebook page to organize group runs, and it was great way to motivate myself to get out, meet people, and get some exercise.  I also found that the Western Canada chapter was putting on a free yoga class – although that got cancelled due to rain.
10. Use Twitter: The hashtag for the conference (#SLA2014) was a great way to track conversations, interesting sessions, events, and people who were at the conference.  I am not great at posting myself, but I found it a great way to plan ahead before I arrived, to keep an eye on what was happening while at the conference, and to follow up with notes, photos, and other information after the conference finished.  I connected with a few people on Twitter before even arriving in Vancouver and found out about both the SLA Runners group and the Fellows and First Meet on Twitter.

Next year, the conference is in Boston, and I really hope that I can attend.  I met so many kind, encouraging, and enthusiastic people at the conference that I feel very enthusiastic about my continued involvement with SLA. 

SLA Conference 2014, Vancouver, BC. – Cory Laurence (left, standing).