I attended the SLA 2014 Annual Conference in Vancouver, Canada this June. \u00a0I had a fabulous time and would absolutely recommend going to anyone who has an opportunity to do so. \u00a0Now that it\u2019s over and I\u2019ve had some time to reflect, I\u2019ve come up with a list of the top 10 things I learned.<\/p>\n
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- Get financial help.<\/em><\/strong> I know of several chapters and divisions who offered stipends to members who applied. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0I also met someone from the business and finance division who recommended applying for a stipend from their division. \u00a0My 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.<\/li>\n
- Volunteer<\/em><\/strong>: \u00a0I 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. \u00a0It 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. \u00a0Volunteering 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.<\/li>\n
- Socialize<\/em><\/strong>: 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. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0At 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. \u00a0At the Fellows and Firsts Meet I met even more people, and ended up going to dinner with a couple of my new friends. \u00a0It was like this every night! \u00a0I came home with lots of business cards. \u00a0The 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. \u00a0For something a little different, they even have a \u2018customary puzzle\u2019 for everyone to work on at their open house on the last night.<\/li>\n
- Network<\/em><\/strong>: 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! \u00a0The 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. \u00a0I definitely need to work on my networking skills- “working the room” rather than dominating one person, and remembering to listen and ask questions. \u00a0Every event I left, I met some great people, but I knew I had missed talking to a great majority of the people there. \u00a0I 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.<\/li>\n
- Get creative when looking for\u00a0accommodation<\/em><\/strong>: When I went to book my hotel, all of the discounted conference hotel rooms were gone, and hotel prices were pretty high in Vancouver. \u00a0I thought about asking someone to share a room, but I didn\u2019t know anyone well enough who was going. \u00a0Instead, I check out airbnb.com. \u00a0I found a fantastic room in a shared apartment, just 10 minutes\u2019 walk from the convention center, for half the cost of a hotel room. \u00a0I 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!<\/li>\n
- Learn about SLA and the profession:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0At the Fellows and Firsts Meet, one of the \u201cFellows\u201d [http:\/\/www.sla.org\/get-involved\/awards\/fellows-of-sla\/<\/a>] 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. \u00a0Every 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. \u00a0Everyone 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!<\/li>\n
- Take notes<\/em><\/strong>: I am a big fan of Evernote. \u00a0I have the app on my phone, and in each session I attended, I took notes. \u00a0One great feature in Evernote is the ability to take photos within a note. \u00a0This 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. \u00a0I 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\u2019t forget to bring something to take notes with! \u00a0I know someone who took a photo of someone else\u2019s handwritten notes with her iPhone and then passed them on to me; whatever works!<\/li>\n
- Follow up:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0When I got home, I had a small stack of business cards from people I met at the conference. \u00a0I made sure to go through the stack and either email or send a personalized\u00a0LinkedIn request to everyone I met. \u00a0I met one person who made notes right onto my business card when I met him. \u00a0This seemed like a great idea, although I didn\u2019t collect quite enough business cards this time for it to be necessary. \u00a0I 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.<\/li>\n
- Find niche groups:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 I discovered that there is an\u00a0SLA runners group. \u00a0Since 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. \u00a0The 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. \u00a0I also found that the Western Canada chapter was putting on a free yoga class – although that got cancelled due to rain.<\/li>\n
- Use Twitter:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0The hashtag for the conference (#SLA2014) was a great way to track conversations, interesting sessions, events, and people who were at the conference. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0I 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.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Next year, the conference is in Boston, and I really hope that I can attend. \u00a0I met so many kind, encouraging, and enthusiastic people at the conference that I feel very enthusiastic about my continued involvement with SLA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
- Volunteer<\/em><\/strong>: \u00a0I 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. \u00a0It 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. \u00a0Volunteering 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.<\/li>\n
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