ALA Student Chapter at Simmons College

Well, I'm leaving DC later today. I have some notes from specific sessions I attended, and when I get home, I'm going to write them up and post them, so people can have a better idea about what actually goes on at all these meetings and presentations. For now, though, while it's still fresh in my mind, I thought I'd post some conference tips/lessons learned from the past few days. Some of these may be very obvious to more savvy people, but they weren't to me, so here they are:

-Don't be afraid to sit in on any open session. I was sort of pushed into sitting in on a literacy committee meeting because I was volunteering, but it's something I might have been intimidated by otherwise, and I learned a lot about literacy projects around the country.
-If you're set on hearing big-name speakers, get there early. I missed out on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Julie Andrews because I got there too late and the fire-code capacity of the auditorium had been reached.
-In that vein: have alternate events in mind that you can go to, if yours is canceled or full (...or not what you thought it was going to be). People leave late and arrive early frequently to events.
-Definitely use the resume review service, and sign up for an appointment early in the conference. I was lucky to get one - and the reviewer was thoughtful and constructive.
-Some of the roundtables and divisions offer a mentor/mentee program. If you're a member, definitely take advantage.
-If you're in a city with public transportation, you don't have to rely solely on the shuttles to and from the hotels (which can take awhile). Get a map of the subway before you go.
-The line at the Internet Cafe was long but not interminable. I brought my laptop, but I sort of wish I hadn't (because it's heavy).

Okay, I will post notes later on. I just want to say thanks here to ALASC for helping me to attend conference; it's been a really good experience.

Posted by Elizabeth Galoozis at 10:47 AM | Permalink

I was calculating how many days I've been here, and wow - I can't believe it. It's only the second day of the conference proper, but it's my third full day in DC.

The conference is overwhelming, especially the exhibits portion, but I've hit some good events and meetings thus far. I really enjoyed The Hollywood Librarian; it's not just about librarians in film, but about their importance in general to people's lives, and to a democratic society. The writer and director, Ann Seidl, is trying to get it out during Banned Books Week by showing it in libraries; I've gotten on her email list, and I think it might be a promising project for Simmons student groups.

At the OLOS Diversity and Outreach Fair, where I volunteered, there were a lot of really exciting programs highlighted, including Circle of Literacy, a program to support literacy for the incarcerated. The Office of Literacy and Outreach Services is pretty amazing, actually; it's very small, but they coordinate a lot of programs making a lot of local impact.

I went to two presentations today, one on marketing reference services to Generation X and one on the intersection of authority control and faceted browsing in catalogs. Both were standing room only, which frankly surprised me, but there are a lot of people here, and I guess they're all here to try to mine some new ideas in different fields. One thing that's definitely clear is that there are committees, or sub-committees, or discussion groups, for everything. No matter how narrow a field of librarianship you want to go into, I guarantee there's a group about it.

It's also pretty clear that you can get a lot professionally out of conference, or not. There are all these meetings, but there are also lots of product promotions in the exhibits area, and plenty of more "celebrity"-type speakers. I'm not saying I'm doing any of that; I got to see Nancy Pearl speak today, and I'm going to see Julie Andrews tomorrow. But it's a balance to be struck. And it's tiring! Hopefully I'll get another entry in before I leave.

Posted by Elizabeth Galoozis at 10:34 PM | Permalink

Hello all, it's Liz Galoozis, the Simmons student-to-staff representative at the ALA annual conference in D.C. I've been here since yesterday, and there's not too much to report yet, but I thought I'd better check in before things really get going.

Last night I met all the other student-to-staff-ers; about thirty or so students from different library schools around the country. We got oriented to the overwhelming amount that's going on at the conference - from all the preconference meetings of different divisions and roundtables to Placement Services, where you can get your resume critiqued or even interview for jobs on the spot.

I'll be working for the Office of Literacy and Outreach Services while I'm at the conference; I attend my first meeting this afternoon, of the Committee on Literacy. After that, I'm looking forward to the "world premiere" (I guess I shouldn't put that in quotes; it is) of The Hollywood Librarian, a documentary that looks at representations of librarians in film.

Once the conference really gets going, I'll post some more substantial updates. I only have a disposable camera, so pictures will have to wait until I get back to the GSLIS lab and its scanner.

Posted by Elizabeth Galoozis at 09:24 AM | Permalink