Dorian, my cat, didn't want me to go.
I've been meaning to write this since I got back a week and a half ago, but alas, here it is. There's so much to say about attending ALA, but I'll try to focus on the logistical parts and perhaps unwrap the learning parts at a later date. First, I have to say ALA was a whirlwind. After finishing an entire class workload the weekend before leaving, alongside preparing for the conference on my own and with my student chapter of ALA, I was exhausted before we hit the road. And, the trip itself, as well as navigating the city was telling. I learned that you can never underestimate your ignorance of how a new city works: from traffic to special events to best routes and diners. It was my fourth time visiting Chicago, and I've always loved the city. My only personal goal for the trip outside of ALA was to visit the aquarium. Check. Logistical aspects: As for the conference, they were right when they recommended walking shoes and a water bottle (see: any person who writes about a conference). I bought new flats for this purpose and have since wore them out. I'm extremely glad I brought a new notebook with me. Because I have trouble focusing on people talk for that long (Who wouldn't?), the notebook let me take notes without having to lug around a heavy laptop or waste phone battery. And it proved useful in more ways than one. After attending back to back sessions, I began forgetting what I attended after a few hours and had to go back to the notebook to remember. It may just be me, but the recommendation to purchase 250 business cards was...off. I more than enough left after the conference and found it to be awkward/weird to just offer business cards even after chatting with someone for a while. Very few people were forward about it, indicating that either they didn't care to exchange, or that it wasn't a common occurrence. I'll likely research this before going to another conference soon . The exhibit hall: I never realized that some people could be so easily rude. It's a free book, not a free vacation. Not to mention, it's an advanced reader copy, so you can't circulate it. I had people grab every item in sight and not care who they knocked down. How on earth is it a good decision to take 7 books from one vendor? I'm glad I followed advice and was selective in my new materials. I do believe I stole this cute finger puppet though... Sorry vendors! Librarians can party...hard. At least, that's what the Twitter feed said and what I overheard in the lunch line. I was too busy sleeping after the conference to even consider going out to a party until 2am. I'm lame, I know. But I don't really regret it, as I wanted to attend as many sessions as I could. All in all, it was a very valuable experience. I went to a Tweet-up happy hour, iSchool reception, attended more sessions than I care to share, and I got to connect with other students and professionals in the field. Every day, I made small goals to keep me out of my comfort zone and constantly exploring. Although I doubt I'll be able to attend the conference any time in the near future, I'm already researching other opportunities. Next post: My Education at the Conference
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With ALA just around the bend (Thursday!!), I thought it'd be good to write a bit about my preparation for the conference. In September 2012, my professor emphasized the importance of attending professional conferences--networking, job hunting, understanding big topics in the field, feeling the throes of thousands of librarians gathering to embrace their careers as resources to their communities and the changes within... Immediately, I knew I wanted to attend. Why?
1. I could get funding (and I did!) 2. It gave me five days off in the midst of my final semester (mini professional vacation) 3. I could go somewhere and really see how library land operates on a larger level--no matter what they teach you in your program, you can't begin to understand librarianship until you're with librarians and in the field. So, I did. And, I wanted other people to attend. As Co-President for our Student Chapter of ALA, I recruited seven other students from Pitt to attend ALA in Chicago this year. Then, I joined NMRT committees to prepare for next year, and I volunteered to write a piece for NMRT's Footnotes recapping my experience at the conference. I'll be discussing how my preparation shaped up against my experience. I suppose this post is preparing me for that article. Next? #nmrtchat . First Twitter chat ever, and first time discussing library stuff with librarians whom I don't know. Extremely exciting. I even gushed when people responded to my questions and yelled at my boyfriend to come look. Of course, he couldn't feel the excitement I did. I also signed up for the NMRT Mentor/Mentee program, and I am happily paired with a recent librarian from Loyola Marymount University. We'll be meeting up at the conference. Now... I am reading Footnotes, blogposts from Librarian Wardrobe, asking professors at Pitt, watching webinars about attending the conference. I'm also reading the million emails from the Information Literacy, NMRT, and College Libraries listservs and scanning the #ala2013 feed for any recommendations. I'm pretty sure that the other students are getting tired of my "You have to check this out!" emails at this point. We're doing our final preparation meeting tonight, where we'll share tips with one another. So, am I prepared? Well, after looking at the Scheduler and being frustrated there are 7 things I want to do at 8:30 Sunday morning, I'm hoping so. I'm going in with an open mind, business cards, walking shoes, an extra bag, and my phone charger, as well as a spare book if I have time. I've also finished all of my assignments due during the conference, so no worries there. I'll at least be happy to return and share everything I've learned since attending. Hope to see everyone there! |
Stephanie FreasRecent MLIS graduate & lover of writing. This is a narrative of my first look into the librarian profession. Archives
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