Students in Library and Information Science (and recent grads and friends)
ALA Tips
I made it through my first ALA with only a few snags. Here are my tips for any future big conferences:
Wear sensible shoes, no matter how dowdy they look. I was a fool and decided to wear attractive footwear. BIG HUGE mistake. Blisters everywhere. Much pain.
Seek out inexpensive restaurants that will feed you vegetables. We frequented the Saints Paradise Church Cafeteria near the Convention Center. Nice folks. Good eats.
Plan a LOT before you leave. It made a big difference for me to be able to get to the conference and already have a good idea of my schedule each day.
Go with the flow. There were so many times when we did not know where we were going; many times when we did not calculate how much time it would take to get someplace via public transportation.
Don't overbook. I was exhausted each day, and by the last two days I actually started cutting activities out of my schedule. It was too much.
Work at a booth. The best experience I had at ALA was working the NMRT booth. I met so many nice people, and really got a feel for what they wanted out of the group. I will jump at the chance to do this next year.
Actually GO to the conference if you can. Being involved "virtually" is a great idea for sessions and the exchange of ideas. But I spent a bunch of time there socializing with other people. And through this interaction I was able to make some good connections for the future.
Wear sensible shoes, no matter how dowdy they look. I was a fool and decided to wear attractive footwear. BIG HUGE mistake. Blisters everywhere. Much pain.
Seek out inexpensive restaurants that will feed you vegetables. We frequented the Saints Paradise Church Cafeteria near the Convention Center. Nice folks. Good eats.
Plan a LOT before you leave. It made a big difference for me to be able to get to the conference and already have a good idea of my schedule each day.
Go with the flow. There were so many times when we did not know where we were going; many times when we did not calculate how much time it would take to get someplace via public transportation.
Don't overbook. I was exhausted each day, and by the last two days I actually started cutting activities out of my schedule. It was too much.
Work at a booth. The best experience I had at ALA was working the NMRT booth. I met so many nice people, and really got a feel for what they wanted out of the group. I will jump at the chance to do this next year.
Actually GO to the conference if you can. Being involved "virtually" is a great idea for sessions and the exchange of ideas. But I spent a bunch of time there socializing with other people. And through this interaction I was able to make some good connections for the future.
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2 Comments
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Comment by Rhonda Crim-Tumelson on July 3, 2007 at 10:11am
- I don't think I can afford the MidWinter meeting. So, see ya next year!
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Comment by Karin Dalziel on July 3, 2007 at 10:09am
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I agree about the comfortable shoes. I only brought two pairs- and ended up only wearing one because the others hurt. Ideally, it's best to find shoes that are both cute and comfortable -you'd think that'd be easy, but not so much.
I wish I had worked at a booth- I think that would have been a great way to meet people. I'm glad I got to hang out with you a bit, anyway.
I hope to make another conference... I doubt I'll be able to make midwinter, but I'm hoping to go to ALA next summer.
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