ACRL OnPoint Chat Archive June 9, 2010: Getting to Know YOUR Conference

Are you attending the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. this summer? Is this your first time attending Annual? Come join the Emerging Leaders ACRL 101 Team for a chat session on thriving at your first ALA Annual. We will be hosting two OnPoint chat sessions to discuss details ranging from "How do I get around?" to "Will my shoes be librarian-chic enough?" and anything else you care to talk about.

Join us on June 9 for an OnPoint chat hosted by Amanda Dinscore (California State University-Fresno), Wendy Girven (University of Alaska Southeast -Juneau), and Kimberley Bugg (Atlanta University Center).

09:58 Amanda Dinscore Hello all--glad you were able to join us today

09:59 Amanda Dinscore Let's give it a couple more minutes and then we can get started

10:02 Amanda Dinscore Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Amanda Dinscore and I'm a public services librarian at California State University, Fresno. My fellow team members are Wendy Girven and Kimberley Bugg. They can tell you a little about themselves....

10:02 Wendy Girven Thanks Amanda!

10:03 Adam Burling I'm Adam Burling (ACRL Program Officer) & I'll be observing the chat today and helping out with any policy questions.

10:03 Wendy Girven I'm wendy girven, Public Services Librarian at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau

10:03 Kimberley Bugg
Hi I am Kim. Assistant Head of Information & Research at Atlanta University Center

10:04 Amanda Dinscore Please introduce yourselves, as well, if you'd like!

10:05 Amanda Dinscore We have a lot to share, but we'll open it up to questions first. Anything in particular you'd like to know?

10:05 Derrik
Hi! I'm Derrik Hiatt, E-Resources librarian at Wake Forest Univ. This will be my first ALA conf.

10:06 Wendy Girven DC is a great venue for conference, we're happy to talk about any questions you might have about how annual works, how to navigate/select things, or otherwise

10:06 Mary Mc
I'm Mary McCoy Library Director at Lamar State College-Orange and this will be my first ALA Conference

10:06 patoney Pat Toney recent grad from San Jose State. unemployed :\ 1st time @ALA:)

10:07 Mary Mc
That's Orange, TX

10:07 Joanna Hi! I'm Joanna Gadsby, Reference Librarian at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. First conference!

10:07 Curious
I've heard that the conference is quite scattered physically and that it's hard to get in everything you want... what is your recommendation?

10:07 Carolyn Hotchkiss
Hi, I'm Carolyn Hotchkiss, recent Drexel iSchool graduate and part-time technical services assistant at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

10:08 Amanda Dinscore @Curious-I would probably reconcile yourself to the fact that you probably won't be able to do everything

10:08 Amanda Dinscore unfortunately!

10:08 Wendy Girven HI Curious-- The conference can be quite scattered... ALA does have a free shuttle service that aids in getting around and is easy to use.

10:08 Carolyn Hotchkiss
(I hope I didn't just double post: I got an error message the first time.)

10:09 Wendy Girven The free shuttle centers around the main conference venue and delivers you to different hotel areas.

10:09 Kimberley Bugg
I recommend also giving yourself travel time between each session you plan to attend 15-20 minutes.

10:09 Curious
How much time do you recommend you leave between venues to catch what you want to see?

10:09 Amanda Dinscore Have you all used the Event Planner? I've found it to be really useful and helpful in seeing all that's available at different time slots/places.

10:09 Derrik
@Wendy - How do we get a shuttle schedule?

10:09 Kristin-mounds, ok
does everyone dress up for the opening sessions

10:09 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda--I've tried to use the Event Planner, but not quite made sense of it yet.

10:09 patoney I'm concerned I may have too much social / networking time and not enough learning/ sessions in my schedule

10:09 Curious
Do non-ticketed events get max'd out so no room for folks to attend?

10:10 Derrik
@Amanda, Carolyn - Me too - Event planner is hard to use

10:10 Kimberley Bugg
@Kristin- Opening sessions are pretty casual

10:10 GuestPgh
Yes, how do we get a shuttle schedule, and how does one dress?

10:10 Wendy Girven @ Derrik ... the shuttle schedule is usually posted at the event center... but it's generally like every 15- 20 minutes

10:10 patoney I put everything on my google calender which is accessible on my itouch

10:10 Amanda Dinscore The shuttle schedule is available here http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/programs/ALA_Program_Directory%20and%20Exhibit%20Guide__FINAL.pdf on pp39-40 or so

10:10 Derrik
@Amanda - Thanks for the schedule link!

10:11 Derrik
I hadn't seen that in the conf. schedule...

10:11 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda -- that's a really huge PDF. Do people print it out? I'm not sure I'd be able to haul around that much paper.

10:11 Wendy Girven @patoney social time is important... don't underestimate it! also, it will help you decide on more sessions to attend because you'll talk to people and learn what they are attending

10:12 Amanda Dinscore @Carolyn--should be just a couple of pages within that pdf. I would definitely not recommend printing out the whole thing!

10:12 Wendy Girven @ carolyn - they provide you with a physical copy at registration when you get there if you want. i prefer not to lug it around myself

10:12 Kimberley Bugg
@GuestPgh. Dress Casual and Comfortable and bring a sweater or light jacket

10:12 Wendy Girven as far as dressing...you'll see a wide range from jeans to suits.

10:12 Wendy Girven wear comfortable shoes!

10:12 patoney @ Wendy thanks for the tip on deciding about sessions.

10:12 Kimberley Bugg
@GuestPgh. . .I always end up doing a lot of walking

10:13 GuestPgh
Thanks!

10:13 Wendy Girven and the city is hot, but it is air conditioned in the buildings ... so Kim is right, bring a sweater

10:13 Derrik
Any recommendations about how much time to allot to the Vendor Exhibits?

10:14 Derrik
(and how to fit that into the schedule...)

10:14 Wendy Girven @derrik several hours, to be honest

10:14 Amanda Dinscore Speaking of social time....here's alink to parties and receptions

  http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Parties_and_Receptions

10:15 Kristin-mounds, ok
i had planned on going to the author tea and will be leaving that day, does anyone know if I can sell it to someone or get a refund when I check-in

10:16 Adam Burling If you do swing by the booths, check out the ACRL booth to register for a chance to win free registration to the ACRL 2011 Conference in Philadelphia

10:16 patoney @Kristin - most conferences have a message board for ticket sales/exchange

10:17 Mary Mc
If my husband has a ticket to the exhibits can he use the shuttle also?

10:17 Kimberley Bugg
Leave room in your luggage for the items that you pick up during the vendor exhibits or plan to ship back to yourself

10:17 Kristin-mounds, ok
okay thanks

10:17 Wendy Girven the exhibits are huge and a bit overwhelming... there are a lot of free giveaways at them. a good thing to know is that there is a post office on the exhibit floor.

10:17 patoney or bring an extra bag

10:17 Carolyn Hotchkiss
Is there a place to leave check your luggage the first/last day you're going to be there?

10:17 Amanda Dinscore Kristin--I would call conference services to see about that, too

10:18 Kristin-mounds, ok
do we need to carry around notebooks for the classes or will they just handout papers

10:19 Amanda Dinscore @Kristin--that's entirely up to you, but I have found I accumulate a lot of paper at these things

10:20 Amanda Dinscore I mentioned the event planner earlier--available here http://ala.cistems.net/Index3.php

10:20 GuestPgh
Do you know if MOST of the speakers will make available their powerpoint slides on ALA site (if ALA permits that)?

10:20 Derrik
Does the shuttle just make a loop through all the conf hotels? Or is there one route that goes west and another that goes south, etc.?

10:21 Amanda Dinscore This is a great resource for organizing your time--and you can print out a nice pdf of your schedule or export it

10:21 Joyce
Is it ok to attend committee meetings even if you aren't on the committees?

10:22 Wendy Girven @ derrick they go specific routes

10:23 Amanda Dinscore @Derrik--the link I gave you before has specific routes

10:23 Amanda Dinscore and I think it was on p 38 (not what I said earlier)

10:23 Derrik
@Amanda - Do you know if the event planner has a way to show *only* those sessions that start at a specific time? All I can see is that it shows sessions that start at and after that time (so you put 8:00, and you get all the sessions that day)

10:23 Wendy Girven @guest i think a lot of the powerpoints end up on ALA connect

10:23 Amanda Dinscore and it tells you how often they run

10:23 Curious
the shuttle schedule is actually on p 42 when you want to print it out

10:23 Amanda Dinscore Thanks, Curious!

10:24 Amanda Dinscore Derrik--let me look into that

10:24 Derrik
ok, thanks

10:25 Curious
how safe is the area that we'll be in for walking around later at night

10:25 Amanda Dinscore If you click on the My Schedule icon, you can then click the icon at the top that says Search Sessions

10:25 Amanda Dinscore then you can limit however you want

10:26 Amanda Dinscore Other than that, I'm not sure

10:28 Amanda Dinscore That's a good question, Curious. Wendy, do you know about the neighborhood at all?

10:28 Wendy Girven My first Annual was in DC. I'd reccomend building in some break time during your schedule. It was actually pretty intense and I got tired sometimes. Bring some snacks along with you for sure.

10:28 Amanda Dinscore I wouldn't recommend walking anywhere alone, regardless

10:29 Wendy Girven The conference center is located close to a lot of major touristy sites, restaurants nearby, and right on the metro.

10:29 patoney I've always heard to not wear your badge outside of the convention center and look like you know where you're going

10:29 Amanda Dinscore good advice

10:30 Amanda Dinscore And have the number for a cab handy if you do happen to get stuck

10:30 Wendy Girven @ patoney ... i can't emphasize that enough.

10:30 Kristin-mounds, ok is there a place to eat at the conference or snack machines

10:30 Wendy Girven there is a cafe on the exhibit floor and usually coffee shops throughout the conf. center

10:31 Amanda Dinscore I personally wouldn't count on anything cheap or that doesn't have a long line---bring snacks!

10:31 GuestPgh
Will ALA or any other organization be serving snacks at times?

10:31 GuestPgh
particularly COFFEE!!??

10:32 Amanda Dinscore probably...but, again, don't count on it! Especially with something as important as coffee!

10:32 Wendy Girven sometimes you can get snacks on the exhibit floor or at some of the sponsored sessions, but you are generally on your own for food.

10:32 patoney yes, please tell us about vendor breakfasts, etc

10:32 Kimberley Bugg
@GuestPgh: Some events and sessions have snacks and water/coffee/tea. Also, some vendors offer those things during the exhibits but they tend to have long lines

10:32 Mary Mc
Are all the first time attendees at the Hilton Washington?

10:33 patoney I'm booked at a hostel

10:33 Kimberley Bugg
I have attended several vendor breakfasts. They are usually accompanied by a demonstration and networking. The ones I have attended ranged from continental to full breakfast

10:33 Amanda Dinscore there are also a few lunches, too

10:33 Kimberley Bugg
I have also been to some receptions, dinners, and lunches that serve everything from seafood to sandwhiches and beer and wine

10:34 Kimberley Bugg
*sandwiches

10:35 Amanda Dinscore @ Mary Mc I think people will be scattered across the city

10:35 Amanda Dinscore which reminds me...librarians are very helpful, so don't hesitate to ask if you think you spot a librarian

10:36 Amanda Dinscore and need help

10:36 Amanda Dinscore plus, you get a chance to make a connection

10:36 Wendy Girven librarians love to help, of course. :)

10:36 Wendy Girven also, you can ask anyone who works at the conference center, registration booth, etc.

10:37 Amanda Dinscore any other questions?

10:38 Derrik
Mary asked earlier whether her husband could use the conf shuttle with an Exhibits only pass...

10:38 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda I don't you got to my question about luggage? Is there a place to check stuff you don't want to carry?

10:38 patoney Do you think Toni Morrison will be signing books?

10:38 Amanda Dinscore Definitely check out ACRL 101 Saturday, June 26, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Mayflower Renaissance, State Ballroom.

10:38 Lu
any suggestions on choosing sessions, seeing as how we can't possible attend them all?

10:39 Wendy Girven @patoney there are a lot of author signings at the conference. let me find a link

10:39 Amanda Dinscore @Carolyn--I'm not sure about that one. I know I've seen a coat/bag check but I think it cost $

10:39 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda Thanks.

10:39 Amanda Dinscore and it was too much for me, whatever the cost was : )

10:40 Amanda Dinscore @ Lu--choose sessions that you're interested in, of course, but also have backups. And keep location/travel time in mind

10:40 Derrik
@Carolyn - Your hotel will probably have a place to store, may/may not charge for it (but of course that means going back & forth)

10:40 Wendy Girven @ Lu ALA kind of has tracks designed to help theme the sessions... like technology, etc. You can have that guide you.. or just pick ones that sound personally or professionally interesting to you

10:41 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Derrik I'm not staying in a hotel--I'm staying with a friend a bit outside of the city. But I can probably arrange to go to her place before and after the conference.

10:41 Amanda Dinscore and feel free to leave early if you're not intested in it after all

10:41 Wendy Girven A reminder that there is a career placement services portion of conference... you can meet with libraries who are currently hiring.

10:41 Wendy Girven yes, sit near the back or at the end of an aisle if you are thinking you might need to leave... it's also okay to come in late to a session

10:42 patoney How many resumes do you recommend I bring? Is the a printer station somewhere?

10:42 Kristin-mounds, ok good because i want to see the drill team

10:42 Wendy Girven @patoney ... there is a printer in the internet cafe, but i'd say, bring your own copies with you.

10:43 patoney Thanks Wendy

10:43 Lu
could you tell us a bit more about the career placement services?

10:43 Amanda Dinscore We're also hosting a few ACRL 101 Mini-Sessions on the exhibit floor that you might be interested in. Saturday 10:00-10:30 a.m., Sunday 9:30-10 a.m. and Sunday 11-11:30

10:43 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@patoney You can also probably find a Kinko's? Although I haven't actually checked, I should do that.

10:43 Kristin-mounds, ok besides a career placement do you know if there is a place to talk to someone about college careers, as far as BA degrees that are hot now

10:44 Amanda Dinscore There is a career counseling service but you need to sign up

http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Career_Counseling

10:45 Amanda Dinscore And some career guidance workshops

http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Workshops

10:46 Amanda Dinscore Resume review service

http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Resume_Review_Service

 10:46 Wendy Girven Placement services are near the exhibit floor. Some libraries will have a booth there and will have descriptions of positions they are hiring for . . . they also do some prelim interviews during those times. . .

10:47 Amanda Dinscore The placement center also has an open house on Sunday, June 27 from 9:30-11 a.m.

10:47 Amanda Dinscore More info:

http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Open_House

10:47 Wendy Girven @ Kristin a lot of library schools have booths at the exhibit floor, but i'm not sure about talking about undergrad majors.

10:49 Kristin-mounds, ok thanks Wendy

10:49 Lu
Thank you!

10:50 Wendy Girven Any other questions?

10:50 Kristin-mounds, ok no thank you

10:50 patoney Thank you all for your time and information

10:51 Amanda Dinscore One more thing, you may want to consider volunteering to make connections at ALA. Here is one opportunity that might be of interest:

http://annual.ala.org/2010/index.php?title=Libraries_Build_Communities

10:51 Veronica
Thank you for the great info

10:51 Carolyn Hotchkiss
Yes, thank you.

10:51 Amanda Dinscore and bring business cards!

10:51 Amanda Dinscore and have something to jot down notes about people you meet, too

10:51 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda should we have some made if we don't have any?

10:52 Amanda Dinscore @ Carolyn--maybe, or just have a notepad to write down your info

10:52 Derrik
Will this chat transcript be accessible later? (what about printable?)

10:52 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda Thanks, I'll see what it'd be likely to cost...

10:52 Amanda Dinscore at my first conference, before I had a job, I made some that I never gave out--it just depends

10:53 patoney Vista print it pretty affordable

10:53 Amanda Dinscore it also depends on whether you're job hunting, too

10:53 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@patoney Thanks for the rec.

10:53 Amanda Dinscore if so, I'd probably recommend it

10:53 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda I'm definitely job hunting!

10:53 Wendy Girven @derrick

10:53 Wendy Girven yes !

10:54 Amanda Dinscore Well, ALA is a good place to do it.

10:54 Carolyn Hotchkiss
@Amanda I hope so.

10:55 Amanda Dinscore Any other questions?

10:55 Wendy Girven archives of chat will be here

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/onpoint/index.cfm#past

10:56 Amanda Dinscore Thanks, Wendy

10:57 Wendy Girven Thank you all for participating with us today! You can drop by the sessions at annual and meet us.

10:57 Wendy Girven DC is a great location for Annual... I hope everyone enjoys it!

10:57 Amanda Dinscore Yes, it would be nice to meet you in person. Hope everyone has a great conference!

10:58 GuestPgh
Thank you for offering this chat! :>
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