i’m just home from 3 conferences in 3 weeks. since october 15 i’ve been at Internet Librarian (Monterey), Access (Vancouver), and DLF Fall Forum (Baltimore).
my brain is positively filled with awesome ideas and inspiration. lists and lists of tools and services that could work at mpow. so much to do. so much fun.
my heart is also full. damn, did i ever make the right call joining libraryland. so many passionate people who want to make sure our communities have access to the information they need. particularly inspiring over these past few weeks:
Sarah Houghton’s video looking at recent Amazon loans bullshit (go watch it. now.)
the folks who attended our “new modes of publishing” session at DLF and took our challenge to add their thoughts to the google doc we had live on the screen. (the attendees took a list of recommendations – you know, those kinds of recommendations that are both great because they answer “why”, but kinda useless because they don’t answer “how” – and made them actionable. as i tweeted, “way to not just sit on your arses #dlfforum”)
Bess Sadler (arguably one of the top coders in libraryland) talking about how it’s not about the code, it’s about the community, at Access.
Michael Porter’s passionate and articulate calling-out of vendor disregard for user privacy, while sitting on a panel with OverDrive and other ebook vendors at IL.
the librarylanders at Access who made trips down to OccupyVancouver (and those of you who are attending Occupy events in other cities) to support the movement, because libraryland lives outside of libraries – it’s wherever our users are.
there will be more posts coming as i start getting everything out of my head and into action, but until then, libraryland, i love ya.
i had a really busy spring. it was both awesome, and exhausting. (errrr, i’m still trying to catch up. sorry if you’re still waiting to hear from me.)
i attended 10 conferences in 12 weeks. wait, WHUT? (plus, at some point in there, i want on a truly awesome west coast roadtrip with kendrak and megvmeg for 9 days. i think it was between CNI and CREPUQ, but i can’t really be sure.)
at some of these conferences i spoke at (one i did precon, gaming night, panel presentation, AND postcon), others i just got to learn about fun things, and one i was on the organizing committee.
here are the gory details:
computers in libraries – washington, dc – march 20-24 – presented
CNI spring meeting – san diego, ca – april 4-5 – learned
CREPUQ technologies mobiles – trois rivières, qc – may 6 – presented
IMLS workshop on library-based publishing – salt lake city, ut – may 11-13 – presented
canadian library association – halifax, ns – may 28-29 (lost the badge!) – presented
THATcamp prime – fairfax, va – june 3-5 – presented/learned (it’s a camp, you do both!)
curatecamp – austin, tx, june 6 – learned (HI DECLAN – remember how hot it was?)
open repositories – austin, tx – june 8-10 – learned (MORE HI DECLAN – remember bbq?)
special libraries association – philadelphia, pa – june 10-15 – organized/presented
tedXlibrarians – toronto, on – june 25 – presented
please note: before the haters come out… a number of these i covered on my own dime because i just wanted to go to them, and there’s no reason mpow has to send me to just anything i want to go to. also, dates may not be actual conference dates – for many i did precons, postcons, or had a metric tonne of meetings. and i had to say hi to declan because he got all cranky last week about not being in any of my #libday7 posts and yelled at me on the twittermachine.
i learned a lot about libraryland, awesome new services i want to try out at mpow, and how to bring the revolution. but what i want to share right now, is what i learned about conferencing.
things i now know
NEXUS PASSES ARE THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE. at YUL it means a quick security line as well as speedy customs line, both filled with people who are used to traveling so are hyper-efficient at getting through the line. (no, lady. you can’t bring a litre of moisturizer in your carry on.) if only YYZ had a NEXUS line for security if you’re connecting. seriously? grrrrr. the pass is well worth the 50$ (lasts 5 years).
having a sippy cup that seals completely, like this one, is one of the best things to travel with. coffee, water, bourbon… whatever ya got, you can take it with you. you can run out of your hotel room and rush to the first session (i am never late in the morning. nope, not never) with coffee in hand.
a sippy cup, and baby wipes. because everyone who travels is gross and covered in germs and half of them should probably be wearing hazmat suits. plus, when you forget to seal the package properly and they dry out, you can at least use’em as kleenexes.
how to pack for 3 back-to-back conferences and two weeks of travel in only a wee-bit-too-big-for-carry-on suitcase. lean towards underpacking (you can always run into an old navy and pick up a shirt after spilling tomato soup down the front of yourself – not that i ever had to do that) and two pairs of shoes max in your luggage. you can do it.
also, how to do laundry in a hotel. (many thanks to the awesome front desk staff in philly who not only gave me free soap, but gave me change when i didn’t have any, because “hon, we know you don’t want to be doing laundry while you’re staying in a hotel.”)
my passport number, by memory.
before arriving, map the nearest grocery store to the hotel. and the nearest liquor store.
if you’re in a hot place (HELLO AUSTIN) brew some coffee at night and put it in the frigo for the morning so you can still get a jolt of caffeine but not be drinking something hot in 104F weather.
that 104F = 40C. which is WAY TOO HOT to do anything other than be in a pool with a lone star in your hand. (i tried to have that be a session at curatecamp, but they didn’t go for it.) (cuz then giarlo woulda had to do a cannonball.)
mexican martinis are brutal. trust me on this one. there is no need for more than one. and after drinking them, you should never cap off the night with shots of cheap tequila.
always travel with acetaminophen and antacid. (possibly related to my previous point. you’ll never know.)
having a conference buddy is great. i didn’t have a partner-in-crime for a few this spring, and on occasion found myself thinking “stranger danger” at receptions and wanting to run back to my room to watch bad tv and eat ice cream. if there’s someone that you keep bumping into at conferences and you really gel with, do it.
whenever possible, try and do something non-conferencey to stay sane. visit friends in town, go to a museum, play hooky from a social event to just chillax.
eat fruits and veggies whenever they cross your path. when in the conferencezone it won’t happen often, so just do it. it also helps to have awesome vegan friends who take you to fantastic restos once you have eaten nothing but texas bbq for a week straight. (for the record, i was quite happy eating texas bbq for a week straight. salt lick and ruby’s. yes.)
in the “whenever you can” vein, if you’re doing back-to-back conferences, nap whenever the opportunity arises. it’s okay to skip the networking breakfast for a bit of a lie-in, and if there is really no session that floats your boat, and no colleagues you want to hang with during that time, go decompress in your room for a bit. you won’t learn anything if you’re zonked.
montréal, je t’aime. (i knew this already, but home is so good, it deserves a mention.)
just back from computers in libraries, which is now back at the washington hilton (buh bye crystal city).
this conference always fills me with inspiration and energy to make libraryland as awesome as it can be, but this doesn’t necessarily happen in presentations.
the washington hilton has a glorious patio with three huge firepits and comfy chairs. every break in the conference, and pretty much every evening, i found myself surrounded by passionate people who are actively trying to make libraryland a better place. sitting around the fire, chatting and laughing, this is where i learned the most about great initiatives and people.
i frequently say that i want to “kill it with fire” when referring to parts of libraryland that are broken or antiquated. after being filled with inspiration sitting around a firepit, i guess i can now say that we can “build it with fire” as well.
i have the good fortune of attending Books in Browsers at the Internet Archive (also known as the “fathership” – assuming the “mothership” is the Library of Congress). the conference was attended by librarians, publishers, authors, developers, and other people who are interested in making sure stuff that’s written gets read.
one of the presenters is none other than Erin McKean. if you haven’t seen her TED talk yet, i’ve embedded it below. one of my all-time faves.
Erin’s new project is called wordnik.
Wordnik is a place for all the words, and everything known about them.
in her presentation she explained that since dictionaries try to cover the most useful words for the largest group of folks, they frequently leave out the newest and rarest. Wordnik does the opposite. essentially it is a crowdsourced dictionary (including real-world sentences) that aims to have all of the words in the English language. amazing. a context-driven dictionary? i think i’m in love.
but the best part? IT HAS AN API. (and soon there will be an iOS SDK.)
i’m thrilled to be the facilitator for LibraryCamp Monterey at Internet Librarian 2010.
last year’s camp was a great success (pic above), and can we get a round of applause for the Info Today peeps for making librarycamp part of their regular conference schedule?
here are the details:
who: anyone who can make it
what: librarycamp/unconference/generally awesome gathering of librarylanders
when: october 23, 2010 from 9:30am to 12:30pm
where: Monterey Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey [map with directions from conference centre to library]
why: because it will an opportunity to learn from each other – be ready to get your think on
how: maybe we just need the 5 Ws for this…
if you have any questions, leave a comment, shoot me an email or tweet me @jambina
PLEASE NOTE: kendra & meg are two of the biggest reasons i am in SLA. without having them as “partners in crime” (aka “partners who want to make SLA the awesome it could be”) i’d be way less involved. cc licensed flickr photo shared by kendrak
whoa!
it’s nothing new for me to say how great i think the SLA is, how they support new librarians, embrace innovation, and are generally a rockin’ bunch of people.
my first SLA conference blew my mind because everyone i met did something wildly different – some were corporate librarians from developing countries teaching users basic internet searching – while others were working in art museums in charge of acquiring rare texts. i think the diversity of the membership is what kept me attached to the organization.
so now i’m a rising star. i’m not sure what that means, but i can tell you what it doesn’t mean.
it doesn’t mean:
a free ride in libraryland
that i’m done working my butt off for SLA
i do any of this extra stuff during work hours
that i’m done rockin’ at the IT Division Open House and Canadian Reception (seriously, if you aren’t attending these events, u r doin’ it wrong)
to the other rising stars, from this year and last, let’s make sure to move this organization where it needs to be, and push for the changes we think need to happen. this is one helluvan opportunity, let’s not waste it.
the best part about this conference is always the networking. last year a group of friends coined the term (okay, maybe the term existed before but i had never heard it, so it’s invented here as far as i’m concerned) lobbycon – basically, attending a conference but staying in the lobby the entire time talking to people about what they are doing now (and what they will be presenting on NEXT year).
if you’re at #cil2010, say hi, i have tons of LSW ribbons and libpunk buttons to hand out!
since i try not to schedule meetings on mondays, my tuesdays tend to have at least two of them. i think i run fairly productive meetings. i always have an agenda, take minutes, and rarely go over time by more than a few minutes. i’m also a big believer in only having meetings when there’s something to discuss – i’m not a fan of the standing meeting. but then, i don’t run every meeting at mpow.
these meetings had to do with sorting through work needing to be finished by the digitization team. my ABSOFRICKINLUTELY amazing programmer has created a database that queries both our catalogue and Sherpa/Romeo while tracking the process of depositing items into our IR. it is a thing of beauty and when we’re done testing it i’ll tell you more about it.
i also met with my direct supervisor to update her on the the past month and to sort out priorities for now until may 31 (end of fiscal year, chez moi). we’re going to focus on our new “on demand” service – printing on demand and digitizing on demand. (will post more about those when they go live.)
over lunch i rewatched larry lessig‘s talk about copyright in higher education – cuz sometimes librarians need to be reminded that they ARE fighting the good fight. also, i’m a huge fangirl of his, so watching a talk is never “work”. while watching larry, i took my first stab at a packing list for my trip, based loosely off of jessamyn’s (i know i talked about her in the last post. deal.)
other stuff done during the day:
realizing that we need to get better support from a hardware vendor, and trying to figure out the best way to get what we need. they are a new company, and have great customer service, but they’re still growing so only just now figuring out all the demands of their users.
answered a survey sent out by a library considering using one of our products, to help them make the decision.
came to terms with the fact that my office is a berloody mess and i really need to do something about it before i lose my mind. note: this will probably be repeated in #libday5.
thought about downloading some reading material for my travels tomorrow, but then realized that because i use zotero, i had all the PDFs/screenshots with me already. in my world, zotero = productivity.
once home, worked for another few hours finishing up emails and letting folks now that i wouldn’t be back in the office until next monday.
finally fell asleep around 2am. i was restless thinking about going to the SLA Leadership Summit and seeing some great friends (who i only see at conferences due to geographical shenanigans, but who i talk to daily.) also, St Louis has ribs and blues bars. sweet.
wednesday to sunday
i’m at the SLA Leadership Summit in St Louis, MO.
i decided to come because i’m the Communications & Social Media Chair for both the IT and Academic divisions. being on the advisory boards means getting to help plan future directions for the divisions, which is interesting because i get some insight into the organization.
the leadership summit is very different from the annual conference. there are only about 250 people who attend leadership. they are all on chapter or division boards and are really the folks responsible for implementing and “living” SLA. thanks to the tiny size, it’s dead easy to meet folks.
leadership is also different because the summit is about developing the leadership capabilities of the attendees. we skillshare on topics like recruitment & retention. board meetings look at programming for the annual conference. the invited keynote is always someone that has an interesting take on organizations and how best they can serve their members. essentially, it’s about developing SLA leaders (both those who are appointed to boards, and those who self-identify as leaders) to ensure the association can respond to its membership.
this was my first leadership summit and on the whole i found it a good experience. it was great to hear what other folks have planned for the annual conference in New Orleans. it was interesting to hear about, and then really think about, the concept of loyalty when it comes to large organizations, and even further, what this means in academic libraryland.
and of course, SLA events are made for networking. some people i know i will only see at SLA events, and i’m always eager to catch up with them. the LSW had a sizable cohort at leadership, so much so that there was talk of having an LSW caucus – if only to have some beer money for the meetups at annual!
i’ve been a part of a number of library organizations since first starting library school – SLA, CLA, ALA, QLA, LSW – and to be honest, SLA has helped me the most in terms of growing into a professional. [i don't want to sound like a shill, because this is all very sincere.]
for any LIS students reading this, think about the associations to which you belong (and if you don’t belong to any, you are missing out on a crazy opportunity to network and gain insight – especially since students dues are usually insanely cheap) and be sure the association is working for you. can you find mentors? are there free resources available to you? are there scholarships available to cover your expenses to the annual conference? library schools can only do so much – becoming an information professional is all about being resourceful, both in terms of finding answers to questions, and seeking out opportunities for yourself.
to students who complain that their school “does nothing” for them, i say two things:
that sucks. a lot of us have been there. it’s frustrating.
do something about it. host a conference (those who are “big names” inlibrary-land love talking to students and will come to your school in the middle of the winter when it’s crazycold out and speak because they love LIS students). join the local chapter of whatever association seems to be the best fit. hop online and join in the discussion about libraryland (and no, I DO NOT MEAN NEWLIB-L.) reach out to info pros in your area that have jobs you want, and take them for a coffee to pick their brains. whatever you do, do not expect someone to do this for you. it’s your career – own it.
