Survival of the Fittest: 5 Vital Tips for Virtual Conferences

As I embarked on day one yesterday of the four day Innovative Users Group virtual conference, I was already exhausted. Hot on the heels of last week's three day Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries conference, I am a total mixed bag of emotions and energies. And I know conference season is just getting started... Past posts here at TechScans have given advice for attending conferences and selecting conferences to attend. Those posts were of course specific to in person attendance. In this blog post I hope to share a few tips for surviving the virtual conference universe.

1. Block Out Your Calendar

Block Your Calendar (orange = IUG)

Over the course of 2020 I tried to take full advantage of all the virtual things. Like many people I know, I tried to keep doing all the usual work too (all while working from home with a young child). Some of you out there are still fully working from home, and perhaps you too have children, pets, or other loved ones  you are sharing physical spaces and bandwidth with. In the before times, attending a conference was always a bit of a break. You literally traveled somewhere, be it far or near, and were mostly able to focus on taking in new professional knowledge that would benefit you in your job when you returned. FOCUS is the key word here. Attending a conference virtually, we don't have the same luxury of full focus that we have for face-to-face attendance. Those emails keep coming in, and should you really use an out of office message if you aren't really "out"? If you are virtually attending a conference but are in the office as I am this week, the office phone still rings too. Other meetings are still taking place, because you know, everything is virtual so why not? I recommend going through the entire conference schedule, and as you might have in person, marking the sessions you really must attend. IUG's online schedule allows me to "star" must see sessions so I can more easily find them later. Then I went one step further and copied the session titles and links into my Outlook calendar. Whatever calendar you use, block out the time as if it were a meeting. This will keep you from over-scheduling our double-booking yourself. 

2. Don't Over Work Yourself

Take Breaks Outside If Possible

I've already gone on a bit about the differences in face-to-face and virtual conferences as it relates to scheduling, but one thing I haven't specifically talked about is the time. Seriously, these online conference planners are in a tough spot. In real life, we would all be physically in the same place and therefore all using the same time zone. For IUG I would have been in Detroit, and everyone else would have been too. Accommodating national and international attendees means that sessions will either start too early for the west or run really late for the east (or both). There are also very few if any breaks built into the schedule. Sessions may end at 1:29 and another one begin promptly at 1:30. When the next "room" is only 1 click away to Zoom in or stream a recording that just went live, no one needs a bathroom break or time to walk through the hallway or around a corner to the next session location. With things happening so rapidly and your workday most likely being shifted, I recommend going easy on yourself. Let your colleagues know (one way is block out the calendar!) that you may be physically still working from the same place, but you are in fact attending a conference for some intense professional development. This will keep both yours and their expectations in check. If a session happens 5:30 EST adjust the start of your workday. Bake in some breaks so you are not hunched over a screen for a full day of conference presentations. Be conscious of the amount of time you are working!

3. Take Notes

Virtual IUG Meet & Greet = Great Notes!

Let's be real: are you really going to solely attend the virtual conference and not check your email or do anything else while listening to sessions? This is why note-taking is more important than ever. Sure, you may have taken notes at your last face-to-face conference and of course that was one of the keys to remembering the info you were taking in. But in the virtual conference world, distractions are multiplied rather than subdued. Do your best to silence notifications during presentations, and start a brand new steno pad or word doc for the conference. In advance, give each page the title, date and time of the session. If you must give into various distractions during any given session, your notes will help you get back on track. If you are lucky enough to have sessions provided on demand rather than just live streamed your notes will also help out when you return to the session recordings to play catch up. Virtual exhibit halls are another place where taking notes are critical. In real life you may have walked away from the vendor booths with a bag full of random goodies! Each one would have helped you remember that particular booth and what they talked about. For this section of your conference notes, I recommend taking screen captures and saving them to a folder, or if your conference "notepad" is a Word or Google doc, pasting them into the doc along with a few notes.

4. Network

#IUG2021 Badge

One of the things I have learned time and time again from more experienced librarians is that conferences and annual meetings are where networking happens. An excellent tip I picked up a few years back was to exchange 5 business cards with people you have never met before. This was a good goal for the before times. Normally you would use this goal to help you meet new colleagues from other institutions who have similar interests or job responsibilities. Later you would return to your colleagues post conference and share who you met and what you learned. This type of professional experience can still occur in the online environment, but it looks very different than meetups between sessions (because there is very little "between session" time as #2 in this post pointed out). If your online conference allows for attendee profiles, bio photos or conference badges fill it out. This will help you take full advantage of the other aspects of their online offerings. Some virtual conferences like IUG have "social feed", "birds of a feather", chat and forum sections. In addition to live-tweeting about your virtual conference experience, these non-public locations provide several ways for you to connect informally with others attending the same presentations, working with the same systems, or trying to solve the same problems in their libraries. Attendees are posting photos of their home or work office spaces, talking about what they would have done if they really were in Detroit, and sharing their general feelings in a few sentences or with a pic or two about the virtual experience. Your interactions within the various sections of the site will be connected to your "badge" the same way that physical name tag or business card served as a leave-behind. Since you have the benefit of being on a computer while attending virtual networking events like a meet and greet or happy hour, in place of getting a business card ask in the chat for email addresses, and connect with those individuals on LinkedIn.

5. Dress Down & Dine In

Conference Cat & Hat

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of before times conferences was deciding what to wear, observing the conference-style of other librarians, and of course dining out! Who doesn't love trying new food? Virtual conferences might be stressful in totally new and frightening ways, but three silver linings for me have been:

A. How we dress: pajama pants and hooded sweatshirt? cat-face baseball hat? house shoes all day?

B. Where we "Zoom" in from: your couch? a picnic blanket outdoors? with your cat in your lap?

C. What we eat: ice cream instead of continental breakfast? sushi take out? warm cup of noodles?

However you choose to dress and whatever you have for dinner, I won't be the judge! I do encourage you to take advantage of the creature comforts that virtual conferencing allows. Who knows how long this aspect of our professional development lives will last. In the very least, treat yourself to at least one meal of something different. If the conference would have been in a location known for a certain type of cuisine, give that a shot (and use this as a conversation starter when you try tip #4). 

Cat House Shoes = Perfect Conference Footwear

 

What do you love or loathe about virtual conferences? What do you miss about face-to-face? Do you have any tips to share for surviving the online versions? Share with us in the comments!

Quick Question: What conferences should I attend?

It feels like every week or two I receive an email promoting a conference to attend. With limited budget and a desire to attend conferences centered around issues related to technical services and resource management, I reached out to the TS and OBS-SIS listservs for recommendations. Keep reading to discover your next favorite conference outside of the AALL Annual Meeting.

Stay local

• Check out your local chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries for their annual meeting. Chapters tend to have more programs relevant to TS and OBS librarians.
• Look for regional TS-based workshops or conferences. If you're a Northern California resident, check out the Northern California Technical Processes Group (NCTPG)
• Your local ALA chapter may also have an annual conference with a technical services or library systems track.

ILS Conferences

• Innovative Users Group (IUG)
• Regional Innovative user groups also host their own conferences.
• ExLibris Users of North America (ELUNA) 
• Regional ExLibris user groups also host their own conferences.
• Another ExLibris resource to check out is the Alma Law Library Special Interest Group. This group meets annually at ELUNA, and also has an active listserv.

E-Resource Management Conferences

• North American Serials Group (NASIG)
• Focuses on serials and electronic resources management.
• Budget friendly: this conference is less expensive than a lot of other conferences - yay!
• Many of our colleagues recommend this annual conference, so you can count on meeting some TS/OBS-SIS folks!
• Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L)
• Held annually in March in Austin, Texas and online.
• The conference is organized into tracks/subtopics, so it's easy to see if there is an area of interest to you.

Other great recommendations

• Charleston Conference: Issues in book and serial acquisitions
• Held every year in Charleston, S.C., the Charleston Conference is devoted to technical services, electronic resources, serials, etc.
• This conference is recommended by many of our colleagues.
• Computers in Libraries 
• Held annually in Arlington, Virginia
• Focus on emerging and leading-edge technology. Great place to network with other information professionals from a variety of library backgrounds.
• Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge 
• Geared towards acquisitions and collection development librarians
• Single-track conference with limited enrollment.
• Society of American Archivists (SAA)
• Joint annual meeting of the Council of State Archivists and the Society of American Archivists 
• Special Libraries Association (SLA)
• Focused on special libraries and information professionals. 
• Explores trends in knowledge and information management.

Is your favorite conference missing? Leave your recommendations in a comment below!

Quick Question: How should I prepare for the AALL Annual Meeting?

In preparation for the AALL Annual Meeting, we asked TS & OBS members for their advice and recommendations for first-time Annual Meeting attendees.

Below are some great ideas that will help prepare first-time attendees for the meeting.

What one session (or event) would you recommend to a TS or OBS member who is a first-time Annual Meeting attendee?

CONELL

• Attend CONELL. It's a great way to get to know the Association and to meet other first-time attendees.
• CONELL attendees get a special ribbon to wear, this signals to others that you are new, and so many people will come and welcome you.

TS/OBS meetings

• Attend TS-SIS and OBS-SIS committee meetings. Anyone is allowed to attend, even if you are not a committee member, unless the session is marked as "closed" on the schedule.
• Attend the OBS-SIS Business Meeting (Sunday at 6:15PM) and the TS-SIS Awards/Meet & Greet (Monday at 5:30PM). Meet people in your SIS and people who are on committees you might be interested in joining. 

More educational opportunities

• Look for round tables. These are typically open to all attendees and allow you to make connections with people who share similar interests. Many are listed on the online schedule under "All Meetings and Events."
• Check out Discussion Dens and Poster Sessions. These typically focus on specific topics and can be great learning opportunities. Go to Calls for Great Ideas for a list of topics.
• Some caucus business meetings have educational programming as part of their meetings.
• Attend one session that is far removed from your regular work. If you read the program description and don't know what it is about, go to that one.

Exhibit Hall

• Spend time in the exhibit hall. It's a good way to understand the profession and get to know the vendors we work with. 
• Check out the "Activities Area" during exhibit hall breaks. SIS's, Caucus, and Chapters have posters there about what they do. There will usually be a volunteer at each poster and it's a great way to have one-on-one or small group conversations with people who share your same interests. This is also a good way to get program suggestions on the fly - ask people at the posters what they're going to next.

Receptions

• Attend as many receptions and focus groups as you can.
• Attend a Dine-Around. It's a smaller group setting where you'll get to know other AALL members better.

That said...

• Don't feel obligated to go to a session during every single block. A conference can feel like a marathon you're sprinting through and you'll be happier if you pace yourself. 

Do you have any tips or advice for first-time attendees that they won't find in the conference brochure?

Prepare

• Create a schedule. If there is a specific session you want to attend, write yourself a note about it now so you can remember why when you get to the conference.
• Before the conference, take time to think about your career goals. With those goals in mind, determine what events/activities at the conference will best help you achieve those goals.
• And/or, create goals for yourself specifically for what you want to accomplish at the conference.

Be a joiner

• If you haven't already, join your respective practice group's SIS, i.e., if you work in an Academic Law Library, join ALL. If you work in a private firm, join PLL. Attend their programming. It's a great way to know what's happening in your area.
• Become active in the organization. Newer librarians can feel uncomfortable joining in right away, but there are ways to be active without being a board member. The Annual Conference is a great time to find out what opportunities are available. 
• Join a caucus. There's no fee to join.

Take breaks

• Make time in your schedule to take a break and get some quiet time. Just a half hour outside of the conference center will refresh you so you can make the most out of the conference. 
• Locate a coffee shop that is the farthest you can walk to in 15 minutes. This one will likely be far less buy than the coffee shops near the conference center.
• Try to follow the 2-4-6-8 plan. Have 2 real meals a day. Get off your feet for at least 4 hours a day. Try to get 6 hours of sleep at night. Have 8 glasses of water per day. Remember: Eat well, relax, rest, and keep hydrated!

Your badge

• Wear your conference badge close to your face so people don't need to read your chest/tummy to find out who you are. 
• Don't forget to take your name badge off once you leave the conference center.

Dress for comfort

• Only wear comfortable shoes. You'll be doing a lot of walking. 
• Dress in layers. It will be hot outside in Washington DC but could be cold in the conference center. 

Freebies!

• Bring a large Ziplock bag for small freebies and pens.
• Take advantage of the free food!
• If you have them, bring your business cards. They can come in handy for entering raffles and of course, sharing your contact information.
• While in the exhibit hall, pick up the freebies and enter raffles, it's a great way to get to know the vendors.

Lastly...

• Find a balance (everyone's is different) between educational activities (programs, SIS programs, exhibit hall, etc.), networking, and fun/socializing.
• Don't be shy! Easier said than done for some, but important to get the most out of the conference.😊

Thank you to all of those who contributed! If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them for us in the comments.

Quick Question: What About Conferences?

Conferences are a part of most of our jobs. Sometimes we are encouraged to pick one to attend annually, and others out there may have institutions with supervisors or directors that want you to attend as many as possible. Whether you have never attended a conference before, or you have attended many but this may be your first season in your current position, I hope these tips will help with navigating the perhaps uncomfortable terrain.

Tip #1: Dress appropriately, but comfortably.

I have attended a few local and regional conferences where at times I felt extremely underdressed and at other times way overdressed. The more I attend a specific conference the more I get a feel for the types of attire others wear and what that says about you in a session audience or an exhibit hall crowd. If you are presenting, of course you may want to dress it up a bit. If you are not, don’t feel like you have to wear interview attire complete with hot blazers and the world’s most uncomfortable shoes! Most conferences happen in the summer so keep that in mind. Bring a suitcase with a variety of options so you can change according to weather and building conditions (or as your sweat-levels increase from social interactions). If you have colleagues who have been to certain conferences before, ask them what they wear and how most people dress for it. Earlier this year I attended my first SEAALL (Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries). Although I had been to many conferences before, this was my first out of state conference as well as my first in my new librarian position. It was a smaller more compact crowd compared to others I had attended, and I quickly realized I had overdressed for this one. I was able to use that fact though as a conversation starter for post-conference email-networking! More on that experience in tip number four.

Fall 2014, overdressed for my first ever conference.

Tip #2: Make your own schedule with your own goals.

I think it is safe to say that the overall goal for most librarian’s conference attendance is professional development. I have found that I personally get the most out of a conference when I make my own schedule in advance, working in times for breaks and leisure. I haven’t seen a conference yet which did not post the detailed schedule in advance. Print yourself a copy, highlight sessions you want to attend, and if there is a specific reason make notes to yourself as to why. Use your goals to determine which sessions you choose to attend. Some example goals I plan to use for an upcoming conference include: (A) Learn about something I know nothing about, (B) Learn more about something I am dealing with in my current job, (C) Meet two new people - more on this specific goal in tip number four too!

Tip #3: It is OK to leave a session early or to enjoy leisure time.

Fire dancers on the Savannah
Riverwalk in Augusta, GA.

Even if your personal schedule that you crafted in advance has lead you astray, do not feel tied to it. If you attend a session that within the first 5 minutes is not what you expected, leave (politely, of course) and use the time for something else productive. Sometimes there are multiple sessions that sound interesting. If a certain block of time has a few, add a back-up to your schedule so you are not scrambling if you leave one early. There also may be cases where not a single session in a given block of time is of interest. Take advantage of this time by visiting an exhibit hall, poster sessions, or just people watching to (hopefully) network with someone you haven’t met before.

The indoor spring-fed
pool in Hot Springs, VA.

It is also OK to plan for down time. Take a nap! See the sights of the city, or enjoy free amenities at the hotel. It always surprises me how few people go swimming or enjoy the game room when staying at a hotel that has those things. Some conference schedules even include recommended activities more officially to encourage rejuvenation in attendees or to make networking easier. Examples include a morning run, vendor-sponsored mixology classes, movie nights, or nature walks. Also, if you like taking pictures, take them! Photos of the location or interesting things you were able to see and do while away from the office can spice up your post-conference report once you are back at work - more on this in tip number five. 

Tip #4: Networking doesn’t have to be awkward. 

OK - so it definitely can be, and if you are like me it more than often is awkward (at least from my perspective, but don’t assume other people think it is!). As an extrovert-imposter I identify much more with the introverts out there and have to really, really make it a measurable goal to speak to people I do not already know (which is like everyone basically). Taking advantage of some of those vendor sponsored activities, or participating in a dine around might help take some pressure off of initial introductions. People at these events tend to go for the purpose of meeting other people, so capitalize on that! Another easy way to introduce yourself is to politely approach a presenter after their session. Asking a follow-up question or just stating you enjoyed their session topic can be a more natural conversation starter and allow for brief introductions to be exchanged. Look for people that look like yourself, perhaps standing off in a corner or keeping the coffee station warm, and approach them with the “I really feel uncomfortable at things like this, how about you?” to start a conversation. Keep business cards with you just in case an opportunity arises from a conversation and you can exchange cards with someone. Don’t feel like you should give a card to everyone you meet, but if you do exchange cards you can use those to keep a tally of who you met as evidence that you can do this! Two networking tips I heard at a recent conference delivered by an introverted presenter were to (A) set a numerical goal for how many people you want to meet, but keep it modest, and (B) check in with colleagues each day of the conference to talk about how many people you met - discussing with others can help you actually remember who you met and what they looked like so you don’t draw a total blank when you see them again next (perhaps the very next day!). If you meet someone, however briefly, and you do not have the time to continue a conversation, follow up with an email. Emailing post-conference can be a lower-pressure form of networking that might actually go further for you than face-to-face chit chat. At a recent conference I wanted SO badly to compliment an acquaintance's outfit but I was too nervous to do it at the time. Less than a week later there was an opportunity by email where questions related to an organization required my response anyway. I seized that email-moment to continue our conference conversation and put the compliment out there. We ended up exchanging longer emails than I predicted about style of dress and within another week were Facebook friends! Networking can still be done effectively with baby-steps.

Fall 2017 at my fourth Georgia Libraries Conference I FINALLY took a photo with a former colleague who was also attending.

Tip #5: Don’t overwork when at a work conference.

By this I mean do not promise to do too much away from the office while at a conference. Plan to check email once or twice a day (maybe work specific times into the schedule you are making for yourself!), but try to be present at the conference. This is a really hard one for me to put into practice because I am always thinking of the things I could or should otherwise be doing were I back at my office desk. Instead remind yourself that the conference IS work! If you have to, reframe the moments when you find yourself reaching for your phone or opening your laptop too frequently that once you return you will be expected (with some colleagues more than others) to give an informal or formal report on what you learned there, and how you or they can use what you have learned. It also helps me personally to be more present in sessions by taking notes or photos. Often a slide is shared with several great points, and taking a quick picture of it with my phone helps me capture more than I could in hand-written notes. Notes and pictures not only give me something more concrete to take back to work for sharing and discussions, but also helps channel that nervous energy when I start to think “I wish I was finishing that project at work instead!” or “How much catching up will I have to do because of this trip?”. Feel confident that you ARE working, this IS a part of your job, and your employer wants YOU there at that moment. It always impresses me when others return from a conference and have photos and notes to share, and this can be a simple way to reinforce not just to others but to yourself that the trip was valuable, rewarding, and time well spent.

To Summarize: Plan in advance, soak in as much as you can, don’t overthink it, and take care of yourself! If you are relaxed all aspects of the conference will flow more smoothly and naturally. Before you know it, it will be over, and you will be back at your desk crouching over work thinking “wasn’t that a great break from this normal day-to-day?” Hopefully you will leave feeling refreshed and with new ideas to bring to the table!

What tips for conference-going do you wish someone had shared with you as a new librarian? Share them with us in the comments!

Quick Question: What’s With All Those Acronyms?

"file under reference"

By Keelan Weber & Rachel Evans

Welcome to the first in a series of new posts we are calling Quick Question. In these posts we will address questions we have wondered or are currently pondering as new librarians, and do our best to answer them while we figure them out ourselves. Navigating librarianship in a niche field can be tough. For this initial post we wanted to discover what is up with not just all of the acronyms, but other lingo and terminology specific to technical law librarian roles as well:

Professional Organization Related:

• AALL = American Association of Law Libraries
• SIS = Special Interest Sections (82 % belong to one or more sections!)
• ALL = Academic Law Libraries
• CS = Computing Services
• DET = Digitization & Educational Technology
• FCIL = Foreign, Comparative & International Law
• GD = Government Documents
• LHRB = Legal History & Rare Books
• LISP = Legal Information Services to the Public
• OBS = Online Bibliographic Services
• GLL = Government Law Libraries
• PLLIP Private Law Librarians & Information Professionals
• PEGA = Professional Engagement, Growth & Advancement
• RIPS = Research Instruction & Patron Services
• SR = Social Responsibilities
• TS = Technical Services
• Working Groups and Roundtables
• VRAG = Vendor-Supplied Records Advisory Working Group
• MPSAG = Metadata Policy Standards Advisory Group
• Other Common AALL Acronyms
• CC:DA = Committee on Cataloging: Description & Access (committee of ALA/ALCTS with representatives from TS-SIS)
• SAC = Subject Analysis Committee (also a committee of ALA/ALCTS, where classification is considered with representatives from TS-SIS)
• MAC = MARC Advisory Committee (has a liaison with representatives from TS-SIS)
• CONELL = Conference of Newer Law Librarians
• Regional Chapters of AALL (there are 30 across the country!)
• MALLCO = Mid-American Law Library Consortium
• ALA = American Library Association
• ACRL = Association of College and Research Libraries
• IFLA = International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

Resource Providers & Vendor Related:

• OCLC = Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (a global cooperative that supports thousands of libraries in making information more accessible and useful)
• WorldCat = World Catalog (a union catalog that itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories that participate in the OCLC) 
• LMA = Library Maintenance Agreement (standard contract, with Thomson Reuters for example)
• FDLP = Federal Depository Library Program
• GPO = Government Publishing Office
• YBP = Yankee Book Peddler
• DDA = Demand Driven Acquisition
• GOBI = Global Online Bibliographic Information (web-based acquisitions tool for finding, ordering and managing e-books and print books from EBSCO)
• EDS = Ebsco Discovery Service
• WLN = Westlaw Next
• WEST = Westlaw
• LEX = LexisNexis
• HEIN = HeinOnline
• KLI ARB = Kluwer Arbitration
• LIPA = Legal Information Preservation Alliance

Other/General Technical Services & Systems Related:

• LCC = Library of Congress Classification (system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress and used by most research and academic libraries in the U.S.)
• MARC = Machine-Readable Cataloging (formats are standards for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form)
• MRC = Machine-Readable Code (commonly used file type with machine-readable code)
• MRK = alternate file extension of Machine-Readable Code (a slightly more human-readable form, you will see this if you "break", a MarcEdit format)
• MarcEdit = metadata editing software suite (used primarily to create and manipulate MARC records)
• RDA = Resource Description & Access (new standards, plus a helpful toolkit)
• XML = eXtensible Markup Language (designed to store and transport data, and to be self-descriptive)
• BIBFRAME = Bibliographic Framework (a data model for bibliographic description, designed to replace MARC standards and use linked data principles)
• AUTH = authority records (the most common means of enforcing authority control)
• BIB = bibliographic records
• SUB = subject authority records
• NAM = name authority records
• IR = Institutional Repository
• DR = Digital Repository
• bePress = Berkley Electronic Press (Digital Commons is the name of their popular DR)
• ILS = Integrated Library System
• OPAC = Online Public Access Catalog (quickly becoming an outmoded term)
• III = Innovative Interfaces, Inc. ILS provider (Encore is the name of their OPAC)
• LSP = Library Service Provider
• Alma = Cloud-based ExLibris LSP 
• Primo = Discovery interface from ExLibris (sometimes linked to Alma)

Glossary of Terms:

• AALL Caucuses = Smaller in size and less formal in structure than SIS, caucuses connect members with more focused interests
• Law Repositories Caucus = a platform-neutral group that supports repository coordinators by providing a community for sharing info and resources
• Alphabet Soup Reception = Joint reception of the CS/OBS/RIPS/TS Special Interest Sections)
• "Annual Meeting" of AALL's annual conference:
• Annual Meeting program = a program with a specific topic, often sponsored by an SIS that is open and available to all attendees
• Annual Meeting meetings = SIS special meetings that are either invite-only, open to the entire SIS, or to all attendees interested. The Annual Meeting schedule will indicate what SIS is having the meeting, what time, and if it is a smaller group (executive board, for example) and/or the focus of the meeting.

We are still learning, and know we missed plenty! Let us know what else should be included in the comments below...