SLA 2011 – First Reactions

I’ve just returned from SLA 2011 having won an Early Career Conference Award generously sponsored by SLA Europe and SLA Legal Division. Having slept off the majority of jet lag, I am feel in a slightly better position to blog a few of my initial reactions to the conference.

The thing I want to convey first is the sheer size of the event. When the registration hall looks like this, its a good indication that its going to be big…

Thankfully, my co-sponsors provided me with two great mentors, one from SLA Europe and one from the SLA Legal Division. Sara and Liz were both fantastic at providing tips and tricks to selecting sessions to help me get the most out of the event. There can be anywhere in the region of approximately eight to twenty-two sessions running concurrently so selecting which one to attend can be a bit of a challenge. This was definitely one of the strengths of the conference though; you are never stuck for a session to attend! What I found harder was pausing and take a minute to think about what has been said, and making sure any notes are in an order that will make sense at a later date.

I want to mention the networking opportunities at SLA, but feel that networking sounds too objective. Granted, there was A LOT of business card swapping (see Conference Preparations for my worries on this), but I met many people who I spoke to at length and felt I got along with really well. To give an idea of just how much talking took place, I have now lost my voice and numerous throat sweets are being consumed to repair it in time for New Professionals Conference on Monday! Like many things connected to SLA, I’ll attempt to expand on this further in a later blog entry (networking experiences, not the effectiveness of Strepsils).

The sessions themselves were fantastic. I attended a mix of general sessions and those aimed at members of the legal divison (though you are free to attend events hosted by all divisions). This provided a nice mix between big ideas tailored for libraries as a whole, and ideas and problems directly related to my field of interest. John DiGilio and Gayle Lynn-Nelson’s ’60 Sites in 60 Minutes Gets Collaborative’ was a highlight, as were interactive sessions such as Mary Ellen Bates and Gayle Gossen’s session on delivering elevator speeches.

Much of the conference felt slightly surreal, a bit like an episode of The Magic School Bus (for those that remember it). Absolutely fantastic, but a bit crazy at the same time.

An American School Bus (not of the magic variety)

Definitely time to start saving, as I’m determined to return to future SLA conferences!

Conference Preparations

On Saturday, I’m off to SLA 2011 in Philadelphia courtesy of SLA Europe and SLA Legal Division (thank you!). Not only will this be my first time in America, but also my first conference. A big double, and needless to say, I’m very excited. In an attempt to make use of my excess nervous energy I thought I’d blog about my preparations building up to the conference.

I have been doing a bit of reading about conferences and what to take. My first concern was possibly my most trivial. What to wear. Dress code seems to vary a lot, more so than I was expecting; by all accounts it varies from full business dress to shorts and t-shirt. I think I’ll be going for a smartish trouser/shirt combo. I’ve also heard that the conference centres in America enjoy their air-con to combat the current high temperatures, so a jumper will be packed too!

I’ve also made up some business cards. This is something that seemed quite alien to me, but it seems to be the done thing over the pond. I was unsure what to put on them, so I ended up getting at bit carried away and added an email address, my twitter username, my blog URL and my Linkedin. At the time, all of these seemed like a good idea; after all I didn’t want to miss anything off! I’m now wondering if my email and blog URL would have sufficed. This would have enabled people to get in touch, and learn a bit about me via the blog. Are people less likely to sift through my blog to find my Twitter name though? Or search through hundreds of other people called Sam to find the right one on Linkedin? I’m not sure, but it is definitely something to think about for the next revision of the business card.

I also added a ‘tag line’ under my name. I’ve attempted to tie this in to my current networking aspirations. At the moment, this means keeping an eye out for potential employment opportunities. Instead of simply putting ‘MA Student’, I therefore opted for ‘Aspiring Law Librarian’ in the hope that it will stimulate conversation relating to possible jobs, but also things relating to my dissertation (looking at information services in law firms). As with the contact details, I have had reservations about this since having the cards printed. I hope that seeing a different sector won’t put people off talking to me, nor limit employment possibilities in other areas (I’d be open to working in a wide range of library environments – I think a breadth of knowledge from different sectors is important to providing a strong service). Time will tell on that one. Again, something to consider for subsequent versions.

I’ve also been attempting to schedule the sessions that I want to attend whilst at the conference. I’m amazed at the depth, and breadth of the conference. My SLA mentor phrased it quite nicely, explaining that it is a bit like a whole load of different mini conferences rolled into one, which explains quite a few of the overlaps between sessions. I’m not too worried about sessions being American focussed or too complex, as you are free to change out of a session if you decide it isn’t for you. I’ve therefore got a few backups planned just in case.

For some further pre-conference thoughts and advice, take a look at Natalia’s recent post  for conference first-timers.

Once I’m back, I hopefully will get round to writing an entry comparing my experiences at SLA 2011 with those presenting at the CILIP New Professionals Conference. Keep an eye out for that!