Special Connections

While many recognize the work of public librarians, there are librarians in many other settings who do specialized work.  Some of them work as academic librarians at universities in particular subject areas.  Others work at museum libraries, or at companies managing information resources.  There are even those whose job title doesn't include the word "librarian."

Every year, the Special Libraries Association's (SLA) Annual Conference is a gathering for these types of librarian/information professionals.  I was privileged to have the opportunity to attend SLA's recent 2016 Annual Conference in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

I applied to be a student volunteer at the conference, and was brought on to help at the registration desk, which gave me complimentary registration in exchange.  So right about 6:30 on Saturday morning, June 11, I arrived at the Convention Center and went to the registration desk at the Arch Street Bridge Hallway.  I spent the day helping out with the self-registration computer kiosks, where attendees would pick up their badges.  I put the badge, which printed out from the computer, into the plastic holder and handed it to the attendee along with other conference materials.  It was pretty straightforward work to do.  Susan, who works for SLA, trained us, and once that was done, the registration desk opened at 7 AM and stayed open until 5 PM.

Thanks to Kristen M., a fellow volunteer, who got this picture of me at the registration desk, and the one above of me by a sign for the conference near the desk

Serving at the registration desk provided a wonderful opportunity to meet so many people, and to get a sense of the variety of institutions, companies, and places people work at, including universities, government agencies, consulting firms, and other companies.  And there was also a wide range of places attendees came from geographically speaking, from Hawaii to the United Kingdom.  I really enjoyed meeting people, and even passing the time with the other people who manned the desks, both volunteers and those from the Convention and Visitors' Bureau, when attendees weren't coming by, as there was much ebb and flow throughout the day.  I was even delighted to see some familiar faces come by, people I know from back in Illinois.

The next day at 9 AM was the General Opening Session.  Tom Rink, the President of SLA (see picture below), offered a few remarks, and then awards and honors were presented for distinguished accomplishments in SLA.

Then, we were in for a real treat with the opening presentation by Erika Andersen, of Proteus International (see picture below).  She sought to encourage us in our work as librarian/information professionals with her talk about leading by learning, taking the initiative to learn things for which we lack enthusiasm.  The hard thing about learning is that as humans, we want to be good at things, and so we eschew things we're not good at.  But struggling and making mistakes is part of the process of learning something new.  This is all part of motivating ourselves to learn something new, being honest that we'll make mistakes, and turning to people who can provide fair, objective feedback.  Additionally, we motivate ourselves by stimulating our aspiration to learn as well as our curiosity, which is not something childish, but actually an important part of learning and growing.  Ultimately, while we'll be bad at something while learning it, we motivate ourselves by knowing we can be good at it.

Her talk was so insightful, and I was engrossed by every word she spoke, fixated the entire time.

Later on, I attended a presentation on the work of three solo librarians--they work at places where they are the only librarians on staff.  Melissa Dissent of BLUE Software, LLC, and Lexy Spry, of Widen Enterprises, talked about how they trained employees at their respective companies to handle special electronic management systems, with Lexy focusing on the Digital Asset Management system.  The third presenter was Sabrina Holley-Williams, the librarian at the Boston regional EPA office; she talked about the work she does in the library, and how she promotes the services and resources she provides, even through something like library posters.

I then went to a reception in the exhibit hall sponsored by the vendors, which many companies that provide electronic library systems and information databases and publishers, too.  I also viewed some posters on display describing studies people had done on services provided at their libraries.  There was a nice spread of food at the reception, including vegetables, hummus, and sliders (both burgers and falafel sliders).  While there, I met up with Mary, one of the librarians I got to know during my practicum at Argonne.  Then another Argonne librarian, Mary Alice, came by, along with her sister, and joined us.

The next morning, on Monday, I attended a session about the work of embedded librarians, who align their work with the goals their institutions or companies, and make contributions to achieve those goals.  This session was a Knowledge Cafe, because rather than being a formal presentation, we broke up into smaller groups to talk with each other.  These mostly included librarians at universities and government agencies.  They talked about the ways they build good working relationships with their colleagues in their organizations, demonstrating the immense value of the library in the organizational structure.  In some cases, the librarians supported important projects, like in helping college students grow in informational literacy.

Later that day, I went back to the exhibit hall to look around, and enjoy lots more goodies like cake and soft pretzels--fitting for Pennsylvania--provided by some of the vendors.  I then attended a presentation on Cuba as an International Business Opportunity.  John Kavulich, of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, Inc., talked about some of the challenges posed as the United States seeks to normalize relations with Cuba, as Cuba has different expectations about this process than the Obama administration.

I then went from the Convention Center to the Marriott Hotel, conveniently connected by a sky bridge over 12th Street, to the All Sciences Poster Session and Reception.  These posters focused on work librarians are doing with more of a scientific focus, like doing outreach to colleges students studying the sciences, publishers of scientifically-related materials, scientific databases, and librarians in STEM.  One of those presenting was Jenny Hart, at the Crerar Library at the University of Chicago, who I met when I toured the library during my practicum.

From there, I walked a few blocks away from the Convention Center to a reception for SLA members in the Midwest at a restaurant called Strangelove, where I enjoyed good company and conversation with a few people, including two who work at Allstate in Northbrook.

Later that evening, I went to the Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division Open House reception at the Marriott, where I had the opportunity to talk with some academic librarians, and met up with Mary Alice and her sister again--and enjoy some nice food, including artisan breads.

I was back at the convention center right about 8 AM the next morning, Tuesday, for a session on Citizen Science efforts involving libraries.  Patricia Dawson of Rider University talked about how she, as an academic librarian, got involved in a project for monitoring the quality of the water in a lake in northeast Pennsylvania.  Then, Darlene Cavalier discussed her work with SciStarter, which provides resources for individuals interested in participating in Citizen Science efforts.  The big push is for libraries to provide tools and resources for interested individuals, because these efforts often involve spending a good deal of money to purchase the proper equipment.  Libraries can empower people to become more involved by removing the cost barrier by furnishing the equipment, which is a worthy way for libraries to engage with their communities.

For lunch that day, conference attendees received a voucher for the convention center food stand in the exhibit hall.  This was especially nice, because rather than getting a box lunch as I thought, I could select what I wanted to eat.  I then went to a session I felt was very pertinent to a conference setting, with a discussion entitled "Cultivate Your Network Like a Garden: Post-Conference Networking Tips and Strategies".  After taking some time to talk with people sitting around us, the presenters shared tips about how to maintain relationships with people, and ways to make connections.

Then it was time for the Closing General Session, with author Marilyn Johnson as the speaker (see picture below).

She used her talk as an opportunity to laud us librarian/information professionals for the important work we do in society, speaking to the "magic" we use to connect people with information.  I was very pleased that Marilyn offered such commendation for our work.  (Before the session started, I took advantage of the opportunity to introduce myself briefly to Tom Rink, and share about my career ideas.)

The opening and closing general sessions were a highlight of the conference for me, because it was the first time I've attended a conference that had such sessions.  They provided an opportunity for us to gather as a group, much like we were doing at the conference itself, and experience a kind of bonding, especially in the way Tom Rink encourage us to make the most of this opportunity to learn, and foster connections, and energize us to band together as members of SLA, encouraging us with metaphorically-driven commands such as "get our hands dirty" and "run with scissors".

Indeed, this conference was a good opportunity to get a sense of what this organization is like, and who its members are.  I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with many fellow attendees, not to mention meeting people at the registration desk.  I was also able to get a sense of the type of work people do.  I gained many new perspectives to consider about as I seek to launch my post-MLIS graduation career.  I could solidify my sense of what my work in this profession is about.  I am grateful to the SLA staff for allowing me to have this great experience, by giving me the opportunity to serve as a volunteer and attend this conference for free, and for all the vendors who sponsored the conference.

As the exhibit hall was about to close, I passed by the OpenAthens booth, a company that, according to its website, provides identity and access management software.  The employee there offered me the last of the tote bags they had to give away, which had a very catchy slogan.

I kept it on hand with me as I made my way home.  To celebrate my MLIS degree, and my one-year anniversary the Oak Park Public Library, it was fitting to take a moment during my layover in Washington, DC, to pose for a photo at the Library of Congress, to celebrate what librarianship is all about, that we make valuable contributions to society in a variety of ways that ultimately are all about helping people access information and then meaningfully use it.

Here I am, with the bag that reads, "Keep Calm, and Ask a Librarian."  Thanks to the woman who kindly got this picture of me.