Celebrating Centennial in the Capital City 

I had never won a draw before, so when the news popped up in my inbox, I was so thrilled! Thanks to the SLA WCC Travel Grant, I was able to attend the SLA Conference in Washington DC. The timing couldn't be better, as SLA was in the midst of celebrating its 100th birthday.  

Long before the conference started, I checked out some excellent tips for conference first-timers. Then I set up some goals to keep me focused, which really helped me prepare my schedule amidst the numerous options available throughout the conference. During the four exhausting but exciting days, I was able to network with other information professionals, pick up some useful tips from educational sessions, and catch up with some of the latest in technology-related issues in special libraries.

The tribe 

Days prior to leaving for DC, I started following @sla2009 on Twitter and marked the sessions I wanted to attend. I love Twitter for checking out the pulse of the conference, even before it started! As for the official online planner, I wasn't crazy about its user interface, so I decided to mark interesting sessions on paper instead. 

On the first day, I checked out the information package and headed for the First Timers reception. It was a great chance for first-timers to ease ourselves into the conference. We were handed out a card, which we had to fill in with three names of other people in the room. One of the people I met happened to be the famous Stephen Abrams, Past President of SLA, whose blog I follow. After chit-chatting with some other people in the room and exchanging some business cards, I felt welcomed to the 'tribe' and ready to immerse myself in the big event. 

The conference provided plenty of opportunities to meet new people. Snack time in the Info-Expo, lunches, division open houses, and break between sessions are some of them. I found it amusing and motivating to learn about the wide range of specialties people have with their librarianship skills, such as contracts management consultant and advertising librarian. 

Conference events were fun. A new friend I met at one of the snack tables had an extra ticket to the International Spy Museum, so I joined her and learned some tricks of the trade. Those spying gadgets were so awesome -- and not only hidden cameras and microdots! I also went to one of the IT Division open houses, where entertainment, food and drinks were flowing. They surely knew how to have fun after a full day of learning! Another one in my must-attend list, the Canadian reception, was a great gathering. It was nice meeting other conference attendees from back home and exchanging stories of interesting sessions and which vendors gave top-rated giveaways. 

Professional development 

Selecting which conference sessions to attend was tough because so many of them were interesting. However, thinking about which ones would be the most relevant to my current job situation helped. I have a flexible schedule as a website project specialist, so Ellen Kossek's "Finding Balance in the Flexible Job Age" was a great fit. One valuable take-away was that it's important to make sure the people you work with know what your work style is. You have to manage their expectation to avoid misunderstanding. 

One of my work responsibilities is liaising with a dozen non-profits and government agencies, so I was glad to brush up my interpersonal skills with a handful of tips from Marcy Phelps' "Power Networking for Info Pros". Following that, "Critical Thinking" was the highlight of my professional development package. Rebecca Jones was an engaging presenter and she could deliver her message well. This session was aimed at decision-making at an organization's level, but the lessons learned could be translated to any setting. Knowing to define the status quo, being able to identify alternatives, and then defining where you want to be going are important steps to remember in critical thinking.

Techie stuff 

I'm always interested in technology, especially when it's related to the web and user experience. Therefore I was excited when I saw a session called "Reaching Next-Gen Users with Unified Discovery Services". Apparently, it was a continuation of a session in last year's conference about a research into Next-Gen students' research habits. It was indeed full of useful insight into the online behaviour of university students. However, when the presenters started doing a demo of their new software, I felt that the session was actually some kind of a new product launch. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with vendors' presence. In fact, the conference wouldn't be as great as it was without the strong support from vendors. I just thought that a product demo had its special place at the Info-Expo. 

On the other hand, the other techie session that I went to, "The Future of Managing Content", was a good balance of vendor and librarian perspective. JoAnna Berry the librarian shared her experience in managing her library’s online content and dealing with the ever changing requests from users. Marti Heyman from Dow Jones was complementing her story nicely throughout the session, bringing in a vendor's point of view. 

Finally, the last session I attended was an awesome closing to my educational series at the conference. Nicole Engard did an excellent round of tools and examples in her "Mashups" session. I'm going to wait eagerly for her new book coming this fall, "Library Mashups". Thanks for the discount form, Nicole! 

Overall: a Blast! 

The travel grant opened up a great learning opportunity for me, which I wouldn’t have otherwise. Experiencing the conference first-hand, especially during the centennial celebration, was a very convincing reminder of the great value an SLA membership offers. A lot of professional development opportunities exist within the organization, not only the conference. If you’re serious about your career, you’d better join SLA (or maintain your membership). Also, if you’re a new information professional, don’t miss applying for the next travel grant! Thank you SLA WCC.