2001 Annual Conference Student Report

I can hardly believe that last week at this time I was having dinner along the River Walk in San Antonio with new and old friends. . .the atmosphere of the city and outdoor dining being justification enough to give up air-conditioning for an evening. Our conversations were abuzz with our visions for our futures, career strategies, and our critiques and reflections of day's many events. Of course I gained much more than pleasant memories of dining and chatting from the Annual Meeting of the Special Libraries Association, though.

Left to right: Hope Tillman and Christine Liebson
at the SARC Awards Ceremony.

There is something unique about opportunities that let us engage in a new community that arises spontaneously and which we would not ordinarily be a part of. Learning and exchanging information, forming new relationships, and renewing or changing perspectives accompany this experience--all of which are very valuable for students, new graduates and professionals. Attending the annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association in San Antonio was certainly this kind of experience for me.

As a new graduate, I had a wide range of goals for the conference including exploring new topics, gathering information about opportunities in my area of interest, and networking. The meeting provided ample resources, people, and sessions for attaining each of these (too many to choose from at times!) As a first-time conference goer, I learned about the nature of the conference (and the travel plans involved) and that I would definitely like to go again.

I especially enjoyed programs sponsored in my subject areas of interest--environmental studies, archives, and technology. Even within these broad and diverse topics there were many relevant sessions to choose from. I gained the latest assessment of the best science websites, learned about GIS technology and strategies for re-working access to large websites as well as an introduction to the current challenges faced by our national archives to manage the huge influx of electronically generated and donated documents.

Everything that I learned and all the people I met will enrich the next annual meeting that I attend, which is why I would highly recommend that students attend a conference before they graduate. Attending before you graduate will help you to understand the outstanding variety of opportunities in the field of special libraries and also give you the freedom to attend sessions that may be more of personal interest than of professional interest. It is an opportunity not to be missed and can provide a new perspective on the state of special librarianship not available anywhere else.

Reflections from Karen Huffman who will graduate December 2001 from the College of Information Studies, University of Maryland.

Christine has written a beautiful summary on her impressions of the SLA Conference. I wanted to share just a few more sentences (and pictures) as a first-time conference goer myself. Through my involvement with my student chapter and SARC and by attending the SLA Conference, I have a far deeper appreciation and understanding of SLA's role and the contributions it makes to special libraries.

Left to right: Karen Huffman and Barbara Arnold.
Although they felt like old friends through their joint
involvement with SARC this year, Karen and Barbara
first met face to face at the 2001 SLA Conference.

What impressed me most was the diversity (i.e., type, size, and interest) that exists among special libraries. The annual conference did a wonderful job of handling the wide range of interests through hosting a broad range of topics that could be applied to our current needs and concerns. The social events in the evenings also allowed me to connect with many new active SLA members as well as renew existing relationships.

Left to right: Karen Huffman; Susan Fifer Canby, Director of National Geographic Libraries and Indexing; and Roberta Shaffer, Executive Director, SLA.

Left to right: Sherry Icenhower, Director of Membership for SLA, and Scott Smiley, Director of Finance for SLA. Dancing the night away at the Gala Dinner.