I had a great instruction session this morning. Some of you may know that I was stressing out a bit about it. I haven’t had an instruction session since around mid-Spring semester and I was going to try a few things out. Additionally, this class was all grad students, so I was definitely going to get the variety of library-user ability levels.

I didn’t really do anything earth-shattering and innovative. My main goal was to keep the session as interactive as possible so they could try out the stuff I was talking about. I don’t know why I keep being surprised, but even grad students don’t know much about how to use the library and its resources.

It was great to have the professor tell me that this was the best instruction session he’s had with this class. (He’s been doing this for awhile.) When a faculty member compliments you like this, it’s a huge ego boost.

And then there were all the thanks from the students. Sure I know that we don’t do this for the accolades, but a sincere “thank you” can really make your day.

But more than that, I think they learned some things. I actually was able to expose them to some ideas and resources that they didn’t know about. In the end, that’s what really made my day.

I remember saying that all the time in high school many years ago.

Anyway, my university’s IDT people hosted an E-Learning Institute here last week. I wasn’t sure what I’d actually get out of it since I’m not currently teaching any online courses. But some things actually are relevant even in face-to-face instruction. Like responsiveness and making the course content relevant.

However, the best thing I got out of it had nothing to do with the Institute itself. It was also a good time to network with other university faculty. And I had the chance to talk with one of my communication dept. faculty members about being an embedded librarian in the capstone class she is teaching in the fall.

It’s a research intensive course, which is exactly what I was looking for to try this out. I’ve heard about other librarians who have done similar things and I’m excited to see if this will improve the level of research conducted and their final papers. I don’t know if she plans to have an online component as well, but if there is, I’ve got some ideas for that. I’m going to put together a plan of what I’d like to offer beyond just my physical presence to see what she thinks. Like perhaps making it a requirement for them to schedule an individual research consultation with me mid-semester. I would also be willing to help grade annotated bibliographies. I see this type of thing as being a great way to build collaboration and increase students’ research skills.

Probably since I got my library degree I’ve been debating the value of a second masters. I rather envy those people who did the library thing second, but until I worked in a library I had no idea that I wanted to be a librarian. All I did know was that I wasn’t cut out to be a caseworker any longer and no amount of money was going to make me go back for an advanced degree in psychology or social work.

So, the debate continues. I actually started work on a MA in English. Really original considering all the librarians I know who have done that or an advanced degree in history. It occurs to me that this is not going to mean much if there are 20,000 other people out there with the same degrees. Which also really made me start thinking about how much value does a second degree have? And the answer to that is “it depends”.

My liaison departments are only loosely tied to my two BA’s in music and psychology. In fact, I’ll admit that selecting for art really does stretch me because I’ve got no background in that area, other than the fact that I enjoy going to museums and looking at pictures. I do select for psychology, but I don’t for music. Go figure! Basically what this tells me is that I can still select for areas that I may not necessarily have a great deal of expertise in. And how can I do that? By reading the professional journals in those areas, following up on reviews on materials, and consulting with the department faculty. Done, done, and done!

Of course, as a reference librarian I get all sorts of questions thrown at me from every discipline. And my job is to know how to find the best info. I can do that. However, I am at a university that mostly has undergraduates. If I were in a place that had something like advanced engineering degrees or something like that, I’d be completely out of my element. That’s when that specialized advanced degree would come in handy. And if I didn’t have it, I’d certainly be sending those students along to the librarian who did.

So, this brings me back to my initial problem. Do I need a second degree and if I do pursue it, what should I focus on? A few weeks ago, I came up with an answer to the question. English was not it. While I’ve enjoyed the classes and actually had a few ideas for my theses, in the end it doesn’t really add much to my job. I started thinking seriously about Instructional Design Technology (which is what we call the program in these parts). Hmmm. I’m writing tutorials. I hope to get us into podcasting. I like dealing with 2.0 technologies. In fact, I like what technology has to offer for libraries and I want to do more with it. And so on.

I found a degree that will be worthwhile and useful in my job now and hopefully wherever I end up in the future. I like reference and instruction and plan to keep on doing this for a long time. So, there you go. My process of figuring out more about what I’m doing as I grow up.

I’ve run across this question on listservs, message boards, blogs, etc. My advice is to really think about your future goals, look at the job market, and consider how much time you want and have to invest in more education.

For some reason, conferences are really on mind lately. Probably because I’m doing the circuit this month.

Conferences can be overwhelming to first time attendees. Actually they can even be overwhelming to those of us who are not novices. How can you make the best use of your time when you are there?

First, I’d recommend reviewing the final program before you get there. Yes, you’ll get a copy when you register, but it’s hard to actually sit down and look at the 100 pages of sessions in between networking, meals, actually going to sessions, finding the perfect crab cake, and whatever else you try to squeeze into a few days. So, before you think about what to pack (don’t forget your toothbrush!), hit the conference website and do some preliminary planning. It’s a good idea to make two choices for the time slots in case someone cancels a session due to poor travel weather, illness, etc. (Or you get to the room and find you actually have to sit on someone shoulders because there isn’t enough space.) You’ll have a back up. I find this always helps me stay relatively organized. (I will admit that sometimes I’m doing this step on the plane to whatever conference I’m traveling to. The point is that I do it before I actually get there.)

Second, once you actually get there, get a map of the facility to figure out where things are. Make sure to figure out where the bathrooms and water fountains are also. May sound silly, but when you’ve got fifteen minutes and there are 400 women lined up for 2 stalls, it helps to know where there might be another not so packed place. And it helps to have an idea how long you have to do that in-the-hall networking. (Although if the discussion is really good, don’t feel too bad about missing a session…unless it’s one you’re presenting at!) As someone who has no sense of direction in unfamiliar surroundings, a map is essential.

Third, check out what meetings are being held. Depending on who is hosting the conference, there will likely be committee meetings. This is a great time to find your library land niche and provide service to the profession. Seriously! Or if that’s not what you want, meetings just provide a different opportunity to hear about what people are doing and what’s going on.

Fourth, consider volunteering to help out in some way. Most conferences welcome volunteers to help out at the registration table, introduce speakers, etc. If the call goes out, consider helping out. It’s usually not a big time commitment (maybe an hour or two), but is a great way to meet people and get yourself known.

Fifth, don’t forget eating and sleeping. Make time to eat while you are conferencing. If you can, find other librarians to eat with. It’s another opportunity to meet people and talk about stuff. You don’t even half to talk about library stuff. Lots of conferences feature people with like interests getting together to hang out for an evening. As to the sleeping, it’s important to stay well-rested because conferences can be tiring. Let’s fact it, they are not generally mini-vacations for anyone who is sincere about learning and networking. It’s hard work and can be exhausting. So, make time for rest!

Hopefully you are now ready to get out there and confer with your fellow library folk.

There are so many reasons people go to conferences. For me, the reason depends on what the conference is about, who is hosting it, and my level of participation.

When I pick a conference based on the overall content, I’m usually going with the hope and goal of learning something I can use in my job. And I’ve been pretty successful so far in picking good ones for this purpose. For example, despite a great collection development course in my MLS program, when I started me current job, I wanted to make sure that I was current with the trends and issues. So, I jetted off to South Carolina for the Charleston Conference. (By the way, this is an excellent conference that I’d highly recommend you try to attend at some point if you do anything relating to collection development in your job.) In a few months, I’ll be going to Reference Renaissance in Denver because this is a huge aspect of my job and I know that I can always improve.

Sometimes, I go to conferences knowing that the content may not be exactly what I’m looking for, but knowing that the opportunity for networking will be ideal. Networking is important at all stages of your career, not just when you are looking for a job. (And you never know when your dream job might come your way because of someone you met while out and about.) I agree completely with people who say that sometimes the most important stuff you learn happens around the dinner table, while out for drinks, or hanging out in the hallway of some hotel’s convention center. The networking is particularly great at those smaller conferences hosted by the state or regional library associations. There aren’t as many people to be overwhelmed with and chances are, you’ll see and recognize the same faces every time you turn around. Not that you can’t do great networking at large conferences, but I prefer a more intimate environment.

And then there are those conferences where I’ve get to play an active role whether it is presenting or volunteering (and sometimes both). Being an active participant is more important for me currently because I’m on tenure track, which means I’m expected to do a certain amount of presenting each year. When I volunteer to help with various aspects, I also fulfill some of the requirements for service to the profession. Although, I’m likely to help out even without that just because I’m that sort of person.

In general, it’s nice to attend conferences where I get to do all three of these things. It’s sort of a more bang for the buck thing. No matter what your reasons are for attending conferences, I’d recommend that you find time and money and hit the road. Ask around if you’re not sure which ones would be best. Go local (or as close as you can) if time and money aren’t in large supply. There are lots of options and it will be worth it.

(By the way, there were no posts last week because I was finishing presentations and attending our state’s conference.)

Here are some upcoming library-related conferences for May. Great chances to network and learn some new stuff.

39th Annual Interlibrary Loan Conference - All Aboard the Wagon Train: Collaborations in Resource Sharing

MLA ‘08 - Connections: Bridging the Gaps

SAMM 08 - The Transformed Library

SLMSSENY

WLA Support Staff Conference - Initiate and Innovate in 2008

2008 SLMS Conference - Literacy & School Libraries: It All Adds Up

PSLA - SCORE!!! With Information Literacy and Reading @ your library

metadata for you & me (online)

Engaging Teens Conference

The Modern Role of the Library in Adult Education

The Information Professional as Educator (online)

Renaissance 2.0 - Imagine, Create, Transform

Annual Symposium on Intellectual Property

Empires of the Mind: Inventing the Future of Scholarly Publishing

This might actually be something that other libraries are doing and it’s just finally hitting the news. As a student who has had to invest in course packs, I think this is a great idea. What took so long?

I attended my first Unconference (and the first one in Kansas) yesterday. It was a really great experience. Interesting, engaging, interactive, and informative. All the things you hope for in a workshop/conference/etc. Of course, the fact that it was free and practically in my back yard didn’t hurt either. I was intrigued by the whole concept when I was asked to participate in the planning group. And I’m glad that I got to participate. If you ever see have a chance to attend an unconference, I highly recommend it.

This got me thinking about conferences in general. Generally we are encouraged to attend conferences for professional development, networking, and a variety of other reasons. But I don’t always walk away feeling that I got much for my money (or my library’s money if they are footing the bill). Are the conference planners really interested in what we want? Do they read the comments? Or are librarians just too nice to express dissatisfaction? Now this doesn’t happen all the time fortunately. But there have been occasions when I really have to wonder “why bother” when it seems to be the same stuff rehashed from the other 3 conferences I just attended. (Yes, I pretty lucky that I do get to go to things fairly often. Although 3 is an arbitrary number here.)

There were several things that I really liked about yesterday.
*It was nice that the topics for discussion were driven by the people who attended. So we got to talk about stuff that really mattered to us in our jobs or things that we were wondering about in regards to other people’s jobs. There was no formal program put out ahead of time.
*The discussions were timely. As someone pointed out, some conferences require proposals almost two years ahead of the actual conference. No wonder it sometimes feel like old news by the time you get to the actual date. What we talked about was what we were dealing with right now or facing in the near future.
*Not too much structure. But just enough. While there was no formal program, there was a schedule to help keep things on track. While I wouldn’t necessarily want days of this, it was nice for a change.
*I loved the fact that everyone was engaged in the discussions. Personally, after three days of being talked at in most conference settings, I’m bored (unless the speaker is really dynamic). And there isn’t always time to really ask questions and share information. This was what the whole day was about yesterday. And I came away with some interesting ideas to talk about with my colleagues.

I would definitely attend something like this again. Hopefully this will become a yearly event in KS.