[Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult times

Tue Feb 9 12:41:37 EST 2010

Gillian and Robert,

The main benefit to the employer is that you are enhancing the
reputation of the institution. Through publication, presentation and
attendance, the reputation of your institution will be improved and
cumulatively over time this will have an impact, even on international
league tables for universities.

(I'm on the program for EMTACL)

Neil

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Gillian Wiseman
Sent: 09 February 2010 17:21
To: Robert Balliot
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult
times

I think it falls under the phrase "professional development" or possibly
"networking". My employer justifies the benefits by having those of us
who attend write a brief statement of "what we learned" at the
conference. 

Bookmarks are a concrete thing I brought back. So are posters, books,
t-shirts and other paraphernalia that I either picked up or purchased.
While they don't justify the entire expense of a conference, they're
definitely a plus.

Sometimes there's no concrete justification. I know, however, that most
employers understand the undefinable benefits, and want their employees
to gain them. 

Yes, the actual program content of the conference may be the only
concrete justification. That doesn't mean the undefinables shouldn't be
recognized, as well. That's the best I can say.

Gillian Wiseman

________________________________

From: Robert Balliot [mailto:rballiot at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 9:51 AM
To: Gillian Wiseman
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult
times

Yes, those are marketing methods that make a conference more attractive
to you and I am certain they are important to other people too.

But, how exactly do snacks, gossip, and bookmarks benefit your employer?
If that is the real benefit of a meeting or conference, then how would
an employer justify the expense? 

R. Balliot

http://oceanstatelibrarian.com <http://oceanstatelibrarian.com/> 

On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 10:27 AM, Gillian Wiseman
<gwiseman at ci.waco.tx.us> wrote:

Speaking merely as an attendee of many conferences, both local
workshops, state library association conferences, and national
conferences (CIL, ALA, etc...) the real benefit to ME from going to
conferences isn't the "meet the speaker" opportunity.

It is having snacks at a table in the hallway with three other
librarians from other states and cities, gossiping about how hard it is
to do "this" or overcome "that". It's the little things like bringing
bookmarks home for the teens and saying "I picked those with you in
mind". Or seeing a particular product in person, touching it and talking
to the vendor about a specific application I had in mind in my library.

No level of videoconferencing will ever completely replace that; which
said, if I have to choose between NOT getting any conference, and
attending the programs online, I'll take online any day.

Gillian Wiseman
Electronic Resources Librarian
Waco-McLennan County Library
1717 Austin Ave
Waco TX 76701
254-750-5944
gwiseman at ci.waco.tx.us

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org

[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Jill O'Neill
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 7:28 AM
To: 'John Fereira'
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org

Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult
times

Speaking as an event organizer, I am sure that most conferences are
seeing
shifts in a variety of ways. Certainly speakers require more
subsidization
of travel. Organizations don't send as many people to a single
conference as
they might have done five years ago. Costs are up in the hospitality
industry in terms of catering and that too may force associations to
re-evaluate traditional practices in supplying attendees. There are the
issues associated with technology (such as supplying wi-fi to
registrants).

That said, one of the most frequently cited rationales for attending a
conference in a face-to-face setting is associated with the opportunity
to
meet the real person. Doing it online offsets limited travel, but
there's
nothing like shaking a hard in real time and in real space to cement a
connection.

So, John, I would suggest to you that conference attendance *will*
change
over the course of the next ten years, but we're not entirely done with
physical bodies gathering in a ballroom to discuss issues and celebrate
successes!

And while we're on the topic of attending conferences, this year's NFAIS
Annual Conference features speakers Clay Shirky, Lorcan Dempsey, John
Wilbanks, and Peter Brantley (http://bit.ly/5TOr1q). The venue is the
Hyatt
at the Bellevue in Philadelphia and the dates are February 28-Mar 2,
2009.
But the theme of the conference is what is most relevant to this
audience,
Redefining the Value of Information: Exploring the New Equation!

Jill

Jill O'Neill
Director, Planning & Communication
NFAIS
(v) 215-893-1561
(email) jilloneill at nfais.org

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of John Fereira
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 6:53 AM
To: a.j.p.van.den.brekel at med.umcg.nl
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult
times

a.j.p.van.den.brekel at med.umcg.nl wrote:
> International conference on emerging technologies in academic
libraries
2010 (emtacl10)
> 26-28 April 2010, Trondheim, Norway
>
> This is a new international conference for academic librarians,
information professionals, academic staff, students, library system
developers and suppliers, among others. The conference aims to provide
answers to the following questions: What can academic libraries do to
address change? How can we adapt? Which technologies can/should/must we
use/create? (View the conference programme
> <http://www.ntnu.no/ub/emtacl/?programme>)

This looks like a good conference.  "Unfortunately" I'm going to be
presenting a workshop at a conference in Montpellier, France on the
28th. Feel my pain.

Actually, the real reason for responding (although I changed the
subject) was that I was wondering how others managed to go to
conferences such as these across the pond (for those of us in North
America).

I've been on the planning committee for an open source organization
(Jasig) conference for the past several years and the registration
numbers for our upcoming and previous conference are way down.  Most
institutions just won't foot the bill to send people to conferences.
Over the past couple of years it seems that almost every conference
announcement I see eventually has a "registration deadline extended"
post so I suspect that conferences in general are getting lower
attendance figures.

At my library I can essentially attend only one library funded
conference a year (my attendance at one in Montpellier is being paid for

by an external source).  Do ya'll pay your own way to some of the
conferences that you attend?  The Handheld Librarian conference last
year and the one upcoming have set a pretty good precedent for how
effective a virtual conference can be.  Is that the direction that we
will be going?  While I made a lot of good contacts through the last
hhlib, those face-to-face encounters just can be duplicated virtually.

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