Conferences, More Than Just Continuing Education

As a public librarian in the state of Pennsylvania and a director to boot, I’m required to pursue a number of continuing education classes throughout the year. And if you’ve been a long-time reader, you’ll know that I love to learn! I am constantly looking for webinars, workshops, and conferences to attend to learn more.

But, conferences are about so much more than continuing education! They’re about networking. Which, if I’m being honest, scared the crap out of me for years. I’m a full-fledged introvert and often needs that downtime away from people to recharge. So anytime someone said, “There will be time for networking.” I started to panic.

Now? Although it can still make me panic at times, networking, especially at a conference is just talking to someone else about what you both love to do! And it’s like small talk at a party where you have no idea anything about the other person. Conferences bring like-minded people together.

I was able to snag an exhibits hall pass late of Friday for the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference. I didn’t plan on attending because I’ll be heading down to Nashville next month for the Public Library Association Conference. But with a complimentary pass to the exhibit floor, I knew I had to check it out.

It was so great to connect with librarians, publishers, and authors. I touched base with a bunch of directors I normally see as part of my consortium which is always fun. But, I also got to see a few colleagues from committees I’ve been on that are from libraries a little further away.

Publishers

I also talked with a lot of marketing staff from publishing houses. At large library conferences, publishers bring in galley copies of new and upcoming titles to get everyone excited with a sneak peek. There are rows and rows of publishing houses with books piled on just about every horizontal surface. And they’re all free. You just swing by and scoop up what you want. But, if you can chat with the staff at the booth, they are far more willing to hook you up! Share what you loved from last year or what you’re excited to see. Then they’ll whip up the tablecloth and pull out books you didn’t even know were available! And they’re super helpful and friendly!

Authors

And finally authors – it’s so fun to meet authors and illustrators at conferences! I’ve had really great experiences with almost everyone I’ve ever met. Yesterday, I stopped by to chat with Michelle Kadarusman, author of Girl of the Southern Sea. And she recognized my social media handle and was truly the sweetest person ever! She has a new book coming out Music for Tigers that I wasn’t even aware of and I’m so glad I got to touch base! And speaking of social media, if you can’t meet your favorite authors in person, try to touch base on social media. I posted a picture of Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan’s new book A Place at the Table and tagged them both and chatted on Twitter a bit as well.

I was exhausted by the end of the day! And my shoulders are still so sore from lugging around 55 new books! But, it was so worth it for all the networking opportunities! I’ll be posting my book haul in the coming days so you can see all the great stuff I get to read next! And don’t forget, the Youth Media Awards are being announced tomorrow – learn all about them on my post!