ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


165

Professional Survival

Crowd of Strangers: ALA Conferences
Neosha A . Mackey

Editors Note: This is the second in a series o f 
articles on P rofessional S u rviva l. Neosha A . 
Mackey is personnel librarian, the Ohio State 
University Libraries, Columbus, Ohio.

W hen you go to your first ALA meeting, it 
may seem at first that everyone except you knows 
everyone else. Don’t worry; the people who seem 
to know everyone are just more experienced at 
standing around and making small talk. The first 
time or two at an ALA meeting can be a devastat­
ing and alienating experience if you haven’t yet 
learned how to get involved and how to get ac­
quainted with people.

Keep in mind that there is no way you can 
know all the people who go to ALA conferences. 
It helps, though, to have at least one “resource” 
person available at first. Resource people have 
been to ALA meetings before, know their way 
around, and are willing to help others get a foot 
in the door. Go to some meetings and parties 
with them and hang around the congregating area 
with them (this last is sometimes called lobby sit­
ting). In this way, you will meet other experi­
enced people and have someone to say hello to. 
Wear your name tag and become adept at read­
ing other people’s tags; you may spot someone 
whom you’ve wanted to meet.

Plan your stay at ALA so that you benefit from 
the meetings and other activities—but don’t over­
do it! Choose two or three meetings a day that 
really interest you and attend them. If these are 
program meetings, try to sit at the front (good for 
recognizing people on th e program later and 
commenting on the issues), and meet the people 
sitting around you. At committee meetings, visi­
tors often sit around the perim eter of the room, 
but they may be asked to introduce themselves 
and participate. Attending a committee meeting 
and showing sin cere in te re s t can lead to an 
appointment later on.

Go to some of the official conference functions 
such as the P resident’s Program, m em bership 
meetings, and receptions. There you will see (and 
meet) ALA officers, the Librarian of Congress, 
and other library notables. Receptions frequently 
are held in interesting places, and they provide a 
nice way to fill an evening and have a good time.

Don’t overlook the exhibits. If you would like 
to see the latest in on-line systems, book detec­
tion outfits, and other library equipment, plus all 
those new books, the exhibits are the place. You 
might even pick up an invitation to a hospitality

suite. (I got over feeling embarrassed about car­
rying bookbags and posters long ago!)

Two activities I have tried to attend are Coun­
cil meetings and my library school reunion. It’s 
educational if nothing else for an ALA member to 
attend a Council meeting. The Council is the 
governing body of ALA, and mem bers should 
know how it o perates. M oreover, going to a 
Council m eeting is like visiting th e House or 
Senate—it gives you som ething to talk about. 
Library school reunions are good places to renew 
acquaintances and meet new people with whom 
you have at least one thing in common.

If you do all these things, you are likely to be 
exhausted if you a re n ’t careful. You can also 
spend a lot of money. Take care of yourself; get 
enough sleep; eat properly (my rule is to try to 
eat as I do at home); and don’t schedule yourself 
for five things at once! To save money, room with 
others; take with you essential items like coffee, 
tea, juice, crackers; and ride the shuttle buses 
(annual conference) to save on taxis.

Your most important asset at an ALA confer­
ence is a resource person. This person can show 
you the ropes, introduce you to lots of people, 
and be a friendly, secure face in that crowd of 
strangers. Get one if you can before you go to 
your first ALA meeting! (OK, experienced peo­
ple, offer to be a resource person.) Good luck— 
perhaps we’ll run into each other in the lobby. ■■

SARAH E. HOW

Sarah E. How is a 
new program officer in 
the ACRL office. H er 
duties include coordi­
nating and prom oting 
ACRL’s efforts in the 
field o f con tin u in g  
education. She is cur­
rently preparing a posi­
tion paper on ACRL’s 
role in con tin u in g  
education for review by
ACRL committees and sections.

How earned a B.A. degree in English from the 
University of Pennsylvania and is currently com­
pleting an M.A. degree at the Graduate Library 
School, University of Chicago. She worked for 
two years at the Geology Library at Princeton 
University. ■■