march17_bojs.indd March 2017 125 C&RL News Library and information science (LIS) students benefit from an introduction to professional library conferences during their graduate stud- ies. While they are invited to attend library conferences, participating can be intimidating without prior experience. To provide this nec- essary experience, the ALA student chapter at the University of Michigan School of Informa- tion (UMSI) has hosted QuasiCon, an annual student-led conference, for the last five years. From QuasiCon, students learn transferable skills in attending, presenting, and/or planning a professional-like conference. These skills equip them to enter and engage more fully with the library profession during and after library school. Additionally, professional librarians gain value from the opportunities to present, lend their expertise, and connect with students. As two 2016 UMSI graduates now working as librarians, we recognize how planning and presenting at QuasiCon for the past two years has strengthened our professional library experi- ence. For this article, we researched QuasiCon’s history and reviewed attendee feedback from 2016 conference to better understand its impact. We feel that this type of conference can be implemented at another university and hope to inspire the creation of similar student-led conferences. QuasiCon’s origins In late 2011, several UMSI students (now alum- ni) recognized that they had little experience with library conferences and also wanted to discuss libraries outside the classroom. They planned and hosted QuasiCon in early 2012 to meet these needs. The name, “QuasiCon,” comes from combining elements of a tradition- al conference and an unconference. Organiz- ing formal presentations created a venue for students to practice attending and presenting at a library conference. Unconference-style discussions created a venue to explore ideas about libraries separate from coursework. QuasiCon has evolved into a daylong, themed event. QuasiCon 2016 consisted of a keynote address, lightning talks, panels, and demonstrations. Presentation topics included makerspaces, data literacy, digital humanities, and user-centered research guides.1 The 2016 theme, “What libraries can do for you!,” was inspired by the ALA’s Libraries Transform campaign. It drew 47 attendees, including ten professional librarians and three UMSI faculty members. Planning QuasiCon The volunteer planning committee of ap- proximately ten students plans the confer- ence annually. Officers of the ALA student chapter serve on the committee, especially to help coordinate funding. A second-year student, who served on the committee in the previous year, serves as chair by delegating Martha Stuit and Joanna Thielen Introducing library students to library conferences Reflections on a student-led conference from two recent graduates Martha Stuit is librarian at Washtenaw Community College and user information services specialist at the University of Michigan, email: stuitm@umich. edu, Joanna Thielen is research data librarian/science librarian for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at Oakland University Libraries, email: jthielen@oakland.edu © 2017 Martha Stuit and Joanna Thielen C&RL News March 2017 126 and managing tasks across a flat hierarchy. Each committee member takes on specific responsibili- ties, like marketing, within a subcommittee. Planning takes place throughout the year, mostly during regular meetings in the four months prior to QuasiCon. Forming a diverse committee brings a variety of perspectives and ideas, which is helpful in the planning process. All committee members develop valuable transfer- able skills in marketing, fundraising, website man- agement, proposal evalu- ation, event planning, and project management. They advertise the conference by soliciting proposals, creating professional mar- keting materials with the QuasiCon branding, and posting information on the event website. While some funding comes from the ALA stu- dent chapter, fundraising is still a crucial component to QuasiCon. Committee members seek monetary or in-kind support from librar- ies, local bookstores, and professional organizations to cover the cost of food, swag, an honorarium for the keynote speaker, and small gifts for presenters. To select presentation proposals, committee members objectively evaluate submissions for content and relevance to the theme, as well as devise the conference schedule. At the confer- ence itself, they handle on-site logistics, like registration, and serve as session moderators. Each committee member spent between 50 and 60 hours planning and hosting the 2016 conference. To sustain QuasiCon despite students graduating annually, the planning committee passes on organizational memory through Google Drive documents. This collaborative service work gives stu- dents experience with a professional-like com- mittee. Since many librarians must participate in service work, students benefit from having this experience before their first full-time positions. Presenting at QuasiCon To present at QuasiCon, students must sub- mit competitively selected proposals corre- sponding with the conference theme. The call for proposals is from November to early January. Students gen- erally propose presen- tations related to their classes, internships, or part-time jobs. Professional librarians also submit proposals. At the past two conferences, a total of six professional librarians presented. By presenting, students gain experience address- ing questions and mod- erating a dialogue. Qua- siCon is a stepping stone between giving in-class presentations and present- ing at professional library conferences. Students add these presentations to their CVs and can discuss them with potential em- ployers. QuasiCon 2016 offered a new unconference session: demonstrations of unique library services or collections. This interactive session was unstructured and participation-based. Examples include a crowdsourced readers’ advisory service and materials from the Unusual Stuff to Borrow Collection of Ann Arbor District Library.2 Stu- dents gained the opportunity to present in a more informal, but still professional, capacity. Participating in QuasiCon as a student Even if they are not presenting at QuasiCon, attending has numerous benefits for stu- dents. First, they must register in advance on the QuasiCon website, mimicking the pro- tocol of a professional conference. Second, at QuasiCon, they learn the often unspoken March 2017 127 C&RL News conventions of conference attendance. While professional librarians are likely accustomed to navigating conferences, students can struggle with identifying relevant presenta- tions. In 2016, students had to choose from three concurrent presentations during each of the three sessions. Also, incorporating common elements of conferences, like name tags and business casual attire, elevates Qua- siCon’s atmosphere to mirror a professional conference. Third, attending sessions gives students a model for professional presentations. They see peers and professional librarians present. Students gain ideas for their own research and learn about topics outside of their classes or jobs. They can ask questions and join the dialogue. A 2016 participant commented on the evaluation form that QuasiCon “[helped] me think of issues in the libraries I wouldn’t have thought about.” Fourth, QuasiCon offers an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity. The planning committee provides food that meets dietary restrictions and solicits presentations on diverse topics. In 2016, Jennifer Taggart, assistant head of youth services at Bloomfield Township Public Library and a 2016 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, gave the keynote address about best practices for inclusive programming and collections for patrons with special needs. Other diverse topics included tribal libraries and international comic books and graphic novels. Notably, QuasiCon is a free event and therefore accessible to all attendees. Most attendees do not have to travel out of town, unlike most professional conferences. Fifth, like a professional conference, Quasi- Con cultivates formal and informal networking with librarians and professional organizations. The Michigan chapter of a national library organization recruited members in 2015 and 2016. A member of the state health sciences library association shared career opportunities in health sciences and medical libraries in 2016. Networking with professional organiza- tions motivates students to join and contribute on the local, state, or national levels. During formal networking sessions, li- brarians discuss their career paths, exchange business cards, and offer advice. Librarians also network through informal conversations with students throughout the day, such as chatting at lunch. At QuasiCon 2015, a student received a part-time job from networking with a librarian. Such opportunities to network with librarians at QuasiCon train students how to interact professionally and grow their profes- sional network. Prospective UMSI students have attended QuasiCon, where they met professional librar- ians and current students. The experience gave them a deeper understanding of a career path in librarianship and can influence their decision to attend UMSI. Finally, QuasiCon helps students address professional trends like ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.3 In presenting and contributing to discussions at QuasiCon, students fulfill the frame of “Scholarship as Conversation.” Feedback on the 2016 evaluation indicated such learning. A student wrote that QuasiCon “helped me practice presentation skills.” By developing their voices at QuasiCon, students build their information literacy skills in addition to their professional participation. Participating in QuasiCon as a professional Professional librarians, including UMSI alumni, are integral to the success of Qua- siCon. They engage with students, see the range of student interests, and hear about current LIS curriculum. Professionals have said that they gain ideas from students’ en- gagement with the library profession. Meet- ing current students also allows librarians to scout future talent for internships or profes- sional positions. In addition to their own learning, profes- sionals contribute as mentors at QuasiCon. They share their expertise by presenting and networking. A 2016 librarian attendee said that, “it’s exciting to hear about things [students] do outside the classroom.” Conver- sations with professionals give students prac- C&RL News March 2017 128 (continues on page 134) tical insights into the roles and responsibilities of professional librarians and complement the theory learned in classes. Furthermore, librar- ians demonstrate professional engagement and lifelong learning by participating in QuasiCon. Reflecting on QuasiCon as new librarians Having both recently earned our master’s degrees and started working as professional librarians, we see how our involvement with QuasiCon has had a positive and lasting im- pact on our professional development. During the job search process, we both found that having presented for an unknown audience at QuasiCon boosted our confidence in doing the same during in-person interviews for academic positions. Serving on the planning committee for two years has given us valuable transferable skills for service work. We believe that this prior experience with committee work set us apart from other recent library school graduates. QuasiCon equipped us with experi- ences that we could discuss in interviews and skills that distinguished us in a tough job market. In terms of professional conferences, Qua- siCon gave us practice with developing quality presentations with visual aids and prepared us to deliver presentations at professional confer- ences, which we have since successfully done. By attending QuasiCon, we learned to weigh and choose among concurrent presentations. We have consequently maximized our time at subsequent professional conferences. Addition- ally, planning QuasiCon gave us a deep respect for the time and effort needed to host a pro- fessional conference. We hope to be involved with other conference planning committees in the future. Here are our individual takeaways: Joanna Thielen is now research data librarian at Oak- land University in Rochester, Michigan, where she helps campus constituents organize, store, and preserve their research data. Outreach to faculty and graduate students is an integral part of her job. Attending QuasiCon allowed her to practice her networking skills, which gave her the confidence to network with professionals at subsequent local, state, and national confer- ences. As a professional librarian, she is now more confident and prepared for professional interactions with unfamiliar faculty and graduate students. Also, as a faculty member at Oakland University, serving on the planning committee for two years (including one year as chair) has given her the skills to immediately participate in library and university service work. Martha Stuit now works as librarian at the Washtenaw Community College’s Bailey Library and as user information services specialist at the University of Michigan Library-Ann Arbor. She provides reference services, engages in collec- tion development, joins instruction efforts, and contributes to projects. By assessing QuasiCon and applying feedback to make data-driven decisions and positive changes, she gained experience in finding solutions collaboratively and objectively, as well as managing a budget responsibly. She applies those skills to her cur- rent duties. Also, participating in QuasiCon high- lighted the value of learning from colleagues for her. She recognizes conferences as a way to stay up-to-date and grow in the library profession, and she consequently seeks out such lifelong learning opportunities. Final reflections QuasiCon is a unique professional develop- ment opportunity for students and profes- sional librarians.4 From participant feedback and our personal experience, an overarch- ing theme emerges: QuasiCon prepares stu- dents to participate in the library profession by introducing them to conferences. This preparation benefits both students and the library profession. Students learn that they can contribute to the professional dialogue, practice conveying their ideas, or serve on a committee. Professional librarians support this learning by participating. While we spe- cifically reported about a student-led confer- ence at UMSI, many aspects can be trans- lated and scoped to another library school. We hope that our reflections inspire others to start similar student-led conferences. C&RL News March 2017 134 include addressing the challenge of involving different stakeholders. IL has multifaceted as- pects and implications that open possibilities for engagement beyond the LIS field. One way of doing this is choosing challenging main confer- ence themes of societal and political relevance. For example, with workplace literacy as the main conference theme for ECIL 2017, we hope to include human resources specialists, career advisors, and trade units. In 2016 ECIL organized an introductory pre- conference event as a participant-driven meet- ing about critical information literacy, the CIL Unconference.7 This experience is prompting us to consider introducing other fresh conference formats. This way, we hope to attract younger participants at the beginning of their research or professional careers, who might find such casual formats more attractive. What might serve ECIL best is to conduct a thorough evaluation of its attendance, confer- ence content, review of evaluations by attendee and rapporteur reports, citation analysis of pre- sented papers, and, now, the published confer- ence proceedings. Such an evaluation might also include comparisons with other international IL conferences and, thus, result in a mapping of global perspectives on IL. This mapping might involve examining the missions and activities of other organizations, including the Interna- tional Alliance for Information Literacy and the European Network on Information Literacy to ascertain the potential, need, and benefits of future information sharing or collaboration. Notes 1. Serap Kurbanoglu, “Report of the UNESCO ‘Training the Trainers in Information Literacy’ (TTT) Workshop, Ankara, Turkey, September 3–5, 2008,” International Information and Library Review 41, no. 4 (2009): 252-6. 2. Albert K. Boekhorst, Forest Woody Horton, “Training-the-Trainers in Information Literacy (TTT) Workshops Project, Final Report to UNESCO,” International Information & Library Review 41, no. 4 (2009): 224-230. 3. Mihaela Banek Zorica, Lucia Amante, Glo- ria Bastos, Serap Kurbanoğlu, Sonja Špiranec, Yasar Tonta, and Vlasta Zabukovec, “Erasmus Intensive Programme: Information and Com- munication Technology in Supporting the Educational Process,” http://yunus.hacettepe. edu.tr/~tonta/yayinlar/tonta-zorica-erasmus-IP- programme.pdf (accessed December 18, 2016). 4. European Conference on Information Literacy, http://ilconf.org. 5. Sheila Webber, “ECIL Closing #ecil2016,” Information Literacy Weblog, October 13, 2016, http://information-literacy.blogspot. com/search/label/ecil2016 (accessed January 25, 2017). 6. Sirje Virkus, “Knowledge Management and Information Literacy: An Exploratory Analysis,” in: S. Kurbanoglu, et al (eds), Information Literacy: Key to an Inclusive Society, CCIS, vol. 676 (in press) (Berlin: Springer). 7. CIL Unconference, http://cilunconfer- ence.wixsite.com/home (accessed January 7, 2017). Notes 1. QuasiCon 2016, “Schedule,” ALA Student Chapter at the University of Michigan School of Information, last accessed September 14, 2016, https://quasicon2016.wordpress.com/schedule/. 2. “Unusual Stuff to Borrow,” Ann Arbor District Library, last accessed September 14, 2016, www.aadl.org/catalog/browse/unusual. 3. ACRL, “Framework for Information Lit- eracy for Higher Education,” ALA, January 11, 2016, www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework. (“Introducing library students . . . ,” continues from page 128) 4. We would like to acknowledge and thank both the graduate students who started QuasiCon and the Planning Committee volunteers for their innovation, dedication, and hard work to create, plan, and host QuasiCon. Thanks to the alumni who generously shared their memories and reflections on QuasiCon. We would also like to thank all past attendees for helping library students develop professionally.