Submitted by Elizabeth Smigielski, Chair, 2006 Annual Conference Publicity Committee
Kornhauser Health Sciences Library, University of Louisville, KY
elizabeth.smigielski@louisville.edu
After the flurry of activity and anticipation, it’s time for the annual conference wrap up. For the 215 of you who attended and for those who didn’t, here’s a summary of the 2006 Annual Conference, peppered with comments from our evaluations.
And the highlights were:
The speakers, overall were well-received, particularly Alane Wilson and Betsy Humphreys. The OCLC environmental scan from which Wilson based her report is available at: http://www.oclc.org/reports/escan/toc.htm. Her slides will be available on the conference web site shortly.
The GMR Technology Forum received high praise. Many people marked it as the best thing about the meeting – “Dale was funny!” Another strong vote came in for the Career Clinic, which was deemed “excellent” by one attendee.
Our contributed papers and posters received overall high marks, including these comments: “The panel discussion on 10/10 on liaison roles” was ranked as a “best of” and “the contributed papers were very informative.” The PowerPoint slides from many of the conference presentations are available from the conference website. Interestingly, two people responded that we should have more invited papers and that we need more diversity among papers. Keep that in mind for next year, everyone. It’s YOU who make or break the papers, so submit!
Among the new innovations at the meeting was the conference blog, which one person mentioned as the best thing about the conference. Congratulations to blog editor, Clare Leibfarth! Also new was the Technology Petting Zoo which also made someone’s “best of” list. Related to promotion, many liked the weekly conference e-mails, and, once again, the GMRLIST and the MIDWEST listservs remain the best way to get the word out, with MIDLINE a best source for detailed information.
Now for some fun. The meeting took place during the St. James Court Art Fair which was a hit. Many attendees hopped the shuttle and perused the 700+ vendors on a blue-sky fall day. “It was great that conference coincided with St. James Art Fair!” The reception at the Kentucky Derby Museum, providing a taste of the bluegrass, was just what some were craving . “LOVED the Derby Museum.”
Comments that made the meeting planners feel good. “Very informative. I will use this information in my work.” “Great job! I have lots to think about & work on.” “Really comfortable beds.” (We know what’s important.) Unfortunately, we took some hits, too. One of our downfalls: “What! No chocolate?”
But, far and away, what is the number one thing you all valued most? Networking.
Finally, if I may quote from our evaluations in expressing thanks to my conference planning colleagues: “Thank you to all who worked on the conference. You all worked so hard to make this a worthwhile event for our membership. We are very lucky to have such dedicated colleagues.”
The true success of any conference is in the attendees, to whom we owe a sincere THANK YOU. If you didn’t come and participate, we’d have failed regardless. On to Omaha and a joint meeting with the Midcontinental Chapter in 2007!
To see photos from the conference, visit the Midwest Chapter 2006 Conference Photo Gallery!
