2021 Year in Review: Conferences

In most years, I can easily list the conferences I have attended, because they were events I traveled to. And when you need to travel to attend a conference or most professional development events, you aren't going to multiples each month. However, the move to online events in 2020, because of the COVID pandemic, changed how conferences were run and how many events a person could attend.

Soon after March 13, 2020 - the last day I worked on-site before being sent home because of the pandemic - organizations began hosting events online. Early in the pandemic, the thought was to give people learning opportunities as something to do. Then there became a need for learning opportunities which addressed challenges occurring during the pandemic. However, rather than attending these learning opportunities, I was involved in creating them by giving webinars or being on webinar panels. 2020  opened up new opportunities and I'm grateful for all of them.

Now in 2021, in addition to being involved in giving webinars, I found myself attending many online professional development events and conferences. Yes, some events were free or low-cost, while still providing top quality content.  Having virtual events made it easy to go from event to event, when it would have been impossible to do so if I needed to attend in person.  (On Oct. 22, I attend parts of the Central NY Library Resources Council Annual Meeting, the South Central (NY) Regional Library Council Annual Meeting, and Library Research Round Table event - back to back events - without leaving my office!) Memorable to me was that I was able to attend the 2021 Miami University Libraries Copyright Conference, which had Kenneth Crews and Jack Bernard among its speakers.

The ShapingEDU Winter Games in January are worth noting, because I think more people should be paying attention to this group. From its first on-site conference in 2018 to now, ShapingEDU has been gathering people together to talk about the education and work towards changing it. The Winter Games had presentations and panels from a wide variety of people who are involved in education, including speakers from specific companies that are shaping how we learn. I sat enthralled in front of my computer! Yes, this was a free event!

The ShapingEDU Unconference in July was an event where people engaged in conference-long learning and envisioning activities. It was structured in a way that made it possible for people to dip their toes into specific topics, if they didn't have time for a deep dive. Sessions were led by people who are deeply involved in the areas covered by the Unconference, which meant that you had an opportunity to learn from the best. And did I say this was free? Yup. 

If you are interested in education, I encourage you to look at ShapingEDU. Their next event - Pente Pitch Challenge - will be in February 2022. Check it out!

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) had its annual conference online in August and I was on a panel entitled "Work-Life Pivots: Tales from the Trenches" with Julie Edwards and Eugene Giudice. Marydee Ojala was the moderator.  All of us had pivoted our careers at least once - if not multiple times and this allowed us to share our experiences, talk about what we had learned, and provide tips. 

Everyone can pivot their careers. Everyone. I know some people think it is impossible, but it isn't. Yes, it might take time and effort to achieve. Yes, you might have to learn new things. Yes, it might be scary. Yes, you can do it.

During the SLA Conference, I received the John Cotton Dana Award for lifetime achievement. I'm still stunned by that!  I've already written about it, if you want to know more.

My first in-person conference of 2021 happened in November, when the New York Library Association Annual Conference came to Syracuse.  Besides the in-person component, NYLA also held a virtual conference in October and had recorded on-demand content available. I've written a number of posts about this conference already. For me, it was wonderful to be at an in-person event. Because we were in a county conference facility, we had to wear masks all the time, except when eating or drinking. Seating in the sessions was spaced out, so we could keep at a distance from each other.  

Next year, NYLA will return to having an in-person conference only in Saratoga Springs, NY on Nov. 2-5. I hope that COVID is under control by then, meaning that the number of cases are much lower and we can meet without the need for masks or the fear of getting COVID. I plan on being there and hope to see many of my NYS library buddies there, too.

2021 Lessons Learned:

• Online conferences can be quite good! They do need a lot of planning, as well as good software, so don't think that hosting an online conference will be easier. One of the best things about them is that you can have a wider variety of speakers, because they do not need to travel.
• Attending an online conference is easier, because you don't need to travel. However, it is easy to get distracted because you're sitting in front of your computer. It is up to you to stay engaged, because there is no one sitting next to you to poke you when you clearly are not paying attention. 
• During 2020-2021, online conferences were held at a number of different price points. Don't assume that a conference will be too expensive for you to attend. Read the details! You might be surprised. 
• Offering online events at a low cost or free is likely a finance burden for the event organizer. However, I hope that organizations will continue to find ways of making some of their events widely available, so that they have a larger impact.
• Staring at people through a virtual event portal is fine, but it is not the same as being in-person. I think that people will want to attend a mix of virtual and in-person events each year, because the in-person events really do engage people differently.