Each year the Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians' Professional Development Committee awards a scholarship to a Library/Information Science student to attend the WAAL Annual Conference. This year, SOIS Graduate Student Mark Lenker was one of the recipients of this award. Mark traveled to Stevens Point in March to participate in this conference and he shares with us his reflections and experience.
Conference: |
Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians |
Location: |
Stevens Point, WI |
Date: |
March 28-31, 2006 |
URL: |
http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/waal/ |
Fees: |
$30 for student registration, not including accommodations. Scholarships are available for undergraduate students, graduate students, and support staff/paraprofessionals. |
Coverage: |
Almost any item of interest to those who work in academic libraries, from applying metadata to digital collections to remodeling the library’s physical space in response to user feedback. The 2006 conference featured several sessions on working with students, including presentations on accommodating diversity of learning styles, assessing information literacy among graduate students, and understanding the mindset of millennial-generation students as they make the transition from high school to college. |
Professional Advancement and Networking: |
No formal placement or resume-reviewing services, but plenty of opportunities to rub shoulders with library professionals (including library directors) from across the state. Bring copies of your resume, just in case someone asks for one. |
What’s the most interesting thing you learned? |
Academic libraries in Wisconsin come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from UW-Madison Libraries (a mind-boggling 40+ libraries of various sizes and specialties scattered across the campus) to Northland College in Ashland (3 total librarians, no formal reference desk). Each presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. |
What advice do you have for other students interested in the conference? |
The WAAL conference presents a tremendous networking opportunity. Try to make the most of it by sitting with people you don’t know during the lunch sessions and the presentations. The people I met were friendly and helpful (which isn’t a shocker – they’re librarians!). If you have the chance to contribute to a presentation, take it. It’s another good way to meet people (librarians will approach you to ask pleasant questions about your presentation or simply to say that they liked it). It also gives potential employers the chance to see how you might handle yourself during library instruction sessions. |
