Conference Connections

SLA 2009 Wrap-Up

By now, we hope everyone has returned safely home from SLA 2009, and that the conference proved to be educational, informative and even a little fun.  Be sure to check out this blog post on Information Center Connections to catch up on where to find conference information on blogs, tweets and handouts.   

A survey about your conference experience will be coming to you shortly, and we would appreciate that you take time to fill out the survey for us. The survey will be coming from J.H. Goldsmith, not SLA.  J.H. Goldsmith is an independent company that we hire to conduct the survey for SLA.  If you have additional comments or want to get a jump start, please email me at kfoldvik@sla.org.  

We sincerely appreciate that so many people were able to attend this year's conference.  We know times are difficult, and that you all still found value in attending SLA 2009 is reassuring.  In case you haven't heard, 5,856 people were in D.C. for SLA 2009!  The fact that we were able to increase our attendance 16% over last year is amazing!  We will continue to improve our course offerings and activities in the future.  If you are a member of SLA, please contact your division programming chair if you have ideas for conference sessions.  We have already started planning for SLA 2010! 

Thanks again to the 2009 Centennial Commission and to the 2009 unit planners for their help with putting this conference together.  A big thank you also goes out to the Washington, D.C., Chapter for their help with local arrangements, for assisting attendees with restaurant, activity and tour information, and for the wiki they developed for the conference. Your hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed!

We hope you will keep reading the SLA blogs throughout the year.  We also hope that you are making plans now to attend SLA 2010 Conference & INFO-EXPO in New Orleans, 13-16 June 2010.   The keynote speakers at the opening general session are James Carville and Mary Matalin; writer Nicholas Carr will be the closing session speaker.  We are looking forward to 2010...Let the Good Times Roll!

 

Author Book Signings

Visit the SLA Marketplace in the INFO-EXPO at SLA 2009, booth 639, for some great book signings with a variety of conference speakers that are also authors. See who will be there....

Follow SLA 2009 on Twitter and SLA Blog

Want to stay informed about the SLA 2009 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO?  You can follow conference happenings two ways:

1. Follow @sla2009...many updates and information will be shared on Twitter. 

2. Follow conference attendees on the SLA Blog, or make a post yourself!  Contact Carolyn Sosnowski at csosnowski (at) sla (dot) org to sign up to blog about your conference experience.

SLA 2009 Wireless Access

There will be free wireless access at SLA 2009 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Instructions for logging into the system:

• Right click on the wireless connection icon on your taskbar
• Select "View Available Wireless Networks"
• Double click "SLA09" to connect
• Once you are connected, close the window and open your browser

The strength of the signal will depend on the number of users that are on the network at one time.  Make sure you check out the SLA Blog for conference updates and follow us on Twitter @sla2009.   

Win an Amazon Kindle 2!

Join us at the Grand Opening of the INFO-EXPO on Sunday, 14 June, at 12:30 p.m. and be the first to enter the INFO-EXPO while sipping champagne and eating cake! 

There will be two drawings for the Amazon Kindle 2.  Don't miss your chance to win at SLA 2009!

SLA's Growing List of Exhibitors!

Check out the growing list of exhibiting companies at SLA 2009!

Don't miss out! Visit the INFO-EXPO onsite during SLA 2009 to learn about new products and services in the industry so that you can enhance your own products and services for clients!

Conference Handouts

In an effort to reduce the number of unwanted copies of handouts being printed, SLA will offer handouts online prior to and after SLA 2009 . Please click here to search for handouts.

There will be printing stations in the Cyber Connection in the Registration Center in the convention center.  But, please consider the possible wait time!

If you are a speaker at SLA 2009 and you have not sent in your handouts, please contact the Events department at events@sla.org.

Wireless Connectivity and Cyber Connection

Free Wireless connectivity will again be available throughout the convention center in Washington, D.C.

If you don't want to take your laptop, don’t worry!  Cyber Connection, sponsored by Elsevier, will also be available:

Friday, 12 June........7:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Saturday, 13 June........7:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Sunday, 14 June........7:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Monday, 15 June........6:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Tuesday, 16 June........6:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Wednesday, 17 June........6:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

Cyber Connection is located at the SLA Registration Center and near the INFO-EXPO entrance.

Post Office @ Conference

Don't drag extra weight with you in your travels! Ship it at the SLA Post Office, located in the Registration Center.

Hours:

Monday, 15 June: 12:00 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.

Tuesday, 16 June: 10:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

Wednesday, 17 June: 8:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

27 Things To Do Before a Conference

Chris Brogan recently wrote 27 Things to do Before a Conference.  There is still time to get them all done before the start of SLA 2009 Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO next month.  

Some of the ones to especially check out are:

• Check the online personal planner for sessions and descriptions.  Go ahead and make a schedule, don't wait to get the paper version onsite. 
• Start Conversations on Twitter, #sla2009 has 482 followers already!  Join the discussions!
• Check out the exhibitors that will be in the INFO-EXPO.  Our virtual exhibit hall has a listing of exhibitors.  Map out who you want to visit!  

There are many other tips that are useful for planning your conference experience.   We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C., in just a few short weeks!