What a conference! I am both exhausted and energized at the conclusion of the most successful SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in my years at SLA.
The big topic of discussion was SLA’s Alignment research. Gloria Zamora and I gave a presentation at the Leadership Development Institute and got lots of thoughtful questions and comments there and throughout the conference. We also debuted a Beta version of a new Alignment Information Portal where we will post and organize everything we have learned from our research and all of the good input that we received from our members that will help us make it what you need before it goes online.
A truly inspiring opening session included the presentation of our major awards. The accompanying videos were works of art—and will soon be posted on SLA’s new video channel, SLA-TV. After that, we heard from General Colin Powell, who shared his views of leadership and the importance of information technology. I think many in the audience were surprised at Powell’s self-effacing humor, especially when discussing his grandchildren’s demands that he get on Facebook and start Twittering.
The INFO-EXPO exceeded everyone’s expectations. Read all about it, and about other aspects of the conference, on Twitter. Our members were tweeting away this conference, and they were clearly happy with not only the learning but also the swag at the INFO-EXPO! Our vendors pulled out all the stops to make this a truly memorable experience.
The sheer number and variety of sessions had many attendees scurrying around the beautiful Washington Convention Center early every morning. If you missed a session, we have posted handouts for many sessions here. And don’t forget to check out the SLA Blog for lots of attendee observations and some great pictures—including one of Past President Vivian Hewitt (1978-1979) dancing with a robot.
The open houses, receptions and other networking events kept attendees going until the wee hours. One of the highlights, of course, was the rare privilege of attending the leadership and awards reception at the Library of Congress.
Given all this activity, I was pleasantly surprised at the terrific turnout we had for the Closing Session and Membership Meeting. President Gloria Zamora gave a fascinating account of some of her experiences traveling on SLA’s behalf during her presidential year. Gloria and I drew the same conclusion during our discussions with members throughout the conference on the Alignment research: it is time to get serious about a name change for SLA that will better reflect the value you add to your organizations, especially to people outside of your profession. As I said in my remarks, this will not happen overnight, and every member will have a vote.
I have saved the best conference news for last. This year, when other groups are having a terrible time filling their conference and exhibitor halls, we broke records—in fact, we had a 16 percent increase in attendance over last year! That is only fitting for our Centennial year, don’t you think?
When, when, when will a vid of the opening session be posted?! General Colin Powell gave a tremendous talk, and I would love to share it with others. Thank you!
Posted by: Adrianne Jones | 22 June 2009 at 12:21 PM
Adrianne, I wish we could post video of that fascinating presentation. Unfortunately, we cannot because of the terms of our contract with Gen. Powell. This is fairly standard practice in contracts with high-profile speakers. It gives them some freedom to be frank and open with audiences. And because many derive a substantial income from speaking, it protects their personal value as speakers. We do record our keynoters for the archives, but sadly our contract does not permit us to make them available to our members. It’s one more good reason to try to make our conferences in person. Next year in New Orleans, we’ll hear from James Carville and Mary Matalin, which ought to be fasinating.
Posted by: janicelachance | 22 June 2009 at 01:52 PM
When, when, when will a vid of the opening session be posted?! General Colin Powell gave a tremendous talk, and I would love to share it with others. Thank you!
Posted by: eve isk buy | 25 June 2009 at 02:50 AM