SLA Conferences: Who Did You Connect With?

I received the nicest message (reprinted below) from one of our Illinois members about a valuable connection she made at this year’s annual conference.  I have heard similar stories of lifelong friendships, new jobs, professional connections and even romance that have taken place at SLA conferences.

So what is your favorite conference connection?  Did you meet someone who turned out to be important in your personal or professional life?  Did you run into a long-lost friend?  Please add your story to the Comments below. And thanks to Elissa for getting the ball rolling.

Hello from Elissa Cochran,

I would like to share an interesting story as a result of my attendance at the 2010 Annual Conference in New Orleans.

 I attended the Monday session: Information Services in Transition: a Global Debate.

There was to be a panelist from the Australian/New Zealand Chapter but unfortunately they were unable to attend.  Since I will be traveling to both countries this July/August, one of my conference goals was to meet librarians from that region and schedule library visits.

The moderator gave me a few contacts, and upon my return, I emailed a librarian at the University of Auckland who in turn forwarded my name to Marleene Boyd, President SLA CANZ.  Marleene invited me to be the guest speaker at their Chapter dinner meeting.  She would like me to share my U.S. experience of being a solo, medical librarian and former academic business librarian, as well as report back on memorable sessions from the Annual Conference. Through strong networking within the CANZ Chapter, their members have scheduled visits to university libraries, a maritime museum library, and medical libraries within both countries.

I am very excited to visit with my international counterparts and also to share how SLA has nurtured my career. I’m amazed at the opportunities that are available at the Annual Conference. It’s really what SLA is all about:  willingness to share knowledge and network, globally. 

 Elissa Cochran, DBIO; DBF; Illinois Chapter

Comments

[Ethel M Salonen]

Every year I hook up with a good friend who I met many years ago at the SLA conference in Seattle..the one with Bill Gates. She was a friend of my husband's colleague and I was told to look for someone with short hair. Not the greatest description but as we know, we can find just about anything, or anyone, with the smallest amount of detail. We discuss what is happening in our organizations, what our professional life is like, and of course gossip. I look for her every year, and sure enough we saw each other in New Orleans. We never schedule a time to meet..it just happens. SLA conferences are multidimentional and I look forward to them every year!
Ethel M Salonen, SLA Fellow and Past President