PEGA-SIS Newsletter
Conference Edition Vol. 2 | Issue 4
Letter from the Chair
It’s conference time! I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Baltimore very soon.
We are excited to be bringing our signature events back to the Annual Meeting again this year. The PEGA Party will be on Saturday night (July 14) after the opening reception (8-10 p.m. at the Pratt St. Alehouse) – continuing the momentum and excitement from the opening reception at our own event seems to be a new tradition for PEGA, and one I hope we’ll be able to continue for years to come. And you don’t have to be a member to attend, so bring your friends and let them see how fantastic PEGA is! As always, we’ll be providing directions to the party and walking people over together for those interested. Stop by the PEGA Poster in the Exhibit Hall or check out the listserv for more information on that. And a big thank you in advance to our sponsor, Hein!
Our Beer & Edits Committee has been hard at work this year, developing ideas and plans to expand the program beyond the Annual Meeting event. Come meet others interested in scholarship and hear more from 5:15-6:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 15 at the Hilton Lobby Bar!
As has also been our practice in recent year we had the PEGA-SIS Business Meeting virtually on Thursday, July 5 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Thanks for all who attended.
It has been a pleasure to serve as your Chair this past year. PEGA has such a unique mission within our association, and it’s one I fully believe in. We want to bring newer and more experienced librarians together in a way that provides opportunities to share and develop a knowledge of and enthusiasm for this profession. Through PEGA, I have come into contact with so many phenomenal librarians. You all are seriously #thebest. Thank you to our current Executive Board members, committee chairs and members, and our SIS members for all you’ve done this year. It’s been a privilege to work with you. I know you will be in good hands with our new Chair, Malikah Hall.
For now, please enjoy this special conference edition of our newsletter, providing lots of valuable conference-going advice.
Deborah Schander, 2017-2018 Chair
AALL Professional, Growth, & Advancement SIS
ASK PEGA- Conference "Dos" and "Don'ts"
Malikah Hall, Chair:
DO:
- Wear comfortable shoes. With tours, social events, and the sheer size of the convention center, having comfortable shoes makes a big difference.
- Try and arrive early to learn the layout. There can be a significant walk between programming locations and having an idea of where you are going has helped me tremendously.
- Bring business cards. Although we live in a digital world, I have had several instances where I left my charger at home and needed to save a person’s contact information or provide my own. Random pieces of paper with scribbled phone numbers have a tendency to get lost in packing.
DON'T
- Just wing it. Make a schedule and try your best to stick with it to ensure you get the most out of the conference.
- Forget a sweater, cardigan, or jacket. Some of these rooms are freezing.
Patrick Parsons, Vice Chair:
Do:
- Go to roundtables, even if it’s not something you ever envision yourself doing. Sometimes you can go a whole conference and not be able to implement any of the “big ideas” you get from longer, more formal presentations. But, every time I go to a roundtable I pick up something that helps me in my day to day work life.
- Figure out where the Fastcase suite/house /Airstream Camper is and stop in for meals if you’re hungry and drinks if you’re thirsty.
DON'T:
- Feel like you need to stay in presentations if you’re not interested. Some are just not going to be as good, or interesting, or relevant as others. If you’re unsure, try to sit by the back and have a backup session.
- Forget to watch the World Cup. The Final is Sunday 7/15 at 11 a.m.
- Miss putting in your raffle ticket. Set a reminder so you don’t miss the daily drawing (Hint – they’re not the same time every day). They give away some serious swag.
Deborah Schander, Immediate Past Chair:
DO:
- Eat proper meals. Yes, sometimes you have to just grab an energy bar and keep going – but keep those occasions to a minimum whenever possible. Your career will still be fine if you take the time to refuel.
DON'T:
- Don’t be afraid to tell someone if you’re afraid. Or weirded out. Or uncomfortable. AALL has a conference conduct policy. If you don’t want to report something on your own, ask a friend to go with you. I’ll go with you. Email me, and I’ll show up – seriously.
Kristen Rowlett, Member at Large:
DO:
- I second Malikah on bringing business cards! I always feel quite unprofessional writing my contact on the back of someone else’s cards….
DON'T:
- Forget you still have to pack and travel home with all the free swag. For example, if you are clearing out the exhibit hall on the last day, and the Lexis IP Solutions rep asks you if you want 50 Lexis Slinkys… learn from my mistake and just say “no.”
Show Us Your Shelfie
1. Name, Title, Library: Kristen Rowlett, International Law Reference Librarian & Instructional Assistant Professor, Dee J. Kelly Law Library, Texas A&M School of Law
2. Tell us about your Shelfie: This is my “New Orleans/Family/New Orleans Family Shelf” in my office. Louisiana is the state in which I’ve lived the longest and I’m licensed to practice; South Louisiana is where I left my heart. My husband is from New Orleans, and we go back to visit friends and family often. A lot of the trinkets on the shelf come from one of my favorite Mardi Gras parades, but I also wanted a place to display my old copies of the Louisiana Civil Code.
3. What is your favorite thing on your shelf? The Chewbacca and Yoda figurines. When we were little, my sister and I learned how to dive in a pool using these guys, and they’ve stayed with me since. C-3PO used to come along, too, but the chlorine took off all his metallic paint.
4. Besides your workplace library (naturally), what is the coolest library you have ever seen/been to? The Dag Hammarskjöld Library (UN Headquarters Library) in NY. So many maps!
5. What do you like the most about being a librarian? What do you like the least?
Librarianship is a profession that allows me to be constantly curious. I have the chance to learn something new every day. My least favorite part of librarianship are questions like “where are the bathrooms?” or “can you fix the printer?” that sandwich the interesting ones.
6. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given? “Macaroni and F**k it!” After my extremely type-A sister was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer at 31, she saw this meme and made it her go-to way to express “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Plus, our mom hates when we use profanity so we find ways to put this in the family group text as much as possible.
7. Who is your library/librarian hero (or the person who inspired(inspires) you to be a librarian)? Beth Williams was my law school’s library director, and she took me under her wing when I needed career and life guidance the most. I joke that I really just wanted to be her and law librarianship was one very important aspect of being Beth. I will forever aim to provide the support to my students that she provided me.
8. What was your best day on the job? I really enjoy when former students come back to visit… especially when they bring fresh babies to meet. So many former students have added a member to their family in the four years I’ve worked at A&M Law that I actually keep wrapped copies of my favorite baby book in my office.
9. What was the last book you read? Digital or Print? Touching the Void by Joe Simpson in digital format. I developed a mild-to-strange fascination with mountaineering disaster stories, watched the documentary of the same name based on Simpson’s book, then made every person who ever entered my house watch it as well. The raw portrayal of surviving the unthinkable through sheer mental will is absolutely awesome. Plus, reading about frostbitten extremities can really make the 100-degree Texas summers a bit more bearable. The book was fantastic, but if you only have two hours to spare… this documentary is nuts!
10. What’s the last thing you Googled? Image search for “chickens that look like they are wearing pantaloons” (important work things, I swear!).
11. Cats or Dogs? Both, but we reached max pet level after Brady Bunch-ing two cats each. The cats already form a quorum and need no more power.
12. Coffee or Tea? COFFEECOFFEECOFFEECOFFEECOFFEECOFFEE
13. How many cardigans do you own? I don’t know… how many colors are there? Take that number and multiple by 2.
14. Favorite Word? Least favorite word? I don’t think I have a favorite or least favorite! There are definitely some ways to describe things that cause me to crinkle my nose and say “eww.” (i.e. anything requiring search on urbandictionary.com.) However, I find etymology fascinating! Even words I don’t favor have interesting stories behind them.
15. What’s your perfect Sunday afternoon look like? After a healthy 15-hour night’s sleep, I am awoken by the loud knocks of a stranger who has traveled many moons to inform me of the death of an unbeknownst relative who left me the entirety of her estate, which is worth approximately infinity dollars.
How To Build A Better Librarian
Overcommitting and Learning to Say “No” at Conferences
by: Deborah Schander
In our last issue, we talked about networking for introverts. This time, I’d like to talk about another common conference pastime: overcommitting.
Man, we librarians love to overcommit ourselves. It’s so easy to look at the schedule and think: “Look at all the programs! The socials! The friends I’ll get to see! The secret interviews I’ll have!” And the next thing you know, your schedule is full from breakfast meeting to the final party of the night, every day, and you’re subsisting on granola bars and coffee, and you go home exhausted. Yeah! That is the life!
No. No, it isn’t. That’s being pressured into feeling like you aren’t making the best use of your time (or your employer’s money – or yours) if you don’t say yes to everything. I would argue that you’re not giving your employer (or you) the best version of yourself at a conference if you’re running yourself ragged.
So how can you stop overcommitting? Here are three suggestions you can implement this year:
- Have a Hard Line on One Thing – Think back to previous conferences. What was the thing that exhausted you the most, or you felt was least worth your time? Say “No” to it this year. For me, I started my takeback of conferences with one change: “No more breakfast meetings.” Of course, I immediately broke it because there was one breakfast meeting I had to be at, but I didn’t attend any of the optional ones. I slept in a little longer; I got food I actually wanted to eat, and I started every day refreshed instead of with dread.
- Don’t Fill Schedule Gaps Unnecessarily – Let me say this: if there is nothing on the schedule during a time slot you want to attend, don’t go. Okay, fine, you might stumble upon some amazing program you would have never gone to otherwise, but most of the time? At best, you’re probably going to be distracted, and at worst outright irritated and resentful that you aren’t somewhere else. You’re not benefitting and, frankly, you’re probably making things worse for others too. The people around you don’t want to watch you check your phone every three seconds, listen to you type email on your little keyboard, or constantly shift in your chair. Also? That stuff is disrespectful to the speakers.
- Take a Couple Hours to Explore the City – This is not new advice. But it’s surprising how many people still feel guilty about it and won’t do it. As part of your conference prep, take a little time to find something unique about the host city you’re interested in. Treat yourself to an adventure outside of the conference center by yourself or with a friend. Yes, the weather will be disgusting because it’s July and that’s when we decided to conference for some reason, but it’s still worth it. And it’ll save you from those awkward “Oh yeah! I’ve been there! … Well, but I didn’t actually see the city … I was at a conference …” conversations at future parties.
That’s it. Go forth and conference it up! Within reason.
Is there a professional skill or technique you would like to know more about or write about for How to Build a Better Librarian? If so, please contact Deborah Schander at deborah.e.schander@vanderbilt.edu.
Beer & Edits: A Writer's Network
B&E Year Round
by: Stacia Stein
Beer & Edits: A Writer’s Network is expanding its offerings!
In order to better connect writers and readers and foster links between potential writing partners, Beer & Edits: A Writers’ Network (B&E) will be hosting a year-round slate of offerings:
- Beer & Edits at AALL Annual Meeting. This annual event affords information professionals from across the US a way to meet colleagues with similar interests. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. This year’s B&E will be held at the Lobby Bar of the Baltimore Hilton on Sunday, July 15 from 5:15 pm – 6:15pm.
- Beer & Edits: A Writers’ Network will have a column in the quarterly PEGA-SIS newsletter which will seek to demystify the writing and publishing process as well as inspire the inner writer (or editor) in all librarians.
- B&E is planning on hosting a webinar in November 2018. Details to come!
- Looking for someone to review your work but unable to attend B&E at the annual meeting? In conjunction with our live event, B&E will be launching a matchmaking database. We will gather a team of volunteer readers and editors who will be available to provide feedback on draft articles and papers all year round. Starting July 15, you can contact the Beer & Edits Committee chair to connect with a reader for your draft writing.
- Beer & Edits Online Event. This online event, to be held in winter 2019, will allow you to connect and collaborate with your colleagues across the US from the comfort of your own home or office. A virtual drop-in session with breakout rooms featuring facilitated discussion on various topics of interest, Beer & Edits Online will seek to bring spontaneity of the live event to an online forum.
Looking forward to an exciting year ahead and hope to see you in Baltimore!
PEGA PARTY: Saturday July 14, 2018
The Nook: Simple Tips for Self Care
Finding Your Zen at Conference: Some Helpful Tips from Heather Simmons
With the AALL Annual Conference just around the corner you might be working on getting some projects completed so they are not waiting for you when you return from Baltimore. Or you might have reviewed the postcards that some of the vendors have been sending out the last few weeks. Or you might be thinking about all the meetings, events, and programs you need/want to attend and traveling and being away from work and home….and ack!!! If you fall into that last category, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed about the conference.
I reached out Heather Simmons, from the University of Illinois, because she always seems to be calm and relaxed at any conference I have seen her at – even when she is a speaker. I asked her how she does it and for some helpful tips she has for those of us who get stressed out at the conference.
First, to stay organized Heather creates a one page per day agenda with all the events she needs to attend so she can see at a glance where she needs to be and when. Then, she looks to see where the holes are and plans some down time. Heather notes, “A couple of times a day it’s important to just stop and be present in the moment. Take some deep breaths. Really look at an interesting piece of art, or slow down and eat mindfully.”
Additionally, Heather suggests getting out and about to explore and experience the conference city. Although it will be hot ('tis what happens in July in most parts of the county), and Baltimore might be a little humid (well, maybe more than a little), it is important to get away from the conference from time to time. Take a walk, see the sights, find gifts for friends and family back home, explore a museum or art gallery, find some local restaurants that serve your favorite cuisine or dishes or try something new and different that you might not be able to get back home. Baltimore will be your oyster or pasta with clam sauce or brew pub burger - eat it up.
In addition to the ways one can seek mindfulness on one’s own, Heather also takes part in a couple of AALL-sponsored events focused on mindfulness. If you are a morning person, like Heather, you may want to try out the Yoga class offered at 6:00 am Sunday through Tuesday. Or to get more involved with mindfulness and our profession, you may wish to attend the Mindfulness Caucus meeting on Sunday at 1:00 pm.
My greatest thanks to Heather for these tips and suggestions. They have greatly improved my outlook on the upcoming conference and I hope they have helped you as well.
For more information on mindfulness at AALL and sights and bites in Baltimore, please see:
- AALL sponsored Yoga; Sunday, July 15 - Tuesday, July 17, 6:00-7:00 am in Hilton Key Ballroom 4
- Mindfulness in Law Librarianship Caucus - Sunday, July 15 from 1:00-2:00 pm in Hilton Key Ballroom 5)
- Restaurant Guide from AALL
- Baltimore Tourism Guide for AALL Attendees (see this list of discounts with your conference badge).
- Baltimore Museums
- Events in the Inner Harbor from Friday, July 13 – Tuesday, July 17
- Quirky Baltimore
Is there a self-care topic or technique you would like to know more about or write about for The Nook: Simple Tips for Self-Care? If so, please contact Candle Wester at westercm@law.sc.edu.
About PEGA
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Website: https://www.aallnet.org/pegasis/
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