Every time I get ready to just copy and paste this list I find something new to add. So! The latest and great! The newest and bestest! Packing and traveling and conference survival tips!

Packing list

These are the things I can NOT live without at conferences

• A good bag in a light weight material. Forgot leather its hot & heavy. Instead go for something lightweight like the Bagallini bags, I have two big ones, the Only Bagg and the Ala Carte Medium. Both of these are large tote style bags great as a carry on or if you like a bigger bag during the conference. I’ll probably be caring the Ala Carte. My favorite smaller one is the Hobo Style Tote. It’s just big enough my netbook will fit in it, the outer end pockets are great for a cell phone, water bottle and anything else you need. The strap can be shortened to wear as a shoulder bag or long to wear as a messenger.
• External Battery Pack  I can not express enough love for this device. It’s slightly larger than my cell phone and will fully charge it, twice. I just remember to plug it in and charge it each night then throw it in my bag during the day. No looking for an outlet or dealing with a dead phone. It has 2 usb plugs on it so if you are feeling really generous you can share with a friend.
• Portable Power Strip This one isn’t absolutely necessary but many hotels are still lacking in a decent number of easily accessible outlets to charge all your stuff. You’ll also make friends if you take it along when you go out because you’ll be able to offer to plug it in when all the outlets are full, securing a spot for yourself and sharing with others.
• iPod touch – in addition to being a great travel companion (games, podcasts, music, books and more), there are some great white noise apps to help me get to sleep at night or to help drowned out those loud neighbors. Many hotels have a docking station or an mp3 connection to the alarm clock/radio. The new iTouch takes photos so you don’t wear our your cellphone battery taking pictures. There are some great note taking apps if you decide not to take your laptop and Dropbox will let you view your PowerPoints for that last minute review.
• Good shoes, at least 2 pairs, neither new, really a conference is no place to break in new shoes. I’ll be wearing in flats in Monterey this year!
• Umbrella – small compact kind
• Snack bars – Even in a small local like Monterey it can be hard to get out to lunch and back in time for the first afternoon session, plus you never know when you’ll be hungry and there isn’t a coffee shop in the conference center.
• A well planned schedule – I print it out in addition to having it on my phone so I can easily see a glance where I’m supposed to be and when. I politely decline the big printed one at check-in. I already know where I’m going & its heavy.

Tips

• Give people your name – wear your name badge up near your face rather than on a lanyard so it’s easy for people to glance at it while talking to.  Introduce yourself, even if you’ve already met the person.  Some of us have hard time with names and there are a LOT of people to remember.
• Don’t hang out with the people you came with – Go to different sessions, eat meals with other people, maximize your time at the conference you can share with each other what you learned.
• Meet new people – you’re probably not going to meet new people if you’re hanging out with the people you came with.  Get out of your comfort zone, ask people what they want to get from the conference, how far they traveled etc, you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet.
• Make a schedule, be willing to break it – make a schedule of what you’d like to attend, know what you absolutely must see and what you’d be willing to miss for coffee with that person you’ve been wanting to meet or the awesome new person you just met
• Know what amenities your hotel offers – internet access, gym, fridge, breakfast etc, use them.
• Ask for the things you need at your  hotel – you’re a paying guest, don’t be afraid to ask for little things like more hangers or more coffee.
• Make time for down time - conferences can be overwhelming there is so much to do, so many people to meet.  Don’t wear yourself out early, it wont matter how much you see if you are too worn out to remember it or how many people you meet if you are too burnt out to make a good impression.
• Wear comfortable shoes - seriously, if you must wear heels put a pair of flats in your bag, trust me you will be happy you did when you making that long walk you weren’t planning to make.
• Get the right bag – you don’t want to carry too much it’s hard on your back & shoulders, but you need room for important extras like extra shoes, a water bottle and a sweater or wrap. Really think about if you need that laptop. Can you take notes by hand & type them up later? Twitter and check email from your phone if you can.  Forgo leather, sure it looks great but its hot & adds extra unneeded pounds (see more about bags under shopping list)
• Layer your clothes, bring a jacket, sweater or shawl, temperature can vary widely in rooms and you want to be comfortable
• Drink lots of water – so easy to forget when you’re on the go and it is one small thing that can make you feel so much better
• Before you take swag ask yourself “would I want this if it weren’t free?”
• Remember, anything you acquire, you will have to bring home. that goes for swag (and new shoes Rebecca!  )

Similar Posts:

• Tips for Conference Attendees
• ALA Survival Tips, New & Improved for #ALA11
• Tips and Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Internet Librarian #intlib10

I’ve made some updates to the conference tips I shared last year before ALA.  Hopefully, there is a little something for everyone, I’ve added a short packing list  of things I can’t live without and a reading list with suggestions on networking and tips for introverts.

Packing list

These are the things I can NOT live without at conferences

• A good bag in a light weight material. Forgot leather its hot & heavy. Instead go for something lightweight like the bagallini bags, I have two big ones, the Only Bagg and the Ala Carte Medium. Both of these are large tote style bags great as a carry on or if you like a bigger bag. My favorite one is smaller though, the Hobo Style Tote. It’s just big enough my netbook will fit in it, the outer end pockets are big enough for a water bottle and the strap can be shortened to wear as a shoulder bag or long to wear as a messenger.
• External Battery Pack I can not express enough love for this device. It’s slightly larger than my cell phone and will fully charge it, twice. Yep. I just remember to plug it in and charge it each night then throw it in my bag during the day. No looking for an outlet or dealing with a dead phone. It has 2 usb plugs on it so if you’re feeling really generous you can share with a friend just as long as they brought their own cord.
• Good shoes, at least 2 pairs, neither new
• iPod touch – in addition to being a great travel companion (games, podcasts, music, books and more), there are some great white noise apps to help me get to sleep at night or to help drowned out those loud neighbors. Many hotels have a docking station or an mp3 connection to the alarm clock/radio. The new iTouch takes photos so you don’t wear our your cellphone battery taking pictures. Plus lots of great note taking apps if you decide not to take your laptop.
• Umbrella – small compact kind
• Snack bars – yep, most days my schedule is so packed I can’t get out of the convention center for lunch and you never know what food will or wont be offered.
• A well planned schedule – yep my schedule is plotted out weeks in advance with locations and everything. I print it out in additon to having it on my phone so I can easily see a glance where I’m supposed to be and when. I politely decline the big printed one at check-in. I already know where I’m going & its heavy.

Tips

• Give people your name – wear your name badge up near your face rather than on a lanyard so it’s easy for people to glance at it while talking to.  Introduce yourself, even if you’ve already met the person.  Some of us have hard time with names and there are a LOT of people to remember.
• Don’t hang out with the people you came with – Go to different sessions, eat meals with other people, maximize your time at the conference you can share with each other what you learned.
• Meet new people – you’re probably not going to meet new people if you’re hanging out with the people you came with.  Get out of your comfort zone, ask people what they want to get from the conference, how far they traveled etc, you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet.
• Make a schedule, be willing to break it – make a schedule of what you’d like to attend, know what you absolutely must see and what you’d be willing to miss for coffee with that person you’ve been wanting to meet or the awesome new person you just met
• Know what amenities your hotel offers – internet access, gym, fridge, breakfast etc, use them.
• Ask for the things you need at your  hotel – you’re a paying guest, don’t be afraid to ask for little things like more hangers or more coffee.
• Make time for down time - conferences can be overwhelming there is so much to do, so many people to meet.  Don’t wear yourself out early, it wont matter how much you see if you are too worn out to remember it or how many people you meet if you are too burnt out to make a good impression.
• Wear comfortable shoes - seriously, if you must wear heels put a pair of flats in your bag, trust me you will be happy you did when you making that long walk you weren’t planning to make.
• Get the right bag – you don’t want to carry too much it’s hard on your back & shoulders, but you need room for important extras like extra shoes, a water bottle and a sweater or wrap. Really think about if you need that laptop. Can you take notes by hand & type them up later? Twitter and check email from your phone if you can.  Forgo leather, sure it looks great but its hot & adds extra unneeded pounds (see more about bags under shopping list)
• Layer your clothes, bring a jacket, sweater or shawl, temperature can vary widely in rooms and you want to be comfortable
• Drink lots of water – so easy to forget when you’re on the go and it is one small thing that can make you feel so much better

More tips from others via Friendfeed, Twitter or blogs.

• In the exhibits, ask yourself before taking swag “would I want this if it weren’t free?” And it is unseemly to push people out of the way to get an advance reading copy. – Steve Lawson
• Anything you acquire, you will have to bring home. I like to stick a small flattened cardboard box and a roll of packing tape in my suitcase to mail home free books. – Jason P.
• ALA is very spread out. You need to factor in where a session/meeting is when planning a schedule Tombrarian

Karen Schnieder has a great list I’ve grabbed a couple of my favorites, so as not to steal the whole thing but go read it.

• Bring more business cards than you think you need
• Always visit the exhibits.
• Get creative with transportation.
• Attend a program hosted by an entity outside your usual “space.”
• Tip the people who make our visit so comfortable.

Must Read List

• ALA Conference Survival Tips — 35 Conferences Later
• ALA 2010: My Simple Plan for Keeping Close to Sane
• Tips from Stephen Abrams
• Advice for the Shy
• Be Sexier in Person
• Tips for Conference Bloggers
• Maximizing the Conference Experience
• My First ALA! Advice Tips and Tricks
• Tips for Conference Attendees

What’s in your must-have packing list? What tips would you add?

 Similar Posts:

• Internet Librarian Packing and Travel Tips #IL2011
• Tips and Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Internet Librarian #intlib10
• Tips for Conference Attendees

What did I miss?Similar Posts:

• ALA Conference Survival Tips #ala10
• Tips for Conference Attendees
• My First ALA! Advice Tips and Tricks

Last year was my first ALA and it is definitely nothing like other conferences.  This is a combination of tips I’ve shared before and new ones learned the hard way. I’ve also included a reading list with suggestions on networking and tips for introverts.

• Give people your name – wear your name badge up near your face rather than on a lanyard so it’s easy for people to glance at it while talking to.  Introduce yourself, even if you’ve already met the person.  Some of us have hard time with names and there are a LOT of people to remember.
• Don’t hang out with the people you came with – Go to different sessions, maximize your time at the conference you can share with each other what you learned.
• Meet new people – you’re probably not going to meet new people if you’re hanging out with the people you came with.  Get out of your comfort zone, ask people what they want to get from the conference, how far they traveled etc, you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet.
• Make a schedule, be willing to break it – make a schedule of what you’d like to attend, know what you absolutely must see and what you’d be willing to miss for coffee with that person you’ve been wanting to meet or the awesome new person you just met
• Know what amenities your hotel offers – internet access, gym, fridge, breakfast etc
• Ask for the things you need at your  hotel – you’re a paying guest, don’t be afraid to ask for little things like more hangers
• Make time for down time - conferences can be overwhelming there is so much to do, so many people to meet.  Don’t wear yourself out early, it wont matter how much you see if you are too worn out to remember it or how many people you meet if you are too burnt out to make a good impression.
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Layer your clothes, bring a jacket, sweater or shawl, temperature can vary widely in rooms and you want to be comfortable
• Drink lots of water – so easy to forget when you’re on the go and it is one small thing that can make you feel so much better

From others via Friendfeed, Twitter or blogs.

• In the exhibits, ask yourself before taking swag “would I want this if it weren’t free?” And it is unseemly to push people out of the way to get an advance reading copy. – Steve Lawson
• Anything you acquire, you will have to bring home. I like to stick a small flattened cardboard box and a roll of packing tape in my suitcase to mail home free books. – Jason P.
• ALA is very spread out. You need to factor in where a session/meeting is when planning a schedule Tombrarian

Karen Schnieder has a great list I’ve grabbed a couple of my favorites, so as not to steal the whole thing but go read it.

Bring more business cards than you think you need. You will always run out.  I also know I’m ready to go home when I start handing out other people’s cards. When you get back, go through your cards and write people. – Karen Schneider

Always visit the exhibits. ALA conferences survive because vendors continue to send entire cotillion of staff and equipment to the exhibit hall. At the very least, go in and greet the vendors your library uses (yes, even the vendors you don’t like). But if you have more time, wander the halls. – Karen Schneider

Get creative with transportation. ALA has shuttle buses, and sometimes I use them. But usually I find other forms of transportation between conference sites are faster (especially after Big Events, where people will be lined up for hours). Quite often I  hoof it, sometimes with a colleague with whom I can catch up. Other times I share a cab (get bold: ask that librarian, “Want to share?”). In DC, get a Metro pass and when appropriate, use the Metro to get from A to B very quickly. – Karen Schneider

Attend a program hosted by an entity outside your usual “space.” If you are an academic librarian, see a PLA program, and so on. You’d be surprised what you can learn, who you meet, and what it feels like to be outside your arena – Karen Schneider

Tip the people who make our visit so comfortable. Tip the shuttle driver, the hotel concierge who drags your suitcase to the lobby, the clerk who brings your bags up to the room, the hotel desk clerk who retrieves your suitcase, the maid who cleans your hotel room,  the restaurant wait staff, and the cab drivers who hustle you around the city.  Your tips mean a lot to these service workers, and enhance the image of the profession as a caring, sharing group.  Bring dollar bills for the smaller tips (I rarely tip under $2 these days for anything) and a $20 (at least) for the hotel maid.

Must Read List

• ALA Conference Survival Tips — 35 Conferences Later
• ALA 2010: My Simple Plan for Keeping Close to Sane
• Tips from Stephen Abrams
• Advice for the Shy
• Be Sexier in Person
• Tips for Conference Bloggers
• Maximizing the Conference Experience
• My First ALA! Advice Tips and Tricks
• Tips for Conference Attendees

Where I’ll be, if you really want to know

Unfortunately my schedule looks something like this

I’ll be presenting a couple of times.

On Friday afternoon at a YALSA pre-conference session - Promoting Teen Reading with Web 2.0 Tools. On  Sunday afternoon I’ll be on a panel Designing Digital Experiences for Library Websites for LITA with David Lee King, Toby Greenwalt and John Blyberg

Last but certainly not least Monday evening I’ll be participating in Battledecks

This awesome logo was created by http://365sketches.org/

You can even get your very own awesome battledecks swag.Similar Posts:

• Tips and Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Internet Librarian #intlib10
• Tips for Conference Attendees
• ALA Survival Tips, New & Improved for #ALA11

The most repeated advice - comfortable shoes

Tomorrow I’m off for my first ALA conference, it was a bit of a last minute deal but I’m pleased to be attending!  I will be blogging the sessions I attend both here and on LITA’s blog.

When I found out I was going I sent out a call for tips on Twitter and got a some great responses on FriendFeed and Twitter. I’ve blogged conference tips before and thought I’d recap and add some new ones as a reminder to myself.

• Give people your name, wear your name badge up near your face rather than on a lanyard so it’s easy for people to glance at it while talking to.  Introduce yourself, even if you’ve already met the person.  Some of us have hard time with names and there are a LOT of people to remember.
• Don’t hang out with the people you came with – Go to different sessions, maximize your time at the conference you can share with each other what you learned.
• Meet new people – you’re probably not going to meet new people if you’re hanging out wtih the people you came with.  Get out of your comfort zone, ask people what they want to get from the conference, how far they traveled etc, you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet.
• Review the program before you go so you know what session you will be attending and when you’ll have free time to have coffee with someone you meet.
• Know what amenities your hotel offers – internet access, gym, fridge, breakfast etc
• Make time for down time, conferences can be overwhelming there is so much to do, so many people to meet.  Don’t wear yourself out early.
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Layer your clothes, bring a jacket, temperature can vary widely in rooms and you want to be comfortable
• Drink lots of water

From FriendFeed & Twitter – I tried to give credit where credit is due without violating anyones privacy settings, but if I messed something up, feel free to let me know.

• Write down the sessions you want to go to, rip the maps out of the program and leave the program at home. If you should need the full program, there will be 2,000 librarians in your general vicinity you can borrow from. – Steve Lawon
• In the exhibits, ask youself before taking swag “would I want this if it weren’t free?” And it is unseemly to push people out of the way to get an advance reading copy. – Steve Lawson
• Anything you acquire, you will have to bring home. I like to stick a small flattened cardboard box and a roll of packing tape in my suitcase to mail home free books. – Jason P.
• In Chicago, just plan on spending the day either at McCormack place or at the other hotels. Getting back and forth between McCormack and the rest of the conference takes forever and a day, and you end up missing half the sessions you wanted to get to.  Laura
• Make sure to attend the BIGWIG Social Software Showcase on Monday morning at 10:30 in the convention center. The exhibit hall normally has a shipping area, collect free books and take them there to ship them home. Most of the really good stuff happens during the social hours, not the sessions, plan accordingly. My fav “social” events include the OCLC Blog Salon and the LITA Happy hour, but if you want you can go the entire weekend without paying for food or drink, if you smooze with enough vendors. More as I think of it. – Jason Griffey
• Good shoes, go to hear people of interest despite topic, Lots of time at exhibits, easy on swag you pick up there itsanno
• Don’t schedule too much per day. Choose one or two things you really want to attend, then chose other stuff by proximity stevelawson
• ALA is very spread out. You need to factor in where a session/meeting is when planning a schedule Tombrarian
• wear comfortable shoes!! know what sessions you want before you get there (at least some ideas). Be Flexible! library_chic
• comfortable shoes, be prepared to ship things home, and it’s okay to ask politely if they have galleys for certain titles BethSaxton

Recommended further reading:

• Tips from Stephen Abrams
• Advice for the Shy
• Be Sexier in Person
• Tips for Conference Bloggers
• Maximizing the Conference Experience

Similar Posts:

• Tips for Conference Attendees
• ALA Conference Survival Tips #ala10
• Tips and Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Internet Librarian #intlib10

Since I’m at what is my first of two conferences this month I thought I’d try to share some conference tips I’ve pulled together over the years and ask you – what have I missed?

• Give people your name, wear your name badge up near your face rather than on a lanyard so it’s easy for people to glance at it while talking to.  Introduce yourself, even if you’ve already met the person.  Some of us have hard time with names and there are a LOT of people to remember.
• Don’t hang out with the people you came with – Go to different sessions, maximize your time at the conference you can share with each other what you learned.
• Meet new people – you’re probably not going to meet new people if you’re hanging out wtih the people you came with.  Get out of your comfort zone, ask people what they want to get from the conference, how far they traveled etc, you never know what you’ll learn or who you’ll meet.
• Review the program before you go so you know what session you will be attending and when you’ll have free time to have coffee with someone you meet.
• Know what amenities your hotel offers – internet access, gym, fridge, breakfast etc
• Make time for down time, conferences can be overwhelming there is so much to do, so many people to meet.  Don’t wear yourself out early.
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Layer your clothes, bring a jacket, temperature can vary widely in rooms and you want to be comfortable
• Drink lots of water

Recommended further reading:

• Tips from Stephen Abrams
• Advice for the Shy
• Be Sexier in Person
• Tips for Conference Bloggers
• Maximizing the Conference Experience

What would you add?   What did I miss?Similar Posts:

• Tips and Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Internet Librarian #intlib10
• My First ALA! Advice Tips and Tricks
• ALA Conference Survival Tips #ala10