Vol. 21, No.3/Spring 1999
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Building
Bridges: 1999 Winter Education Conference a Success by Alan Thibeault With the new millenium just around the corner, special librarians are seeking a bridge on which to cross over to the next century. The SLA's 1999 Winter Education Conference provided one built on technology. The conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco, CA January 24-26, 1999, boasted an impressive group of workshops and continuing education sessions. In keeping with its theme, "Crossing the Bridge to the 21st Century," the conference focused primarily on Web-based competencies and technical skills. Presented in a variety of half- and full-day sessions, the programs were both informative and useful. In addition to the usual copyright and HTML primer sessions, the conference also featured more advanced intranet topics as well as workshops on knowledge management and training. There were also more content-specific sessions such as one titled "Best Business Resources on the Internet," which ran out of room early in the registration process. Perhaps the most widely-acclaimed sessions were taught by Howard McQueen and Jean DeMatteo of McQueen Consulting titled "Building the Intranet Knowledge Center." On the whole, the subjects offered provided a variety of choices for attendees at nearly all levels of expertise. Holding the conference in San Francisco turned out to be an excellent idea. The weather was pleasant with very little rain during the education conference. The hotel was situated at the edge of the financial district and within reasonable walking or driving distance to many of the popular destinations within and near San Francisco. The technology fair was quite modest, although several major vendors were represented. The booth area was in a main corridor on the level where the sessions took place and catered "breaks" were provided. Thus, attendees could either network or browse the exhibits during the breaks. Overall, the facility was good. However, some of the sessions were hindered by banging and dragging noises next door or above as other rooms were set up. In addition, the building's signage or lack thereof was at first confusing, making it difficult to navigate the hotel and convention rooms. This was rather distracting, but the good humor of the instructors and attendees compensated for the inconveniences. The convention rooms were airy and comfortable and contributed to a positive experience. On Saturday evening (the 25th), a group of "newsies" met at the San Francisco Examiner. There, we were graciously taken on library tours by Judy Canter of the Examiner and then by Rich Geiger of the San Francisco Chronicle. It's always instructive to visit someone else's domain and realize that we all share the same dreams and face similar challenges in our organizations. Afterwards, the group adjourned to Lulu's for an improvised family-style meal and good company. Overall, the conference offered something for nearly everyone. Hopefully, next year's will be just as pertinent and well-managed. Congratulations to the staff at SLA (as well as the San Francisco Chapter) for their hard work in making this conference a success. Alan Thibeault is the Assistant Chief Librarian at the Boston Herald. He can be contacted at athibeault@bostonherald.com. |
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