5 Ways to Make CIL2011 Even Better

Computers in Libraries 2010 ran smoothly for both attendees and organizers down in Crystal City, VA back in April. However, as educational and entertaining as it was, there is always room for improvement.

Welcome to CIL2010

Like any good conference, Computers in Libraries is all about meeting the needs of you, the attendees!  Because of this special focus ,there are five things you can do, every year, to help us make the event better and better.

1. Check out the CIL2010 presentation materials.  If you missed session that you really wanted to hit, this is a good way for you to at least get a peak at what you missed.
2. Most Computers in Libraries presenters are social creatures. Connect with your favorite speakers.  Many of the presenters at CIL2010 have listed their social networking address in their speaker profile like Jill Hurst-Wahl.  Let them know if you enjoyed their session. Many attendees found Twitter to be an invaluable way to get their post-conference questions answered.
3. Send a shout out to the conference chair.  At CIL2010 you probably never spent more than two hours without being within shouting distance of Program Chair, Jane Dysart.  Jane is always approachable on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn and if you have an idea to improve the content of next years program, she is the woman to tell.  Telling her your ideas now allow her the time to look into your suggestions for next year’s event.
4. Get involved and share your voice.  This year we had 31 1/2 bloggers at the conference this year (Maurice Coleman has so much to say he needs not one, but two blogs!).  Many of their posts helped shed light on topics that could only be lightly covered in a single session.  If you will be blogging from Computers in Libraries (or even Internet Librarian 2010) please let us know so we can get your blog listed here at LibConf.com and we want to get you one of those nifty Blogger ribbons for your conference badge.  We know that the folks  blogging at Comptuers in Libraries have more to say year round so you can find links to their latest posts right here.  (And it is not just because I never miss Brian Herzog’s ‘Reference Question of the Week‘.)
5. And finally, give some feedback to the behind the scenes folks.  The conference organizers are the ones out there making sure your speakers have Internet access when they need it and they make the hotel dial back the air conditioning when someone tweets: “The Potomac is FREEZING!”.  These people are running around like crazy during the conference and it is only after it is all over that they can take a deep breath and try to figure out how it went.  The one and only way they have to get your feedback is via the Computers in Libraries 2010 attendee survey.  There are only nineteen questions but they are finely crafted to make sure the ITI organizers know what worked, what did not work, and what is most important to you!  Also, I’m just saying…, you could be the winner of the $50 Barnes and Noble gift card just for filling out the survey!  That could come in really handy when you need to buy reading material for your flight to Computers in Libraries 2011.