The other side of the booth
APS booth at StampShow 2010
I’ve written before about my experiences attending technology conferences as a librarian outsider. Last week I got another perspective on conferences and trade shows as I sat on the other side of the booth at the American Philatelic Society‘s StampShow in Richmond.
It was an exhausting–but exciting–four days. Many APS members came to the booth looking to meet “the new librarian.” It was great to meet so many library users in person, because most of them use the library remotely.
I got used to saying, “I don’t know, but I’ll see if I can find out,” pretty quickly. When interviewed for this job, I said that I would learn about philately in part from library users, and I learned quite a bit at the show, both from talking to people at the booth and from listening to my coworkers answer questions.
I’ve gotten a taste of being behind the scenes at conferences before, by doing program planning for APLIC and for the SLA Social Science Division, but now that I’ve done everything from shake hands with a famous keynote speaker at a fancy dinner to pack up the booth at the end of the show, I have even more appreciation for what it takes to put on an event like this.
August 26, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Good for you for listening, and for enduring the trade show! I always learn a lot at ours. It’s a great opportunity to get to know the business, and it helps you figure out how you can best serve your organization. Kudos!
August 29, 2010 at 10:49 am
It sounds like they gave you a warm welcome. In my experience, few groups are genuinely nicer and more engaging than hardcore enthusiasts about a subject, whether it’s stamps, gardening, or silent film. OK, the silent film crowd is a little cliquish, but you can’t win them all.