Spectrum PR Column
June 1997
Preparing for the Annual Meeting
Carol Bredemeyer, Salmon P. Chase College of Law Library, Northern Kentucky University (Highland Heights, KY).
AALL Spectrum, Volume 1 No. 9 June 1997, p. 29.
In my first column, back in September, I talked about using the information you gathered at the AALL Annual Meeting. By the time you read this, it will be time to start thinking about going to the 1997 Annual Meeting. Handling the public relations aspects of your upcoming absence from the office can help make the experience easier on everyone. Yes, you have to prepare your organization when you will be away from the library. How will library services be handled while you are gone? While this presents different dynamics for small one-professional libraries than for larger libraries, the larger library may send more people to the meeting and services may still need to be curtailed. First, you will have to decide what can and cannot be done while you are gone. Will you check in by phone or e-mail each day? At what time? Will other local librarians help you (and your staff) out? What kinds of questions can you reasonably answer over the miles? You will need to communicate this information (how long you will be gone, who will be in charge, what the staff can and cannot handle, how you can be reached - or who will have that information) to your superior as well as your staff. Post signs if necessary (I know - lawyers and law students don’t read signs, but they would also complain if one wasn’t there). You may have to give your staff special instructions on how to deal with difficult patrons that you normally deal with. Ask your staff to keep a record of things that happen - you can follow up when you return and they won’t forget to tell you.
Let your accounting people know that upper level management people from many of the vendors will be there and you will talk to them to work out some of the account problems many of us have seen discussed on law-lib lately. You can try new products in the Exhibit Hall without having to waste set-up time and distraction in the library. You’ll have the chance to talk to other librarians about "how we do it in our library" (also known as networking). Librarians from firms with multiple branches can get together and conduct business. I know of one firm librarian who got the firm to pay for all its librarians to attend and meet at AALL by saying "The firm across the street (name withheld) does it". When you return, remember to follow up on these areas with the people involved. You can also report problems and trends you hear about so that they do not come as a complete surprise to your organization. Coming back from a conference with a solution to a problem will reinforce the decision to send you.
A few years ago, I met a law firm librarian at a conference. She was eager to meet me because she was trying to create a list of future contact people in each state and she had not met anyone from Kentucky. She’s only called me once, but we usually find a few minutes to chat when we see each other.
For academics, you might find names of potential speakers for your school’s lecture series. You might meet a source to help gather information on a potential speaker or new faculty member (if your school is hiring faculty from law firms, the librarian might be a good source of information on the library use habits). The Academic SIS always sponsors a reception at a local law school library which provides an opportunity for a look-see. Formal library tours of all types of libraries are also usually available. You might see how a library has handled a particular architectural challenge or the kind of furniture you want in your new library.
As your public relations columnist, I will be looking for new column ideas for the coming year. I’d like to thank all the librarians who guest wrote columns this past year. The February column about the upcoming poster session actually was written by Janice Shull and Rebecca Trammel, the coordinators of the session. If you are interested in writing a column, please contact me.
Column Editor: Carol Bredemeyer, Salmon P. Chase College of Law Library, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY.
Last Updated: January 20, 2003
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