Conference 2009 Planning
The OELMA Board of Directors is considering dates for the 2009 conference. One set of dates being reviewed runs from Thursday through Saturday, as opposed to the traditional conference days of Wednesday through Friday.
Let us know: if the OELMA Conference ran from Thursday through Saturday, are you more or less likely to attend? Leave comments here and the Board will consider them as we plan for the future!
I think if conference ran from Thursday through Saturday, I would keep Saturday to only half a day. I don’t think you would get too many people to stay past noon but, that’s just my opinion. Would Thursday be a half or whole day? It’s good to be thinking along these lines and try to find out what the members want!
I agree that we should try this again. I think that more people might be able to attend if their district only needs a sub for 1 day.
I would try to begin the conference on Thursday evening, so that the district is more likely to let their librarian arrive the night before a full day of sessions.
I agree that the Saturday sessions should end by noon to 1:00.
I think that Thursday through Saturday is an excellent idea and please do make Saturday run until 3 at least. Many school systems have eliminated professional days. This may be people’s only chance to attend conference. Make driving to the site worth the effort. Give them a full day of learning!
I personally prefer the conference stay on Thursday and Friday. Being out of town I give up my free time at home to get to conference on Wednesday evening and home late Friday afternoon. My husband travels and is only home on weekends so Saturday would be a hardship.
I like the Thursday-Saturday idea. I agree with the Saturday being maybe a half-day, also. Thursday evening for preconference sessions and then full day Friday and half-day Saturday.
Thanks for asking our input.
I like Thurs.- Sat. so that people without professional leave could at least attend one day.
I would also like to suggest other venues. When I was in the music education association we held the conference in a different city every year. That way people in that part of the state would be more likely to attend. Maybe OELMA could consider other cities every 3 or 4 years?
The Thursday -Saturday is great for me. End it by noon or 1:00. I agree with Michele that moving it to different parts of the state would be a good idea. Travel and housing expenses can be as high as or higher than the cost of registration.
I love the Thurs-Saturday set-up that is being considered. When I take off days for professional dev. my district often does not give subs for the media specialists (which make me so popular- not!). HAving only one day without the library would be great for the staff I work with and for me. Because of the dates chosen this year, I will probably not be able to come to the conference at all and I do love coming. Thanks for considering this idea.
I think we should try the Thursday-Saturday format, even if Saturday will only be one-half day. I’ve always wanted to attend some of the pre-conference sessions, but getting another professional day was not possible. What would the vendors think about this change? Will it affect revenue?
I might hesitate about coming to the conference if it were thursday thru saturday. i have commitments on saturdays which means i would have to reajust by schedule anyway. Administrators should be helped to see that going to a convention helps their librarians to keep up with trends and thus makes the library more viable. i hate the idea that moving to saturdays will get more librarians to attend because we make it easier for administrators.
I really like the Thu-Sat idea. It can’t hurt to try anyways. I like both the idea of a half-day on Thursday (pre-conf?/author-pallooza) full day Friday and then Saturday could be optional all-day or not, but no later than 2-3PM for people who are anxious about getting home to families with a longer commute.
I may be swimming upstream so to speak… but I also feel that we shouldn’t go to holding conference sesions on Saturday. I guess I am to the point where I am getting a little more selfish with my weekend time. Weekdays are so busy and I cherish my personal time on the weekends. I do remember when we used to have Saturday sessions and the attendance really dropped off on Saturday.
Including a Saturday as a conference day certainly does provide a viable option for those who are otherwise unable to attend during the week.
I would most likely not attend Saturday sessions. We already give up so much of our own time for work. I would hate to give up the time with my family.
I probably would not attend conference on a Saturday. I have young children and family time is a top priority for us. What if we would do the pre-conference session on Saturday as a post-conference event? That way we would still be offering a professional opportunity on Saturday but not the actual conference.
What Lori said. Saturdays are family time for me - my kids are in sports and Saturdays almost always mean a soccer, basketball or baseball game, and I hate to miss them. Also, getting childcare on Saturdays is tricky.
Because the idea is popular with some, perhaps the post conference idea for Saturday instead of preconference on Wednesday, or even holding Saturday to a half day might work. But I personally prefer the conference as it is.