[board-unyoc] Questions for you about Chapter Conference Planning - Answers provided by NAHSL Conference Planners
Porcello, Lorraine
Lorraine_Porcello at URMC.Rochester.edu
Wed Feb 7 11:49:21 EST 2024
Greetings!
Last week I sent an email to the current Conference Planning Co-chairs from our neighboring chapter, NAHSL, asking them about their experience with virtual conferences.
Please see the richly detailed reply that we received this morning from Gregg Stevens.
There is a lot to unpack here, for both the Executive Committee and the Conference Committee. In my opinion, we need to make the decision about what to do in 2025 very soon.
The next conference planning meeting is on Friday February 16th at 10:00 am. I propose that anyone from the executive committee who is available should attend the meeting; we can put this at the top of the agenda.
Let me know if I should send the Zoom invitation for 2/16/24 to the board-unyoc email.
Best,
Lorraine
Lorraine Porcello, MSLIS, MSIM (She/Her/Hers)
Evidence-Based Practice & Instruction Librarian
Institute for Innovative Education: Miner Libraries
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Avenue
Rochester, NY 14642
585-276-3475
Schedule an appointment with me!<https://minercal.urmc.rochester.edu/appointments/porcello>
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From: Stevens, Gregg A <Gregg.Stevens1 at umassmed.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 9:45 AM
To: Porcello, Lorraine <Lorraine_Porcello at URMC.Rochester.edu>; alyssa.grimshaw at yale.edu
Cc: VBMClibrary <vbmclibrary at gmail.com>; nolanki at upstate.edu; Eugenia Opuda <eugenia.opuda at unh.edu>
Subject: [EXT] RE: Questions for you about Chapter Conference Planning
Hi Lorraine,
Sorry for the delay in getting back with you on this. Alyssa and I didn't necessarily have immediate access to the info you were seeking, so there was a bit of email going back and forth among folks involved with the annual meetings for the past few years.
Here are some answers to your questions, as compiled by our current NAHSL chair, Eugenia Opuda:
1. In general, how do NAHSL members evaluate the virtual conference compared to the in-person meeting? Are there any major areas of satisfaction or dissatisfaction?
* Generally, virtual conferences were more accessible in cost and access but missed out on the face-to-face networking opportunities
* One comment from one paper presenter that as someone who can't go to in-person conferences without significant health, safety, and ventilation conditions in place, she appreciated that we're still doing virtual conferences. Another point in favor of virtual conferences having increased accessibility.
* Most of the negative feedback about virtual conferences related to how confusing or difficult it was to use the platform. Vendors have a harder time getting "foot traffic" in virtual settings, though this is also a challenge in some in person conferences.
* Some other negative feedback about virtual conferences included participants not being able to block off time from work, and lack of meaningful connections/networking-it's hard to fully disengage from work while attending a virtual conference
1. How do attendance numbers differ at the virtual meeting compared to in-person?
* 2019 (in-person)= 84 registrants, 21 exhibitors
* 2020 (virtual)= 98 registrants, 10 exhibitors
* 2021 (virtual)= 96 registrants, 13 exhibitors
* 2022 (in-person)= 83 registrants, 23 exhibitors
* 2023 (virtual)= 83 registrants, 7 exhibitors
Based on our Wild Apricot registration totals, our conference registrations have been decreasing. This could be due to many factors including recent retirements from our membership. Additionally, we have declining membership due to fewer health science libraries and librarians in our region, notably from hospital library closures.
1. What feedback do you get from vendors about the virtual meeting?
* In 2023 all but one of the vendors that I spoke to at our annual meeting indicated that they cannot (or will not) provide financial support for virtual conferences. Is that your experience as well?
* I had heard that a handful of vendors (1 or 2) could not get funding to attend virtual conferences, though I'm not sure how common that is. Based on our registration data, more exhibitors were able to attend in-person.
1. Is it difficult to maintain a good relationship with vendors with this biennial rotation?
* Exhibitors prefer in-person events. However, we did have success with the exhibitor bingo game, which drove more traffic to each virtual "booth". Offering lightning rounds and plenty of time for meeting with attendees seems to be the most important driver for what they want. They also want the list of attendees to communicate with, so we give that to them a week prior to the event (we offer an option for attendees to opt out). Overwhelmingly they want the 1/1 interaction time, and that's challenging with virtual.
I hope this is useful for you. If you've got more questions, feel free to reach out.
Gregg
Gregg A. Stevens, MSLS, MST, AHIP
Manager of Library Education and Clinical Services
Lamar Soutter Library
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Gregg.Stevens1 at umassmed.edu<mailto:Gregg.Stevens1 at umassmed.edu>
508-856-1681
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4088-6742<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/orcid.org/0000-0003-4088-6742__;!!MkQhnT5yHH0MPvOc00c!Tvh_sRolmJ-ib8-elCzuI50sUXNsDfaR4Bq-nC51G8Sg-aPeU0PcV8t7DpiNg7nM3LHcDgKbZMxt68gc2uJ_QqHhvMIapWYfquSrpl0GK0A1$>
From: Porcello, Lorraine <Lorraine_Porcello at URMC.Rochester.edu<mailto:Lorraine_Porcello at URMC.Rochester.edu>>
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2024 2:22 PM
To: Stevens, Gregg A <Gregg.Stevens1 at umassmed.edu<mailto:Gregg.Stevens1 at umassmed.edu>>; alyssa.grimshaw at yale.edu<mailto:alyssa.grimshaw at yale.edu>
Cc: VBMClibrary <vbmclibrary at gmail.com<mailto:vbmclibrary at gmail.com>>; nolanki at upstate.edu<mailto:nolanki at upstate.edu>
Subject: Questions for you about Chapter Conference Planning
Dear Gregg, and Alyssa,
My name is Lorraine Porcello, and I'm writing to you in my capacity as the 2024 Chair of Conference Planning for the Upstate NY and Ontario Chapter (UNYOC)<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/unyoc.wildapricot.org/chapterofficers__;!!MkQhnT5yHH0MPvOc00c!Tvh_sRolmJ-ib8-elCzuI50sUXNsDfaR4Bq-nC51G8Sg-aPeU0PcV8t7DpiNg7nM3LHcDgKbZMxt68gc2uJ_QqHhvMIapWYfquSrpq9LKrZP$> of MLA.
I have included my colleagues Mary Jo Russell and Kim Nolan on this email; they are, respectively, the Vice Chair and Immediate Past Chair for UNYOC conference planning.
In your roles as Chair and Co-Chair of the NAHSL 2024 Conference Planning Committee<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nahsl.libguides.com/NAHSL2024/CPC__;!!MkQhnT5yHH0MPvOc00c!Tvh_sRolmJ-ib8-elCzuI50sUXNsDfaR4Bq-nC51G8Sg-aPeU0PcV8t7DpiNg7nM3LHcDgKbZMxt68gc2uJ_QqHhvMIapWYfquSrpiKk-MAa$>, I'm hoping you don't mind if we ask you for some insight and advice.
In particular, we are interested in learning about the advantages and disadvantages of making our annual conference a virtual event every other year.
Based on the information on the NAHSL Past Conference<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/nahsl.libguides.com/NAHSL2024/Past__;!!MkQhnT5yHH0MPvOc00c!Tvh_sRolmJ-ib8-elCzuI50sUXNsDfaR4Bq-nC51G8Sg-aPeU0PcV8t7DpiNg7nM3LHcDgKbZMxt68gc2uJ_QqHhvMIapWYfquSrpgZmY504$> website, virtual conferences are relatively new for your chapter, too. However, this appears to be the logical extension of a previous decision to adopt "a biennial rotation between a one-day conference at a central location and the traditional three-day meeting."
If you have the time and the inclination, can you please reply with some comments on the following questions:
* In general, how to NAHSL members evaluate the virtual conference compared to the in-person meeting? Are there any major areas of satisfaction or dissatisfaction?
* How do attendance numbers differ at the virtual meeting compared to in-person?
* What feedback do you get from vendors about the virtual meeting?
* In 2023 all but one of the vendors that I spoke to at our annual meeting indicated that they cannot (or will not) provide financial support for virtual conferences.
* Is that your experience as well?
* Is it difficult to maintain a good relationship with vendors with this biennial rotation?
I appreciate your attention, and value any information that you would like to share.
Best Regards,
Lorraine
Lorraine Porcello, MSLIS, MSIM (She/Her/Hers)
Evidence-Based Practice & Instruction Librarian
Institute for Innovative Education: Miner Libraries
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Avenue
Rochester, NY 14642
585-276-3475
Schedule an appointment with me!<https://minercal.urmc.rochester.edu/appointments/porcello>
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