Conference contrasts
| Published date | 06 March 2009 |
| Pages | 5-10 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910942865 |
| Date | 06 March 2009 |
| Author | Michael Seadle |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
EDITORIAL
Conference contrasts
Michael Seadle
Berlin School of Library and Information Science,
Humboldt Universita
¨t zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
Purpose – This editorial seeks to compare the German Bibliothekartag, the American Library
Association Annual Meeting, and the International Federation of Library Associations meeting.
Design/methodology/approach – The method relies mainly on anthropological observation.
Findings – Conferences in cities with public transit, good restaurants, and decent technology,
including wireless internet and projection in the meeting rooms, offer better opportunities for the social
bonding that encourages repeat attendance.
Practical implications – Conferences at locations without these features risk losing regulars as
technology increasingly enables communication without travel.
Originality/value – Interaction with the conference environment is not the only factor in making a
conference experience successful but, without positive interactions, the option of doing business
electronically becomes far more attractive.
Keywords Conferences,Facilities
Paper type General review
Introduction
In my various roles as editor, professor, and director of the Berlin School of Library and
Information Science (BSLIS), I visit a number of conferences each year. In part this is
School business, in part I am searching for interesting topics and new authors for
Library Hi Tech.
In my research persona as an ethnographer I try also to observe the interactions
between participants and the conference environment. In this editorial essay, I disc uss
these interactions at three conferences that I attended during the summer of 2008. The
first (3-6 June) was the G erman Library Asso ciation conferenc e, called the
Bibliothekartag. The second (27 June-1 July) was the American Library Association
(ALA) Annual Meeting. The third (9-15 August) was the annual conference of the
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). The intellectual content of the
conferences is a topic I will leave for another time.
Venue
The choice of venue matters for a conference. The Bibliothekartag met in Mannheim,
Germany. ALA met in Anaheim, California, and IFLA in Quebec City, Canada.
Mannheim is a mediumsized city in the Rhineland near to scenic Heidelberg, Anaheim
is a town southwest of Los Angeles known for being the home of Disneyland, and
Quebec City is the capital of Quebec province and among the oldest cities in North
America. None of these cities is particularly large, though Mannheim and Anaheim
both belong to significant conurbations. All have tourist attractions, depend ing on
individual preferences. Language and cultural tradition obviously varies: German in
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Editorial
5
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 27 No. 1, 2009
pp. 5-10
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830910942865
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