OLA Super Conference 2009 – Poster Session

This was my first time at the OLA Super Conference as a “real” librarian.  I had volunteered at the conference before and had the opportunity to go to the expo, but this time I was able to fully experience the conference in a completely different way.  I thought as a new librarian that I wanted to contribute to the conference, but having never created a presentation for a room of my experienced colleagues, I wanted a way to deliver content without the pressure.  Voila, a poster session!


My poster session titled “York University – Web 2.0 Workshops for Library Staff,” outlined the creation, delivery, and assessment of Web 2.0 workshops YUSA1 staff to learn about the new and innovative technologies available to web users. The sessions focused on a specific Web 2.0 application (e.g. Library Thing, StumbleUpon, etc.) and required the participants to create their own accounts, provide content, and discuss their ideas and opinions during the sessions.  The poster content included a description of the workshop, handouts from the instruction (including information related to the blog), and a discussion of staff need for professional development in a library context.


It was a wonderful experience to meet so many librarians who had either developed similar sessions or were in the process of creating them for their own library community. I found myself surprisingly, and happily, involved in discussions on Web 2.0 as a delivery tool for research and as an output for cultural expression. While I thought my poster session would be a forum for me to share my experiences with others, little did I realize how much I would gain from my colleagues in return. Thank you for making my experience a positive one!