So, it's already an hour into MLA and I've already skipped out of the conference for coffee and free wireless. I wasn't too interested in any of the morning sessions anyway but I did want to stop in to the planned Unconference just to see what was up with that. I was not impressed. Of course, to be fair, I was skeptical of the whole Unconference at MLA idea anyway. Here are my short notes from the session (I did not stay long). Also I was 20 minutes late and the Unconference just started as I showed up.
Why is there a speaker?
Speaker talking about internet security for 40 minutes, blah!
His group manages Michigan.gov, eek!
It's snowing outside!
As you can see I started to get bored and at that moment I packed up my things and left.
I realize there was a keynote at ArbCamp but that was optional and at the end of the event, which was perfectly acceptable. I believe that starting off with a speaker (which was not in the program by the way) killed the whole deal for me. I wonder if any of the people organizing the Unconference event has actually been to one (?)
Of course once I left I still had no interest in any of the sessions so I wondered down the hall. I asked in the 'Internet Cafe' if there is free wireless, there was not. And every single computer they had in the room was filled up. There was also not free wireless at ASIS&T, and from the rumblings I've heard online from Internet Librarian this was the case there too. I think this should be absolute requirement for any conference! Note to event planners, if the conference center you are planning your event in does not offer wireless to your attendees you should seriously consider this, especially for events such as ASIS&T and IL, where sessions are mainly focused around technology.
I walked several blocks away from the conference and now I'm at Beaner's enjoying my coffee and free internet. I don't have to be at my next session for another 45 minutes. I think I finally decided on going to a Libraries in Second Life session at 10:00. I've been spending a lot of time in the virtual world lately and it would be nice to supplement that examples of what libraries are doing in there.
However, now I need to find out a good place with wireless to eat for lunch. Maybe I'll scope out a few geocaches while I'm here, I noticed several historical markers on my walk over here, there might be a few!
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