Check out the MLA'17 page for conference details, links to hotel and travel information, the schedule at a glance and more to come!

Tips to Persuade – Justify your attendance at MLA ‘17

MLA ’17 will be in Seattle in May and you want to be there.  But, from what you hear around work these days, your library isn’t exactly rolling in dough or facing a big budget surplus and wondering what to do with all that money.  Don’t let that deter you.  Now is the time to start thinking about all the benefits of attending the annual meeting, so you can put together a solid list to bring to your supervisor or director to justify the time and the costs of attending MLA ’17.

Here are some things you might want to put on your list:

• Program sessions: This is the meeting that has program sessions that are designed to speak directly to you, the work you do, and to inform your efforts to support your institution’s mission and goals. No other conference is as dedicated to medical libraries as MLA ’17.

• Keeping current:  There’s no better place to take the pulse of the profession than at MLA ’17. Learn what’s going on in other medical libraries, find out what’s new in information technology, discover how other libraries are contributing to medical education, and hear about new services and products.

• Networking: There is no other venue where you’ll find such an opportunity to meet the leaders and practitioners that are shaping medical libraries. Build your network of library professionals, vendors, educators and other experts – people you can call on when your library is planning new ventures, facing new challenges, or planning new technology.

• Vendor contacts: MLA ’17 provides you with ample opportunity to converse face-to-face with vendors. Learn what new features are planned for current technology, discover new tools and products, and find out what other libraries are doing.

• Continuing education: The continuing education offerings at MLA ’17 will help you enhance existing skills, build new ones, and prepare you to be a more effective participant in your organization.

• Presentation skills: Share your research by presenting a paper or a poster and, in doing so, gain experience and build your institution’s reputation.

Also, offer to share a hotel room, making the cost of housing in the meeting hotel more reasonable. To find a roommate, check with your colleagues, and post a note on MEDLIB-L.

Offer to formally share what you learn with your colleagues when you return to your library. Put together a presentation that will cover the new ideas, services, and technologies you learned about that may have an impact on your library’s future success.

See you at MLA ‘17!

Submitted by Donna Berryman, Deb Sibley, and the 2017 National Program Committee with special thanks to Catherine Burroughs, Susan Andersen, and the 2014 National Program Committee