At SLA 2019, Learning and Networking Take the Cake
The Cleve. C-town. The rock ‘n roll capital of the world. The North Coast.
Cleveland has had many nicknames throughout its history, but perhaps the most surprising one headlined a Forbes article in October 2016: “America’s hottest city.” Librarians, always quick to spot a new trend with their competitive intelligence skills, took note. Not long afterward, the Special Libraries Association booked Cleveland for its 2019 Annual Conference—the premiere learning and networking event for information professionals in business, government, academia, law firms, museums, nonprofit organizations, and other “special” settings.
The conference, which will take place June 14-18, caters to information professionals at all stages of their career. For those new to librarianship, SLA 2019 has education sessions such as the following:
- What Do Researchers Need? How to Engage Them and Help Them Promote Their Research
- The Accidental Digital Asset Manager: How Traditional Library Skills Transfer to the DAM World
- Big Data and Controlled Vocabularies
- Engaging Stakeholders to Expand Awareness and Use of Your Organization’s Creative Content
Those further along in their careers or desiring more in-depth exploration of certain topics can attend sessions such as these:
- Elements for Improved Scientific Landscape Analysis: Using Baseline Data, Bibliometrics, and Data Visualization Techniques to Enhance Reporting
- Electronic Lab Notebooks: Implementation and Assessment Success Stories
- Taxonomy-Ontology Conversions: Case Studies
- Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Law Firms
In addition to approximately 100 education sessions, SLA 2019 will offer full-day and half-day certificate courses—two each in knowledge management and in competitive and decision intelligence—as well as continuing education classes on topics such as data literacy, R programming, taxonomy design and creation, and methods in qualitative studies. For those who like their learning in small, bite-sized doses, SLA 2019 will offer a daily variety of 30-minute “quick takes” with titles such as “Hackathons and Librarians’ Roles in Promoting a Tech Culture” and “Cognitive Psychology Research This Year: What It Tells Us about Fake News and Implications for Information Literacy.”
SLA 2019 attendees can expand their professional networks as well as their minds by taking advantage of numerous opportunities to connect with fellow information professionals. Several of these opportunities are built into the conference schedule, including a lunch in the exhibit hall (INFO-EXPO) on June 16, a reception in the INFO-EXPO later that day, and a champagne and cake event on June 17 to celebrate SLA’s 110th birthday. But many conference attendees also use informal opportunities—casual conversations in hallways or over coffee—to make new connections, some of which can later lead to professional collaborations and even job leads.
Join more than 1,000 leading information professionals and industry partners in Cleveland for SLA 2019. Registration is now open; register by April 1 to take advantage of significant early bird savings!
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