In
addition, the biennial conference provides revenue
for the Association.Distribution
of conference revenue is determined by the Executive Board upon recommendations
from the Finance Committee.
The
biennial conference provides opportunities for continuing education.Programs
and exhibits provide information about new concepts, new services, and
new products.Library personnel
in the state have opportunities to make presentations in their areas of
expertise.
The
biennial conference provides opportunities for networking.Whether
participants are gathering around a snack area, waiting to talk to an exhibitor
or for a meeting to start, or attending a meal function, they will meet
and talk with others whom they will find interesting and helpful.
The
biennial conference provides opportunities for promotion of the profession
through publicity, outreach and community interest.
Pre-conference
activities are coordinated by the Conference Committee, and pre-conference
bills are paid by the conference treasurer.Profits
from pre-conferences are divided as follows:
NCLA
sections, committee and round tables:25%
(conference)
75%
(sponsoring group)
non
NCLA affiliated groups:50% (conference)
50%
(sponsoring group)
The
Conference Committee has responsibility for the biennial conference and
should be representative of the Association.Membership
of the committee should reflect the diversity of the membership in terms
of types of libraries represented, employment categories, regions of the
State, ethnic background, and gender of members.
The
Chair of the Conference Committee, the NCLA Vice-President/President Elect,
is responsible for choosing and organizing a group to plan and oversee
the conference.S/he is also responsible
for monitoring the work of the Conference Committee and its subcommittees
while working closely with chairs of sections, round tables and committees
of NCLA.
Elements
of the organizational structure may include, but are not limited to, site
selection, program planning, exhibits, registration, publicity, finance,
placement center, hospitality, local information, tours, etc.
The
Chair of the Conference Committee reports to the NCLA Executive Board on
a quarterly basis.The Executive
Board is responsible for approving site for future conferences and all
registration rates and fees, including exhibitor fees.The
status of the conference plans and conference finances should be a part
of each report by the Chair to the Executive Board.
interrelated.Cost
of meeting facilities is critical.Will
the local convention bureau
arrange
a beneficial financial package?Are
caterers reasonable and competent?
Are
hotel rates reasonable, will NCLA benefit from the hotel package, and will
Attendees
stay at conference hotels?A number
of attendees appreciate the option of a less expensive conference hotel.
These
three major criteria will play the largest part in site selection, but
in addition, the Association needs to consider, in general order of importance:
·Historically,
how easy has the local convention & visitors bureau been to work with
(meaning do they ambush us with hidden costs, do they solve unforeseen
needs for help and information and are all of our people treated pleasantly?)Are
they flexible?
·How
much hotel space is available within easy walking distance of the conference?Attendees
prefer not to drive in and park daily, and shuttle buses have not been
traditionally used.
·Are
dates available which meet the Association’s needs?In
recent time the Biennial Conference has been held during October or early
November of odd calendar years.Conferences
begin on Wednesday morning and finish Friday afternoon, but allowances
must be made for set-up and pre-conferences on Tuesday.
·Historically,
how supportive have the local libraries been?Their
cooperation is general is helpful and parties or socials sponsored by local
libraries have often made past conferences more appealing.
·Does
the location offer restaurants, shopping, cultural and historical sites,
libraries et. al., that attendees would care to visit?
·Have
we been equitable in locating conferences in various parts of the state?(People
should not feel slighted in any instance due to the importance of the other
factors listed above.)
·Can
overall costs be reduced by negotiating for more than one conference, either
in conjunction with NCASL or for biennial conferences.
The
Site Selection Committee for the Executive Board is appointed by the President-Elect.The
committee should use as many of the above criteria as possible in preparing
a list of possible sites, assigning weight to the most important while
realizing that no site can meet every need.
The
Site Selection Committee should begin negotiations as early as possible
and offer the Executive Board a number of options early enough that they
may make an informed decision without being rushed.It
is also incumbent upon the site selection committee to be aware of the
recent financial health of both the conference and the association in order
to pursue options best suited to the association’s financial needs.
The
Exhibits Committee should make every effort to compile and maintain a mailing
list, which includes companies whose products and services will appeal
to all types of libraries and librarians.Exhibitors
should include both established and emerging companies.
The
selection of a decorator may, to some extent, be determined by the Conference
location.Some sites will have their
own decorating staff; at other sites, it will be necessary to contract
with an outside decorator or exhibit service.It
is important to identify a decorator who can be flexible and who will be
on-site throughout the Conference.[Nothing
ever goes as planned.]The decorator
or the Conference site staff should be prepared to handle pre-Conference
shipment and to assist with shipping when exhibits close.
Booth
layout will be planned by the decorator and may be influenced by the exhibit
facility’s structural features. Booths should be one standard size but
should allow for doubling or tripling.
Booth
assignments are made by the Exhibits chair as the reservation payment is
received.Companies who respond early
are usually assigned the choice locations.Traditionally,
the Exhibits Committee has tried to avoid placing competitors in near-by
booths.
The
exhibit hall layout and a list of exhibitors should be included in the
Conference materials.Each booth
should include signs with the company name and the booth number.Booth
numbers are crucial and should probably be a separate sign since some exhibitors
will use their own company banners.The
layout, an exhibitor list, and booth signs make it possible to find companies
with a minimum of confusion and inconvenience.All
representatives should have standard Conference name tags provided by the
Registration committee.
Because
many companies will be using expensive equipment, security and equipment
are important concerns – both for the exhibitors and the Association.The
exhibit hall should be secure (guarded, if necessary) 24 hours a day and
either the Conference facility or the Association should have adequate
insurance coverage in effect.
The
primary concern in planning exhibits should be bringing librarians and
vendors together.Unfortunately,
the scheduling of the Conference programs rarely allows free time to visit
the exhibits.Therefore, plans should
be made which will encourage visits to the exhibit hall.Extended
hours on the first day of exhibits provide a good opportunity to browse
when there are no other scheduled programs or meetings.Serving
early morning coffee or afternoon soft drinks in the exhibit hall is another
way to encourage people to attend the exhibits.
Exhibit
passes should be available for people who are not registered for the Conference.Allowing
the public to attend exhibits provides an excellent opportunity for out-reach
and publicity.
The budget process is a function based on historical information from past conferences, which provides a plan of spending for each area of conference responsibility.It a basic financial blue print from which local arrangements, the placement center, exhibits, etc., are able to plan their specific areas of the conference with the amount of dollars available.
The purpose of the general accounting function is to inform the various planning participants about their progress relating to the initial budget and to inform the Board of NCLA, through the NCLA treasurer, whether the conference is projected and/or has been a financial success.General accounting functions should be conducted according to general accounting principles.
A further purpose of general accounting is to keep the NCLA treasure informed regarding revenues and expenditure for purposes of reporting this information within the organization’s tax return and financial statements, which are audited.
Programs
are planned with the needs of the NCLA membership foremost, but also to
attract non-NCLA affiliated groups with an educational focus.
The
Program Chair must make all contacts with the program planners of all NCLA
committees, round tables and sections.A
list of these is located in the NCLA handbook.
Non-NCLA
affiliated groups which have been included in the past are the North Carolina
Writers’ Network and the Friends of the North Carolina Public Libraries.The
Program Chair should include other groups as identified.Increasingly,
there has been a demand for meeting rooms and time slots for users’ groups
of major bibliographic utilities and integrative automated library systems,
many of who may not be NCLA members.The
Program Chair should work with the Registration and Conference Committees
to determine registration fees or waivers for these non-NCLA affiliated
groups and individuals.
The
Program Subcommittee is appointed by the Chair of the Conference Committee.Membership
of the Program Subcommittee is representative of the NCLA membership at
large and as such should include academic, public, and school librarians
as well as library educators.The
Program Subcommittee selects the speakers for and determines the format
of the three General Sessions subject to overall approval of the Conference
Committee.As much as possible,
the Program Subcommittee will select speakers who an address some aspect
of the Conference theme.
The
Chair of the Program Committee works in especially close contact with the
Chairs of the following committees: Publicity, Registration, and Local
Arrangements.As soon as the Chair
of the Program Committee determines the formats and times of the General
Sessions and receives plans from the program planners of the various NCLA
committees, round tables and sections, this information is passed on to
the Chairs of the aforementioned committees.
Program
planners for the various NCLA committees, round tables, and sections look
to the Chair of the Program committee for leadership in terms of general
ideas and suggestions for speakers, size and arrangement of meeting rooms,
food and refreshments and time slots and length of time for sessions.The
Chair of the Program committee facilitates the planning of jointly sponsored
sessions and encourages informal as well as formal sessions.Although
not responsible for making hotel reservations for speakers other than the
General Session speakers; the Chair of the Program Committee should remind
individual program planners to make hotel reservations for speakers for
their programs.
Based
on the anticipated audience and estimated attendance, program planners
communicate to the Chair of the Program Committee specific instructions
regarding the room setup arrangement desired and audiovisual and electrical
setup required.Table talks are defined
as informal sessions, which may be repeated, and are designed for discussing
various issues of interest among no more than 15 people. Audiovisual and
electrical setups have not traditionally been provided for table talks
because of the expense involved and the fact that, since large areas are
often sectioned off to accommodate multiple table talks, noise can be a
distraction when audiovisuals are used.
A
General Session is planned for every day of the Conference, which traditionally
has been held from Wednesday through Friday, with pre-conference events
and early registration occurring on the preceding Tuesday.One
of the three General Sessions is designated the Ogilvie Lecture in honor
of Phillip Ogilvie, former NC State Librarian.The
Ogilvie Lecture addresses the professional issues in librarianship.The
third General Session, sometimes occurring in conjunction with the NCLA
Conference Luncheon held on the final day of the Conference, is usually
recreational rather than instructive.The
formats of the General Sessions may vary according to the content of the
information to be shared, including, but not limited to lectures, panels,
skits, musical performances and slide shows.
Speakers
who are librarians and educators usually require the reimbursement of travel
and lodging expense.In cases where
there is no set speaker’s fee, a modest honorarium of $300 - $500 is appropriate,
particularly for non-NCLA members.The
Program Chair will make every attempt to accommodate schedules of speakers
for both the General Sessions and the individual programs.Although
speakers for the General Sessions may also be obtained through contact
with various speakers’ bureaus, prices for non-librarian speakers range
from $3,000-$10,000 plus reimbursement of travel and lodging expenses.
Serving
as the advocate for financial support NCLA Conference program planners,
the Chair of the Conference Program Committee is a member of the NCLA Finance
Committee during the year proceeding the Biennial Conference and as such
attends regularly scheduled and called meetings of NCLA Finance Committee.The
Chair of the Conference Program Committee serves as liaison from the Executive
Board and in this capacity gives updates on funding decisions regarding
Conferences programming.
Responsibilities
of the conference registration committee are:
·To
provide a clear format by which conference attendees may pre-register for
pre-conferences, conference and special events or register on site at the
conference.
·To
expedite the pre-conference registration, conference pre-registration,
and conference registration processes which include the production of name
tags, tickets for special effects and receipts to make the best use of
volunteer professionals’ time and meet deadlines for completion.In
1991, a computer program was written specifically to process NCLA conference
pre-registration and registration data and to print nametags, tickets,
financial reports and other reports.Before
use each biennium, the program must be updated to reflect new registration
information, meal functions, and costs.Decisions
to otherwise update the software to make the program generate additional
information should include the consideration of the cost to location and
mobility of the computer system on which the pre-registration/registration
program is loaded so that members of the pre-registration committee can
give maximum assistance to the chair in the entry of pre-registration data
and so that work can be done on the program at the conference after registration
desk hours.
·To
develop procedures, establish a convenient location and hours of operation,
and provide adequate volunteer staff to distribute pre-registration materials
and register delegates on site at the conference.Volunteers
who are recruited from various kinds of libraries are more likely to sign
up to work needed days and times at the registration desk.Before
the conference a decision must be made whether or not to have a single
or multi-station network to register patrons on site.One
must consider the level of customer service desired (e.g. relative amount
of time when a number of people are registering at the same time) versus
the cost of renting and programming a multi-station network when making
this decision.
·To
provide a mechanism for the collection of outstanding monies and/or provide
refunds at the time the delegate requests registration materials from the
registration desk.During the 1991
and 1993 biennial conferences, the conference treasurer sat at the registration
desk to handle the collection or refund of monies.
·To
provide verification of NCLA membership and/or the opportunity to conveniently
join NCLA at the conference.The
NCLA administrative assistant has been traditionally stationed at or near
the registration desk to answer questions regarding membership and registration
fees and to recruit new or renewing members.
·To
provide accurate and detailed financial accounting of money transactions
o the conference treasurer.(Generated
by the aforementioned computer program in 1991 and 1993.)
·To
provide an accurate and detailed account of the number of delegate who
pre-registered or registered by type (member, non-member, library school
student, vendor guest, speaker) and by day to the Conference Chairperson.(Generated
by the aforementioned computer program in 1991 and 1993.)
·To
provide an account of the number of delegates registered for special meal
functions to the Conference Chairperson and the Local Arrangements Committee.(Generated
by the aforementioned computer program in 1991 and 1993.)
·All
registration rates and fees are approved by the NCLA Executive Board.The
Chair of the Conference Committee establishes policy regarding which speakers,
guests, etc. do not pay fees to attend the conference.
·The
Registration Chairperson works with the Publications Chairperson to design
an appropriate pre-registration form and name tag to enhance the theme
of the conference.The Registration
Chairperson interacts with the Program Committee Chair to identify special
events to be placed on the pre-registration form and with the Local Arrangements
Committee Chair to arrange adequate and convenient registration facilities
at the conference.
The
Local Arrangements Committee has responsibility for making all arrangements
pertinent to the selected site.The
Local Arrangements Committee has responsibility to make room and space
assignments, to make provisions for audiovisual equipment, to investigate
all conference liabilities, to arrange all meal functions, to make decorative
decisions, to provide hospitality, to arrange tours, to make room assignments
for speakers, to arrange transportation for speakers, to handle any special
needs as stated by the ADA, and to provide requested entertainment.It
is also necessary that all deadlines be strictly adhered to.
The
Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee is responsible for choosing and
organizing a group to oversee the various responsibilities for local arrangements.The
Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee should be a local person.The
Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee will work closely with all other
committee chairs.The Chair of the
Local Arrangements Committee reports to the Chair of the Conference Committee.
Listed
below are the specific responsibilities of the Local Arrangement Committee:
·All
arrangements for flowers should be made through this committee.
·All
meal functions should be handled by this committee.
·Reasonable
deadlines for guest speaker room arrangements should be handled by this
committee.
·All
room assignments for sessions, table talks, etc. will be handled by this
committee.
·This
committee should investigate all conference liabilities.
·All
arrangements for special entertainment should be made through this committee.
·The
conference will provide traditional equipment; specialized equipment such
as modems, video projectors, etc. will be provided but at the rental expense
charged back to the section.
·Special
needs request such as signing for sessions; food allergies, etc. will be
handled to the extent which is possible.
·General
session equipment will be provided by the conference.
·Equipment
will be rented from local companies.School
may no longer be able to provide equipment.
·During
the conference, walkie-talkies should be provided for some members of this
committee.
·Hotel
and motel room assignments should be handled by the local housing authority.
·It
is our policy to provide specialized services (babysitting charged back
to the recipient of the service; specialized transportation) in as much
as possible.
·This
committee should develop a checklist of all costs of room setup.
·One
month prior to the conference, this committee should send to each session
chairperson a confirmation of what is expected in the way of equipment,
room size, etc. for the session presentation.The
chairperson should respond to make any corrections.
·This
committee should look into the possibility of a communications center (internet)
with a charge to the users.
·This
committee should have a preliminary budget in hand and adhere to it.
·This
committee should provide services of traffic control in the exhibits area
on the opening and closing days of the conference, the security for the
exhibit area, and safety and security for the conference participants.
The
single most significant issue for this committee is the determination of
the conference theme.This decision
is usually made by the conference committee and the NCLA Executive Committee.
The
publicity must express and interpret the theme.Consequently,
the Publicity Committee cannot really begin its work until the theme is
selected.Thus, it is very important
that the theme be chosen several months in advance of publicity target
dates, so that the committee and graphic artists have plenty of time to
develop a logo, advertising and other promotional materials.
In
1993, after we selected the theme, we held a logo contest to get the best
artistic interpretation of the theme.
The
publicity needs to stress the significance of the biennial conference to
the members.It must also make them
think that it will be fun.The challenge
is creating a conference image that both implies continuing education and
late night parties with wine and cheese.
Since
the conference publications are the final repository for all the conference
information, the Publicity Committee works very closely with all of the
other committees.
When
choosing committee members, it is wise to look for the following skills
and talents:marketing instincts,
graphic skills, attentiveness to details and deadlines, understanding of
the complexities of the NCLA organization, bookkeeping (for the conference
store), understanding of printing techniques.Obviously,
no one person possesses all of these, but the committee needs to have a
variety of members.It would be
preferable that the committee chair have secretarial support, a fax machine,
modem, software that is compatible with the other committee chair and compatible
with the graphic designer and printer.
The
basic tasks of the committee are:
·Pre-conference
PublicityThis
includes announcements in professional journals, announcements to exhibitors
and use of e-mail/listservs.
·Pre-registration
PacketThe
goal of the packet are (1) To promote the conference by providing information
about the programs, speakers, workshops, meetings, exhibitors, etc. (2)
To provide details about registration
In
1993, the committee chose to compile all of the program information into
a booklet, rather than sending out a stack of flyers produced by the various
committees, sections and round tables.The
booklet looked more professional and it was easier to use.The
trade-off was that individual sponsors did not have the opportunity to
design their own publicity, unless they mail an additional piece out.(In
1993 many committees did choose to mail out something and it was felt that
these extra mailings helped to boost enthusiasm for the conference.)
The
other important piece in the pre-registration packet is the information
about registration and lodging.The
major challenge is to make the information clear so that people will quickly
send in their registration form.
One
other key element is this packet is the information conference participants
will need to find their way to the conference site, find their hotels,
parking, etc.Whether they pre-register
or not, they do not receive any other mailings, so this packet much contain
everything they might need to register for the conference.
·Dealing with the media prior to and at the conference.Unfortunately, this is usually shortchanged because of all of the other responsibilities.
·Conference Store:This involves ordering merchandise, keeping up with inventory and bookkeeping, setting up and staffing the booth at the store.In 1993, we ordered several things with NCLA logos, but we chose not to buy anything that could not be sold at future conferences.
·Signs at the Conference:These are the signs that are posted outside of meeting rooms and banners for the general sessions.Also, the committee is responsible for signs in the exhibit hall.In 1993, we chose to create signs for the meeting rooms that listed all of the events that would take place in that room on each day, rather than individual signs regarding each program.This saved printing money and it avoided the hassle of having to post signs for every conference session.
·Name tags:This is handled by the Registration Committee and Publicity Committee.Since the registration software allows us to design and generate the nametags, the main responsibility of the Publicity Committee is to order appropriate supplies.
The North Carolina Library Association provides placement facilities at its Biennial Conference.These facilities are intended to provide an opportunity for conferees to review information about job openings, make applications to these openings, and interview for employment to representatives.In addition, it allows employers who are seeking individuals for employment to review resumes from individuals who are seeking employment, and to interview those who meet the requirements for the job.Facilities are made available at no cost to the users.
The
Chair of the Placement Center is responsible for choosing members to work
with plans and to staff the Center during the conference.Representation
should include academic, public, school, special libraries, and library
school students.Contact is made
with other chairs of the Conference and Association Committees.
Employers:
1.Employers
should make every effort to list positions ten days before the conference.Announcements
are accepted at the conference.
2.Employers
should interview individuals for only those positions which actually exist
and are listed with the placement center.If
an employer is recruiting for a position which is not yet authorized and/or
funded, notice to this effect should be given on the job order and during
the interview.
3.Interviews
should be conducted in private and without interruptions.
4.Employers
should check the message center frequently and acknowledge all messages.
5.Employers
who are not interviewing should state on the job order where resumes may
be sent.
Applicants:
1.Applicants should provide as complete a resume as possible.
2.Applicants should not interview for positions unless they have a resume on file with the placement center.
3.Applicants should be prepared to provide an employer with copies of resume and names and addresses of references.
4.Applicants should check the message center frequently and acknowledge all messages.
5.Applicants should make every effort to submit resumes prior to the deadline.Resumes are accepted at the conference.