LOEX 2022
May 2022
In the beginning of May I had the pleasure of attending LOEX’s conference in Ypsilanti, MI. I’m a LIS graduate student at Syracuse University and am in a scholarship program for information literacy. In this program, a small group of graduate students in studying LIS are trained to teach instructional learning, alongside librarian staff, to undergraduate students in the university. We are also encouraged to participate in all facets of academic librarianship.
This was the first library related conference I have been able to attend. I presented a poster on an analysis of instructional resources available for immigrant and refugee populations in public libraries. The conversations and feedback I had about my poster from my peers were incredibly insightful. I was initially hesitant to participate in a conference due to my lack of experience in the field, but I am so glad that I went through with it.
For the 2-day conference there were numerous breakout sessions, and I typically had a difficult time choosing which one to go. Fortunately, there were a number of people from my institution who attended and so we created a shared document where we were able to add our notes and therefore learned about the sessions we couldn’t make it too. Many of the presenters also made the information shared with us available through online resources.
Since I am still a graduate student, I won’t be able to create too many changes in my institution. However, the sessions that made an impact were in regard to how I can provide assistance. These workshops concerned typically overlooked populations as I will always benefit from more DEI training. There were also sessions of people I ignorantly didn’t consider as requiring a major shift in how I would offer services, such as veterans. Both classes explained to beware of one’s preconceptions and also working to be flexible on how to lead an instructional session as you “read the room”. Other sessions gave me a chance to ask librarians at my institution if we offer similar services, such as a “living library”; as well as concepts I may want to explore in my studies, such as perceived authorities in social media.
Overall, it was genuinely exciting to be able to listen to professionals in the field as they shared their ideas and successes concerning instructional learning, and then having a chance talk to them about those experiences. I’m grateful that the CLRC Professional Development Award provided funding for me to be able to attend and am looking forward to attending more conferences in the future!
Lauren Quackenbush
Graduate Student, Syracuse University
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