I’ve been slowly gathering thoughts about ROFLCon for a whole series of posts; now that I see I’m linked over at Librarian.net and I found out my boss reads this (!!!). So, I figured I should write up something of the ROFLCon experience.
Here’s something I noticed at the pre-party for the event (call it Lesson 1 if you like); Internet people like librarians! I’m not what you would typically call an extrovert, so parties are not always the first place you’ll find me. However, this particular event stood because of the warm response I received when I told people my profession. Keep in mind, many of these folks were college students (undergrad to post-doc) or technology professionals. Some said they loved the profession because they loved books, but most talked about how progressive some of us are! Sure, maybe they’re reading about how “hip” we are from the New York Times but it still surprises me.
Here’s why; the sorts of people I just mentioned who like librarians are not the kind that I see when I’m behind a reference desk at a public library. These are people who are sometimes assumed to not need the library. Guess what; these folks LIKE the library! Let’s get to know these people within our communities! Let’s get them involved!
The benefits for both sides are high; and hey, in the right situation (say, a pre-party for an Internet conference with an open bar) you may even get hugs out of the deal. Apparently, librarians are huggable. Call that Lesson 1A.
Picture of the pre-party from NPR (I’m the pixel-y bearded guy with glasses towards the top right):
