(14 Nov 2025) “Last month, I gave my first lightning talk at a library conference, the Iowa Library Association Annual Conference (ILA). I’ve wanted to present at a conference since I started graduate school, so this was an exciting milestone. My lightning talk was about conducting an e-journal overlap analysis, and it went smoothly—but that’s not what I want to talk about today.
As I reconnected with old friends, jostled to get morning coffee before it ran out, and relaxed on the sunny patio between sessions, I found myself reflecting on how different I felt compared to when I first attended ILA last year. This year, even though I was a little nervous about presenting for the first time, I felt comfortable and confident navigating the conference and talking to other librarians. But when I first started out as a library professional, working part-time and getting my MLIS, conferences scared me. I knew they were valuable opportunities, but I felt lost and overwhelmed trying to navigate them.
Here are the four things I wish I could go back and tell myself before my first library conference. ”
Eleanor Ball shares her experiences here.
