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We are posting a series of personal posts from ACRL-Oregon board members, highlighting personal experiences and perspectives of attending the ACRL 2015 Conference. Why? To help celebrate the national conference that took place in our state, to personalize the national conference experience for our local ACRL members, as well as to showcase the diversity of professional development and networking opportunities available through ACRL.

Would you like to add your own conference experience and/or photos to the ACRL-Oregon blog? Please contact us!

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Next in our series…  photo memories from ACRL-Oregon Communications Coordinator Jennifer Snoek-Brown.

This was a conference of firsts for me:  my first time attending a national ACRL conference and my first time of living in the same city hosting a national conference. I took quite a few photos with my camera phone during the conference, so I thought a kind of photo essay would help me personally reflect on this experience.

ACRL makes the big screen! I loved the luxury of being able to take one short bus ride down to the Convention Center to attend the conference.

The conference orientation email emphasized that there wouldn’t be any tote bags… but I managed to snag one from a small stack of tote bags at the ACRL Lounge. Did someone go rogue with ordering conference tote bags? I got sooooooo many comments and compliments on this tote bag — and this is a very nice one with sturdy handles and a coated interior. OF COURSE they had to “put a bird on it”! 😉 One of my favorite (literal) takeaways from my conference experience!

Also one of my favorite parts of the conference — free transit passes for everyone! I was a little trepidatious walking up to register, half-thinking that locals wouldn’t merit transit passes. But I did get my own transit pass, and I used it as much as possible the rest of the week! To make sure I didn’t lose my transit pass, I slipped it into the final slot of my business card holder.

One more favorite was the mini-schedule of programs. So easy to track room numbers and program themes, and it all folded to fit in a pocket. Truly brilliant!

Squatch out for Sasquatch! I found Big Foot lurking outside a panel presentation — I guess he was as interested in formative assessment techniques as I was! 😉

Is it strange that (a) I totally thought they had misspelled “peer reviewed” at first, and then (b) I kept mentally mispronouncing “peer revered” as “Paul Revered”? (It’s ok if the answer to that question is yes. 😉 )

Amazing keynote speakers! I really didn’t know what to expect, but each was so impressive in his/her own way. G. Willow Wilson was so naturally articulate and intelligent — as great a role model as her creation, the new Ms. Marvel!

I was able to sit in the reserved section during the keynote addresses, so I got a good view of all the speakers. A friend from Texas — and a conference scholarship recipient — stayed at my house during the conference, and all of the scholarship recipients got to sit in the reserved section and bring along another person with them. I felt super lucky to be my friend’s “plus 1” for the keynotes!

Gut crunch alert! Now I want to record how my stomach sounds when I’m nervous, thanks to Jad Abumrad. 😉 I picked this photo because Jad looked kind of like a rock star with that microphone pose.

Lawrence Lessig, academic and political activist, closed out the ACRL 2015 Conference with a heartfelt and stirring speech and presentation. I teared up several times during his address.

Each keynote was so different from the others, and yet each was so touching and thought-provoking. Kudos to the conference committee members responsible for the keynote speakers!

Amazing public art in the Oregon Convention Center.

Not-so-amazing art on the bathroom tiles in the Oregon Convention Center. I don’t mind the blue roses — we are the City of Roses, after all! — but the painted spiders freaked me out.

We enjoyed amazingly sunny weather for most of the conference. Here is a shot I took at the plaza across from the Convention Center, where there were food trucks serving up different an delicious lunch options. So very Portland, and such a great idea for a distinctive and memorable conference memeory!

This was the first time attending a conference in the city I live in, so I was much more aware of how attendees were reacting to Portland itself. I was so happy that everyone I talked to (and overheard) seemed to love Portland! I think we were an ideal host for the conference, especially for the sustainability theme. The weather was great, the transit passes were a hit, and attendees seemed to enjoy the behind-the-scenes experience of OMSI for the all-conference reception. I couldn’t resist snapping a pic of this t-shirt at the OMSI gift shop.

The ACRL 2015 Leaders’ Reception at The Benson Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom was a wonderful experience! Huge kudos to our sponsors and donors!

So nice to see some familiar names on the list of donors. 😉

I captured what my name badge and conference program looked like, all shiny and new, on the first day of my conference experience, which included a pre-conference.

And just for contrast, here’s a shot of my name badge and mess of notes on the last day of the conference! Well-worn, to be sure, but well-loved. I guess you could say my my name badge mirrored my personal conference experience! 🙂

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~ Jennifer Snoek-Brown, ACRL-OR Communications Coordinator (2014-2016)
Faculty Librarian
Mt. Hood Community College