Like many health sciences librarians across the country, I am gearing up for the annual conference of the Medical Library Association in Seattle this weekend. I joined the field just a little too late to attend last year’s conference in Toronto, which was disappointing to a recent graduate. But I am very excited that this year’s conference is in one of my favorite cities and I intend to take full advantage of this opportunity to expand my professional network, knowledge, and experience.

To that end, I’ve signed up for everything I could possibly sign up for during my 5-day trip. In addition to attending the scheduled plenaries and program sessions, I will be attending:

• CE 704 “Practical Skills and Tips for Research” – I’m hoping that what I learn about research in this course will alleviate some of my lingering imposter syndrome and give me more confidence in my future research projects.
• A dine-around with other MLA attendees – I am looking forward to meeting new people and learning more about their careers and projects over some delicious food.
• The New Members/First-Time Attendees Program and Breakfast – As I fit under both of those categories, this seemed like a no-brainer.
• The Chapter Council Roundtables Luncheon – The roundtable about integrating yourself into the curriculum is very relevant to my current situation with the new medical school at my institution, so I am excited to learn about how other librarians have accomplished this.
• A resume/CV review appointment – Even though I’m not looking for a position any time soon, it can’t hurt to have an expert review the most important summary of my work.

In addition to these events, I will be volunteering at the Hospitality Booth, contributing blog posts about conference exhibits, and participating in the Colleague Connection program as a mentee.

With this busy schedule, the MLA ’17 app has been a lifesaver – it saved me from having to make my own complicated schedule to stay on track! As I write all of this out, it seems like an overwhelming amount of events and appointments to fit into 5 days, but I am still so excited for this experience. And if anything else comes up, I will do my best to fit it into my schedule, because who knows when I’ll be able to do this again?!