The annual conference for the Medical Library Association starts at the end of this week, and I can’t wait to visit Atlanta for the first time! This is my second MLA conference, and it’s the first time I’m presenting a paper AND a poster a conference this big. I am determined to make this trip a success and I am doing my best to remember all the lessons I learned from my first MLA in Seattle.

Lesson #1: Don’t try to do everything

I’m trying to leave some wiggle room in my schedule for spontaneous networking and more importantly, relaxation. Last year, I tried to do everything and ended up exhausting myself and missing out on some fun, last-minute opportunities. So in Atlanta, I’m going to slow down and spend more time enjoying the company of my peers.

Lesson #2: Take advantage of free food whenever possible

For a five day conference, the cost of food adds up quickly. I’m lucky to have a job that gives me a generous professional development fund, but don’t want to spend it all on meals while I’m on the road. So this year, I have RSVP’d to as many catered vendor events as I can. Sometimes they’re Lunch and Learn events, where you listen to a product presentation while you eat, but there are also fancier soirees at local hot spots – hello, World of Coca Cola! Plus, it helps out with Lesson #1 because these vendor events are a great opportunity to network.

Lesson #3: Take some time to explore the city

MLA is jam-packed with events almost every day of the conference, so it can be challenging to find time to just be tourist in a new city. But if you can arrive a day or early, or stay a day or two afterwards, you will have built-in time to soak up the sights.

Since this is my first time in Atlanta, I scheduled an extra pre-conference tourist day where I’m going to explore the Georgia Aquarium. It’s become a sort of travel tradition to visit the aquarium in whatever city I visit. So far, I’ve seen the Seattle Aquarium, Vancouver Aquarium, and New England Aquarium. Vancouver is my favorite so far, but I’ve heard great things about the Georgia Aquarium and I can’t wait to check it out!

Overall, my primary goal for MLA ’18 is to leave the conference feeling inspired and full of ideas to implement back home. If I can keep these three lessons in mind, I think I’ll have a pretty good shot at making that happen. Atlanta, here I come!

Image Credit – Atlanta Midtown Skyline by James Willamor/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0