Academic Librarians’ Participation in Non-Library Conferences

Abstract

This study investigates librarian attendance at non-library conferences (NLCs), such as subject-specific conferences, by surveying librarians about attendance, the characteristics of those who attend, why they attend, how they participate, and more. Among the questionnaire respondents, the most likely attendees are STEM liaisons from doctoral universities. While the responses to attending NLCs were broadly positive, the richest data obtained from the study was from a freeform response to a question about perceived benefits/flaws about attending NLCs. Many respondents cited the value of keeping up with trends in the non-library field, improved patron interaction, and getting out of the library silo. The few respondents who reported downsides to attending NLCs mentioned costs, time commitment, and relevance of content. We affirm the value of NLCs and share suggestions for increasing the prevalence of and support for attendance by formally and informally sharing experiences with other librarians.