Hi, all. Yes, once again we turn to talking about conferences and productivity. Why? Mainly because I am super-excited about Internet Librarian at the end of October, but also because work never stops–even when you are at a conference. So any help to make conferences productive, and keep us from wanting to gouge out our eyes from trying to keep up with what is happening back at the library, is probably a very good thing. Shall we dive into some conference goodies? Allons-y!

First, unless a conference happens to be in your backyard, or within reasonable driving distance, you probably are going to have to fly. And if you are going to fly, you better show up at the airport with a goodly amount of time to spare. So check out Lifehacker’s guide on how to always get to the airport on time. Lots of common sense tips, but it is always good to have a reminder. Also, you may be interested in when you can get the best price on airfare. Turns out that the cheapest time to book a flight is about eight weeks before your travel date. That’s definitely handy to know. (Also good information to share with your library patrons who may be traveling soon.)

Once you’re at the conference, you’ll want to implement some of the tips from WebWorkerDaily on how to stay productive at conferences. Lots of good tips and I really like the emphasis on not trying to do everything so you can actually enjoy and learn at the conference. I’ll try to take that advice to heart while at Internet Librarian.

Also, if you are ever like me and come home from conferences with a mess of notes that made sense of the time but now look like just scribbles, check out How to take effective conference notes. Then be nice and share your experience and tips on your blog. I really find it helpful to read about other people’s conference experiences, especially from conferences that I haven’t been able to attend.

And since you know you’ll be working on your laptop, computer, other digital device while you are away from the office at a conference, check out turning your flash drive into a portable privacy toolkit. Really, is there anything a flash drive can’t be reconfigured to do?

Do you have any conference productivity tips? If so, please share them in the comments. I’d love to hear about them and the Waki Librarian will be back on Friday with more library fun.