Last night… by Anmol Kalsi
Anmol Kalsi, the author of this post, is a student volunteer at #ASIST2015.
9 November
The President’s Reception featuring posters showcased a wide array of works in progress and innovative research studies, demonstrating the vibrant activity within the LIS research community. Of course, there were snacks and plenty of opportunities for mingling. Following a quick scan of the posters I spent most of my time flogging tickets for the International Reception raffle. I was impressed by the generosity of our members in supporting causes outside of their own research areas considering I don’t even know what the prizes were. Winners, I hope you were pleased with your prizes.
The International Reception, fast becoming a staple of the ASIST program, is one of the most enjoyable events to attend. The organizers work tirelessly to continue to promote international information issues by addressing topics relevant to a wide variety of the ASIST membership. The event itself featured great snacks, a good turnout, and of course the usual fun of the silent auction and raffled prizes. What makes ASIST so welcoming to newcomers is the number of opportunities there are for mingling and interaction outside of the formal presentation/paper/panel settings.
If two social events in the evening weren’t enough, there was competition from the Rutgers Reception which probably pulled quite a bit of the traffic from the International Reception – as lovely as the Rutgers crowd are I must say free booze probably had something to do with it. There was just about time enough to mingle and get a beer or two in (or water in my case – bottled water I’ll add which IS special in St. Louis cos the water here tastes like it was intended to sap and impurify our special bodily fluids – sorry I just had to squeeze in a Kubrick reference somewhere)…where was I? Oh yeah, that’s right, just enough time to draw the evening to a pleasant close.
10 November 2015
I missed the announcement of the winners of the Student Design Competition this morning because I was eagerly anticipating the Awards luncheon; I was intrigued what the special diet option was going to be. Thankfully, it was vegan, and relatively healthy. The Awards luncheon featured the ritualistic clapping in recognition of the awards winners. Clapping is quite a challenge whilst you’re digging into the starter salad, or trying to spread butter on your bread, but somehow the faithful managed rather well.
Then there were more paper sessions. And then we all went home, just as the weather was improving.
P.S. Thanks to Stephan Addo, and all other unsung heroes that work diligently and tirelessly to get everyone registered.
P.P.S. Thanks to Diane M. Rasmussen Pennington for not editing or censoring my posts.