NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCES Individual Program Planner Responsibilities

"Individual Program Planners" may be Conference Committee members, section or committee heads, or other volunteers who accept responsibility for specific conference programs. To maintain consistency and continuity, the following procedures have been established for working within the framework of the conference as a whole. 1. Determine the topic for your program. The Conference Committee establishes a conference program schedule that is designed to present programs for specific audiences on the same or succeeding days and minimize conflicts for individual attendees. Section and Committee planners SHOULD be represented at the first Conference Committee meeting, January 11, 2013, at Portsmouth Public Library in Portsmouth, NH At a minimum if unable to attend, report your topic/working title to the Conference Co-Chairs by January 8. At this meeting the committee assigns time and room slots for proposed programs, and it is important to have full participation in this process. Before contacting potential speakers, read the "Financial Matters" page in the Program Planners Kit. If you have questions about financial policies, please don't hesitate to ask - it's important to get it right the first time! Do try to stay under the allocated budget ceiling; every little bit helps the budget, and "freebie" programs are especially welcome. Contact potential speakers and negotiate topics, program title, times, and fees and expenses. Give them as much information as possible about your expectations and the potential audience. Get as much information as possible - use the Program Request Form and the Session Requirements Form in the Forms section of the site as a guide for what you should ask. Be sure to report complete mailing address to the Conference Manager so we can mail a welcome letter to each outside speaker directing them to the program schedule on the web site. Send a letter of confirmation to outside speakers, getting all the details down in writing (sample letter included in kit). If they are featured speakers (generally not New England librarians), this is the time to confirm that they will supply a picture for web site and print (see advice about pictures on next page). For all presentations, make arrangements for paper handouts and materials posted to the web site after conference. For New England librarians these arrangements can be made by phone or email. Complete the Program Request Form and the Fee Payment Form if needed, and send a copy to the Chair and one to the Conference Manager. The 2013 deadline for these forms is April 1. We MUST have the Program Description (sample annotations included in the kit) and basic budget information by this date to prepare web site postings and printed materials and monitor the budget. Throughout the planning process, please observe all deadlines listed or announced. Most relate to printing schedules, and are not flexible. The Session Requirements Form is due to the Conference Manager by May 24, 2013. To complete this form, you need to determine room setup and AV needs. Please ask speakers to minimize their equipment requirements as much as possible, as it quickly gets very expensive. We insist that presenters using computers bring their own, to minimize compatibility disasters and rental costs, but we can provide computer projection if needed. We maintain a secure AV room at the conference for equipment storage if presenters bring their own, and can help with moving it as needed. Internet access will be available in most meeting rooms, but is not infallible. Please ask speakers to prepare canned presentations as backup in case of problems.

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There are two ways to register your speakers, depending on their status. Use the Outside Speaker Registration Forms for non-librarians or librarians outside New England and contact these speakers and complete the form yourself. Please be very specific about all travel plans, and note meal entree choices where needed, and send form to Conference Manager by May 24. For other New England librarian speakers, mail the Complimentary Registration Form by July 8, for them to return directly to the Conference Manager by September 15. In mid-September, contact your speakers to reconfirm all arrangements, especially AV requirements and hosting plans. Report any changes you discover in this reconfirmation process to the Conference Manager immediately. If you have not already done so, find at least one HELPER. Your helper might introduce the program and/or host your speaker(s) as suggested in the included separate list of host/helper duties. Please find people who are planning to attend the conference anyway, since helpers are not entitled to complimentary registrations. Send a copy of the Program Helper Responsibilities information to the you recruit. We URGE (we would INSIST if we could figure out how to do so!) you to find at least one helper - it's very difficult for one person to be in charge, introduce, distribute and collect evaluations, deal with any emergencies and host speakers. There is a place on the Session Requirement Form to report Helper names, but if you are not able to find a helper by May 24 you may report to the Executive Manager by email anytime before September 15.

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At conference, arrive in time for the committee meeting on Sunday at 11:30, and check to be sure the hosting arrangements are working and your speaker has been properly greeted. Arrive early in your program room to be sure it is properly set and everything you need is there. There will probably be other equipment for other programs, and you may use it or ignore it. The conference staff will also be checking, and can help with any problems. You can identify them by their walkie-talkies. They know the most efficient way to solve problems, so please work through them rather than seeking facility personnel yourself. Individual session evaluation forms will be in each program room. Please distribute them before your program starts, urge the audience to complete them, and collect them at the door as people depart. For returning committee members, we are no longer using the yellow second copy, which seemed rarely to reach the speakers. Instead we ask you to provide feedback with your thank-you letter. Return forms either to the on-site conference office, or mail to the Conference Manager by October 31. They will be compiled and reported to the committee and to the Board, and you may have them once the compilation is done. Please stay in the program room to monitor comfort factors (too hot, cold, etc.) and act as a resource for any problems that develop, and count the attendance. If handouts run out, you can make extra copies in the Conference Office. Please end on time - there is usually another program scheduled for your room soon after you vacate, and the staff needs time to reset or tidy the room. Complete the Conference Report/Expense Form and return to Conference Manager, at conference if possible, or mail PROMPTLY - it's due October 31 if payment is to be made with checks written November 5. We can't issue checks without that form. We also do need the form even if no expenses are involved, as a "sign off" on costs and for the attendance information. Attend the "debriefing" Conference Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 in the York room. After the conference, communicate any evaluation information you have to the Co-Chairs and your successor, if you have one. The Chairs and Conference Manager are rarely able to attend programs, and we rely on you to tell us how they went and make suggestions for improvements.

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if they do not already have them. This should be done by October 31. XXXXX

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