Published: March 17, 2022 by Hilary Meehan

The SJSU iSchool invites graduate students to submit posters for presentation at the upcoming California Library Association (CLA) and American Library Association (ALA) conferences. Posters should represent the student’s research projects, innovations and/or internship experiences as related to a specific information community.

Poster presenters will attend the iSchool’s free reception and poster session in person. Registration for the conference itself, however, is not required. The iSchool offers full support for your poster, providing an electronic poster template, printing and transporting your poster, and setting up your poster at the reception.

Check out this brief video on the benefits of participating in this opportunity. 

Upcoming Conference Poster Session Opportunities

Posters will be presented at one of two upcoming library association conferences: 

CLA 2022 Conference: Together Towards Tomorrow!

• Sacramento, CA
• Poster session at the SJSU iSchool Networking Reception
• June 3, 2022
• 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 

ALA 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition: Together Again! 

• Washington, DC
• Poster session at the SJSU iSchool Networking Reception
• June 25, 2022 (time and location to be announced)

Why Participate?

Highlight your professional skills. According to the MLIS Skills at Work: A Snapshot of Job Posting, employers are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the capacity to “gather, appraise, organize, analyze, and disseminate information in a smart, concise, and digestible way.” Additionally, employers seek innovative LIS candidates with strong marketing, outreach, interpersonal skills and enthusiasm to public service.  Presenting a poster at a professional conference highlights these skills and strengthens your portfolio.

Represent the iSchool community. During our tenure as iStudents, we identify and explore myriad information communities. By presenting research findings in a conference environment, you are advocating for your chosen community and sharing – at a national level – relevant, useful and applicable information about that community with LIS professionals.

Benefits of Attending and Presenting at the Conferences 

While you are not required to attend the conference as a whole (note: you must attend the iSchool reception/poster presentation), professional conferences are excellent access points through which you can meet potential employers and future collaborators, identify new directions for your research, and enjoy mingling with like-minded professionals.

CLA’s keynote speaker is Minda Harts, workplace and equity consultant, professor, author, podcaster, and LinkedIn’s 2020 Top Voice for Equity in the Workplace. ALA featured speakers include John Cho, actor and author of Troublemaker, a young adult novel about a 12-year old boy living through the Los Angeles Race Riots of 1992. Also speaking at ALA is Maria Hinojosa, author, journalist, and anchor/executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning radio show Latino USA, distributed by PRX. 

If you choose to attend one or both conferences, registration and travel costs will apply. Visit the CLA and ALA registration sites to learn more about member/non-member registration fees, and student or volunteer discounts. The CLA offers some no-cost registrations. 

Find Inspiration 

What iStudent and alumni presenters say about this experience. 

Rosa Conrad (MLIS, ‘21) enjoyed networking with other iStudents: “We each have different interests because we work within different communities, and [the poster presentation session] gave us all a space to share and see how we are engaging our students/patrons, developing programs, and researching to better serve our communities.”

Susan Groux (MLIS, ‘21) explains that participating “opened my mind to aspects of the library and information field that I hadn’t even known existed, and this knowledge is going to help me both in my future course work and in becoming a more informed information professional.”

Terry Schiavone (MLIS, ‘20): “The session has been an excellent resource to further develop my public speaking and engagement abilities. It has helped further reinforce confidence in my knowledge, and it’s an excellent opportunity to connect with your peers.”

Tameka Beckett (MLIS, ‘18) “loved seeing all the SJSU faculty, graduates and current students!”

To learn more about how this experience influenced iStudent poster presenters in past years, click here. 

You can also gain inspiration by scrolling through a gallery of past SJSU student posters here.

Sign Up to Participate Today!

To participate in this opportunity, click here. Please note that the sign-up deadline is May 1, 2022.  

Need More Information?

Email Sheila Gurtu, MLIS, iSchool Student Outreach Specialist, or book a Zoom appointment with Sheila on the iStudent Services Advising Appointment Calendar