The ALA 2015 Annual Conference & Expo is just a few weeks away – your registration, hotel and flights are in place. From the ALA website, you reviewed the sessions, the special events and the business partners you plan to visit in the Business Solutions Marketplace. Before you pack your bags and your various electronic devices, you should plan to download the interactive ALA Annual Conference App and fill your App “Briefcase.”
What is the ALA Annual Conference App, where do I find it and how will I use it?
ALA has provided a Conference App for the past few years. Based on attendee feedback, many improvements and enhancements were made for this conference. From the App, which is interactive and real-time, attendees will be able to pre-plan and track their schedule for all types of sessions and special conference events. Access to session handouts will be through the App, which is also where you can take notes and submit session evaluations. A map of the Business Solutions Marketplace (Exhibit Hall), ALA Live!, and other useful and important conference and local information and links to social media (Facebook and Twitter) will be accessible on the App.
The ALA Annual Conference App is available and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store (iPad and iPhone) and Google Play (Android), and the web library for other devices accessible at http://aagapps.com/ala2/library.
What is a Tech Doc, why would I need one, and where do I find one to help me?
ALA Tech Docs are 30 ALA members who have graciously volunteered and are scheduled to be available in the Business Solutions Marketplace (including the ALA booth) and other areas at the conference to help navigate technology (the hardware) and the Annual Conference App (the software). They are identified by their red arm band and are available to answer questions for attendees who need assistance, particularly in the first days of the conference. They will be able to help with such things as:
- Answering questions related to the Conference App
- Assisting with iPhone, iPad, other tablet, and other smartphone setup issues (OS versions, new to their devices, etc.)
- Helping troubleshoot iPhone or iPad, or other tablet issues
- Answering simple social media questions such as “how do I use a #?” or “when would I use a # and why?” and/or “how do I use the social media app on my iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows phone?”
- Answering other IT “how to” questions (Wi-Fi access, etc.).
The ALA Tech Docs are ready to assist you, so please do not hesitate to ask them for help. They volunteered to help you get the most efficient use out of the App during the conference. Whether you have prior experience with a conference App, or download the App before you arrive in Nashville, you may have questions as you begin to use it in the Music City Center.
You can express your appreciation to these volunteers with a thank you or even sharing with them something you may have learned about the App that they may not have yet discovered. Please do respect the Tech Docs’ time when in a session room where they are also conference-paying attendees of the Conference. They are there to help, but they have been assured that they get to participate and enjoy the sessions just as the rest of the attendees.
Sharing, helping and networking with other members is an important part of the conference experience. You may even be inspired to volunteer to be a Tech Doc at a future conference.
Nancy E. Hamlett, CPA, is the Director of Finance for Trucker Huss, APC in San Francisco, California. Nancy is serving as a member of the 2015 ALA Annual Conference Planning Committee. She has served as Golden Gate Chapter President as well as all other Chapter offices; a Financial Management Conference Planning Committee member for three years; and a member of the Region 6 Nominating Committee. Nancy has more than 25 years of experience in legal financial and administrative management.
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