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Tips, Tricks,

and Best Practices �for Planning + Hosting �a Mini-Conference

Jennifer Harmonson �& Katie DeKorte

BECOMING

a �CON ARTIST

Good morning and welcome to BECOMING A CON ARTIST: Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Planning and Hosting a Mini-Conference! My name is Jennifer Harmonson and I’m a Librarian at Sacramento Public Library. [KATIE!] Although the title of this session refers to mini-conferences, I wanted to share that I have planned, help plan, or been the coordinator of two true crime-themed mini-cons, two reentry resource fairs, a Hogwarts Alumni Reunion event for ages 21 and up, and I oversaw the coordination of a moderated panel discussion as well as all concurrent sessions of this year’s SPL Staff In-Service Day. Excluding staff day, attendance at the other five events averaged between 150-200 attendees. Before we jump in, there are a variety of ways you could use the information in this session! You could host a mini-con, a fandom event, a resource fair, or whatever you want to do that is comparable. Some information appears in more than one section, and to be honest, you might sequence this information differently. There is the potential for so many variables, so I apologize in advance if it seems like I’m skipping around some, as well as for repeating myself. And because 45 minutes is not enough time to cover every possibility, there will be a QR code on the last slide that will take you to a Google Drive folder of documents, including these slides and the presenter’s notes. While the documents in the Google Drive folder are specific to my experiences, I hope they will get your wheels turning for your own plans, while highlighting some minutiae I didn’t realize was missing until we needed it! Please reach out to us if you have questions about the presentation, or as you are planning your event. Please note: even with the Google Drive documents, you will no doubt hit your own speed bumps and experience your own hiccups; we hereby release ourselves from all liability for any potential pitfalls. ☺

One suggestion for the note-taking folks in the room: take notes as you have ideas for your future program or events. Don’t worry about trying to write down everything I say, or even everything on the screen. The last slide will include a URL and a QR code that will take you to all the slides you’ll see here, as well as revised version of my presenter’s notes, reformatted into workable lists of bullet points and summaries of the process.

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CHOOSING �YOUR TOPIC �and FORMAT

Interviews
Discussion panels
Performances
Resource fair

First, we start with choosing the topic and format of your event. Your topic will guide your plans, but you need to consider what the format of the event will be, including these options. For interviews: Will the interview subject be interviewed by a team member, or will you also recruit a guest interviewer? To include discussion panels: Will they be moderated? Can audience members submit questions in advance? Will you offer an open mic or a “Phil Donahue” mic-runner experience? Will the panel be moderated, or will they prepare on their own? For special performances: What equipment will the performers provide? What will they ask you to provide? What costs will be involved? Any need for waivers – work with your library’s legal representation? To host a resource fair: Will you need to vet participating agencies? How will you decide who can or cannot participate in this capacity? What equipment will you provide?

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CHOOSING �YOUR TOPIC and FORMAT

Guest speakers
Demonstrations
Interactive exhibits
Hands-on/creative

BEST PRACTICE!

Guest speakers, which covers some from the previous slide – if there will be interviews, discussion panels, or performances, how do you plan to manage these? To offer demonstrations: Will this require special equipment, a special space, or waivers? Are we talking how to lift a fingerprint from a wine glass or are we talking fire breathing? What about interactive exhibits? How will you decide what is and is not allowed? Are we handling different types of worms or talking with a lung-full of helium? To include hands-on creative options: What materials/equipment will you have to provide? Will these options be easy to learn and follow (drop-in) or will they require full-focus for instruction every step of the way? Depending on your choices, should you have waivers or set age limits? Check with your library’s legal advisor on this!

BEST PRACTICE: Whenever possible, speak to the actual presenter or performer directly at least once. In planning the virtual TCMC, all my communication for our first guest was with his assistant. She assured me he would speak briefly, introduce and play some of his forthcoming documentary, then talk about it more, before starting the Q&A with our staff. What actually happened was we went live and my colleague introduced him, he had nothing prepared, no clips to screen, and launched the whole event with, “So what do you want to talk about?” ALL panic, no disco!!! Fortunately, Casey is a pro and between her prepared questions, personal interest questions, questions from the chat, and from other supporting staff, he was fully engaged and the audience was never the wiser.

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CHOOSING �YOUR �SETTING

In-person
Online
Hybrid

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BUILDING the PLANNING TEAM

Who has to be involved?
Who should be involved?
Who wants to be involved?

Be sure you have approval to start creating the proposal, if that is part of your process! Then, be sure everyone who has to approve this has given their blessing (having this in writing couldn’t hurt). Now it’s time to start building your team! (Read slide notes.) The answers will vary by library – maybe you wear all the hats and you are a team of one; maybe you have specialists who are expected (or would prefer) to be involved; maybe you can rely entirely on staff who are themselves part of the target audience. If you are not part of the target audience, try to include at least one person who is! I am a muggle so that Hogwarts Alumni Reunion would have been a disaster had I not been surrounded by staff from all four houses! Things to include in your recruitment message: how often the team will meet, what the weekly time commitment will look like, if you know what the physical demands will be, and other factors that could influence capacity to be fully involved. Also, be sure to hold space for team members regardless of their professional role, relying more on lived experience than job title.

Do you have members of your planning team who don’t have capacity to actually participate in the event? Will participating members of your planning team be sufficient, or will you need more support for the event? If so, you’ll also want to have an event team, for the day itself. Can you recruit volunteers for this? (If you do recruit volunteers, consider age restrictions depending on content of the event.) Later we will talk about how to plan a schedule and run-of-show for the event day!

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DECIDING WHEN and WHERE

(or where

and when?)

This information is relevant to scenarios in which your largest library space is not sufficient to host your event, though there are things to keep in mind even if you do plan to use library property or facilities. If you’re hosting an in-person event, where might come before when, depending. Keep your topic, proposed format, and setting in mind when making this decision. Allow for more space than you think you’ll need (if possible), but don’t go with too large a space either – this could overpower a smaller event. Are you familiar with the location where this will happen? If yes, make a list of all usable public spaces (meeting rooms, conference rooms, open areas for programming), and spaces for private use (like a break room for staff, or a dressing room for performers). If you are not familiar with the location, ask to tour all of the spaces, take photos, get measurements, and collect other relevant info. Consider in advance of the tour, and take note of anything that might be useful to know later, including the number of public restrooms; kitchen access, size of refrigerator and/or freezer; are there ample electrical outlets; do they have strong Wi-Fi; do they provide IT support or should you include this in your plans and/or staff team? Be prepared to review all accessibility-related concerns, too, including microphones for every speaker, captioning and/or sign language interpretation, elevator access, ramps, accessible parking options, and indicate who patrons can contact with any concerns about accessibility needs.

�

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BUILDING �a TIMELINE �in REVERSE

Event date
Promotional time period
Room to negotiate

With the date finalized, work backwards to the present and create a reverse timeline. How much time does your Communications team need to create the requisite materials and a landing page, and to promote it with local and social media? Mark that deadline in all caps. Find out if anyone on your team who will fulfill a specific role plans to be out of town in the days or weeks leading up to the event. If so, shift relevant deadlines back so nothing is left hanging, no other tasks are left unable to be completed prior to their return, and no one has to figure out how to fill in unfamiliar gaps in their absence. How far in advance do you feel comfortable inviting external participants (performers or presenters)? Do you want there to be an application or auditions for this option? Determine what that timeframe needs to be, factoring in an application or audition period, and a review or interview period.

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=SUM(A16-120)

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=SUM(A16-120) or =SUM(A2+7)

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CREATING �a DRAFT PROGRAM

Brainstorming: when �too many ideas are �almost enough

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CREATING �a DRAFT PROGRAM

Hobbyists
College professors
Local performers
Community organizations
Government agencies

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CREATING �a DRAFT PROGRAM

Yoga instruction
Beekeeping
Tarot readings
Job interview practice

(read slide) Also consider how much time will be allotted per session, will there be concurrent sessions? Or, will you have to time everything based on the parameters of the venue rental contract? When you know what you want your event to look like, you can move towards inviting potential partners. If you plan to offer food or even a cash bar, be sure you have all your Is dotted and Ts crossed on what the rules are about having food in the event space, and if special arrangements have to be made to have alcohol on offer. Things to consider: Will there be food available as part of the event (or onsite)? Will it be provided at no charge? Will it be for purchase? Will there be adult beverages? (Be ready for checking ID and stamping hands! Of note, we had a cash bar for the HAR and the caterers took care of all things related to the legal management of alcohol service.)

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CREATING �a DRAFT PROGRAM

Set-up internal spaces
Set-up external spaces
Timing of sessions
Breaks

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CREATING �a DRAFT BUDGET

10% over

10% under

While there are ways to offer larger-scale events at low- or no-cost, odds are you’ll need some amount of funding. If you anticipate other financial components, ballpark that amount and be ready to give it if asked. Things to consider: Can you offer your keynote speaker an honorarium? What is the maximum amount you can earmark for this? Do you want to have coffee and light refreshments available for speakers, performers, staff, volunteers? What supplies might be needed – office supplies, craft supplies, party store rentals, decorations? Does the venue rental include toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissues, and hand sanitizer, or do you need to supply these? Will you offer door prizes or contest prizes? Will you hire security, pay for staff parking? What about professional contracts, like for lighting and sound? Overestimate costs by 10%, while trying to keep your total 10% below your allotted funding. This suggestion is based on nothing except my need to have a buffer so I can sleep at night. 😊

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CREATING a�RUN of SHOW �and SCHEDULE

Who?
What?
When?
Where?

BEST PRACTICE!

Creating a document that all supporting staff and volunteers can access during the event is huge for all involved. Include what task needs to happen, when that task will begin and end, where it will happen (if using more than one space), and who is responsible for it. Also, create a schedule that accounts for everyone for the entire day. What time will event staff arrive? Determine how many event staff will be needed to set up tables, chairs, A/V equipment, and other labor-intensive tasks, in addition to those who will be working during the event. What will each person be doing each hour? When will vendors, performers, and presenters arrive? Allot time for booth set-up, costume changes, and setting-up equipment. Decide which team member will be the contact for each vendor, etc., where they will meet, and what space/area they are assigned. (Side note – connect these people in advance if you have a lot of people that need to connect directly!) Schedule breaks, even if they will be flexible, to ensure there is time for everyone to take them, and someone to cover when they do. Include a list of who the floaters are every hour, highlight when the event begins, notable times in the schedule, when the event formally ends for the public, and when the building should be cleared of all people. Make these widely and readily available, factoring in privacy of names on the lists as they will likely be seen by the public, even if unintentionally.

Other things to consider: How many staff need to be present: to welcome guests, to represent the library as a vendor (ex: Adult Literacy), to lead sessions or give presentations? Will you want security? Will you want more than one person in this role? If your library doesn’t have security, how will you approach this? Be sure to factor in staff and volunteers taking 15-minute breaks and meal breaks. How many “floaters” should you have?

BEST PRACTICE: Always have floaters. The bigger the event, the more floaters. You will thank yourself when you need someone to take care of a last-minute need and don’t have to pull someone from an assigned role to get it done!)

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ENGRAVING�the INVITATIONS

Open invitations �vs. staggered
Applications/auditions
Early invites

BEST PRACTICE!

Consider sending out invitations at varying intervals, depending on format. If you’re hosting a resource fair and you have space for 25 booths (tables), send out at least 25 invitations. If you want to have a series of speakers, cast a narrower net but have more connections on hand if and when additional invitations need to go out. You don’t want to invite three keynote speakers for one allotted spot in your schedule only to have them all accept. Consider the amount of time to allow invited participants to accept or reject the invitation. You can also approach it, as mentioned previously, from the perspective of accepting applications for review, or hold auditions (whether it be true auditions, or asking for links to the performer’s homepage, YouTube, or other social media presence). What do you need or want to know that will be in the application (or interview questions)? If you anticipate receiving more applications than you would have time or space to accommodate, create a rubric in advance. This will not only take some of the pressure off decision-making, you can also use it to give a concrete answer to anyone that is ultimately declined. Another perspective to keep in mind: Who might you want to pre-invite before opening the event to the public? Think: library board, city council, mayor, former library leadership, (current library leadership if they aren’t involved in this process), local org reps (community, church, social, fandom), other stakeholders?

BEST PRACTICE: My experience with this comes from co-coordinating two resource fairs. The first one was by invitation, and we relied on existing contacts to create the invitation list. Word got out and we had more agencies and non-profits approach us about participating in a future event (including those who showed up to the first event, fully prepared to table, and we had no prior knowledge of their organization – awkward!) To make this fair, for the second event, we changed it to an application-based process. Not only did this help us widen our prospects in terms of potential partners, the rubric helped us cull the list to remove some applicants that, for whatever reason, were not a great fit for the event (or to be perceived as being endorsed by the Library).

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to REGISTER �or NOT �to REGISTER

Headcount
Zoom link
Emails for follow-up

BEST PRACTICE!

Asking patrons to pre-register is a great way to know what to anticipate for in-person attendance planning, and to get emails for related contact purposes. This can include reminders prior to the event, follow-up surveys, sharing future events, and sending out emergency change updates. If you are offering virtual access, you could require registration in order to get the Zoom link, rather than posting the Zoom link online. Be prepared for registration to fill up – will you send a reminder and ask those who can no longer come to cancel/those who still can come to confirm? One of the downfalls of pre-registration is that you might give the impression that anyone who doesn’t register before it reaches capacity cannot attend, when we all know there will be registered participants who do not show up. If you plan to enforce registration, be sure to account for this in staffing levels and space allotment.

BEST PRACTICE: The first TCMC registration filled and began to build a decent waitlist. Knowing some registrants would have a change in plans, we emailed those listed to give them a nudge about cancelling their registration if they knew they couldn’t make it.

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There has been a recent True Crime Mini-Con development. We’ve found too many bodies on the registration list, and more are piling up.* Many of you are guilty of wanting to attend. Don’t keep your registration as a trophy. Are you brave enough to take your mask off to attend True Crime Mini-Con on Saturday, Nov. 16 or shall we release your seat to the next unsuspecting true crime fan?

*True Crime Mini-Con is becoming one of our most popular events — in its first year! We want to ensure that those who want to attend can without exceeding room capacity. Please confirm your registration. That way, if you’re not able to attend we can release your seat to someone else.

SUBJECT: The Bodies Are Piling Up

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PAUSE �for �CELEBRATION

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FOLLOWING �up: �SURVEYS

Attendees
Presenters
Staff + Volunteers

BEST PRACTICE!

Congratulations! Huge success! Now for the after-event surveys. We all know about surveys – no one wants to fill them out until you’re the one that wants the info. This is why asking people to register in advance is helpful, for the perspective of the attendees. Of course, you have the emails for your presenters, staff, and volunteers. Be open to all feedback, good, bad, and ugly. You want to know what people loved (it might surprise you), what they could live without next time, what could have gone better, and other information that could influence future events. Create surveys that approach each group – one for the general public, one for performers, presenters, and community agencies, and one for the staff and volunteers that created and supported the event.

BEST PRACTICE: If you involve anyone who asks you to do a survey, hold off until you get your feedback if at all possible. I completed a survey for a catering service, giving them good reviews, only to learn that most participants were underwhelmed in the food service and presentation.

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MINI-PLAN �your �MINI-CON

The Lightning Round

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Jennifer Harmonson jharmonson@saclibrary.org

Katie DeKorte

kdekorte@saclibrary.org

CONTACT

US

https://bit.ly/3B0L6op