Best ways to get to know colleagues and students

[Lisa Nocita]

I am presenting a workshop called the Shy Librarian at our state conference next week. The original impetus came from attending conferences and wanting so much to network and share ideas with colleagues but often being too shy to initiate contact. I spent many evenings eating alone and sitting in my hotel room when I really wanted to be out having fun and getting to know my colleagues. And this made me wonder if there weren't others like me wanting the same thing. So my first objective is to simply bring together a group of people at the conference and give them time to make a new acquaintance or renew an old one, to make that important first contact for a less lonely time during the conference. And, of course, my hope would be that we strengthen our professional relationships and continue to share and collaborate virtually. My secondary objectives are to offer some ideas of how we can be friendly advocates for our programs by building and maintaining relationships with our school colleagues and our students. If you have any ideas you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them! Fun icebreakers, special programs you do that involve faculty or students, etc. Keep in mind that these activities are for those of us that tend to be more introverted but yearn to break out of our shells! Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might care to share! Lisa