Is this your first time attending
NYAC? Not sure what to see or where to start?
Read this for everything you might want to know!
The Basics
NYAC is a three
day conference, Wednesday to Friday, which is usually held in the first or
second week of June. The conference
location rotates every year so that we can serve and educate archivists all
over the state of New York.
The Folder
Upon arrival at the conference, you will receive a folder that serves as your registration packet. On the outside of the folder will be a label, with your name, what sessions you checked off during registration, and if you signed up to attend the reception and/or the luncheon.
Inside the folder there will be:
*A name badge
*Campus map
*A list of room locations for each session
*A list of places to eat on and off campus
*Minutes from the last membership meeting
*Annual Meeting agenda
*Financial report
*Board list/Acknowledgements
*Conference evaluation
The Folder
Upon arrival at the conference, you will receive a folder that serves as your registration packet. On the outside of the folder will be a label, with your name, what sessions you checked off during registration, and if you signed up to attend the reception and/or the luncheon.
Inside the folder there will be:
*A name badge
*Campus map
*A list of room locations for each session
*A list of places to eat on and off campus
*Minutes from the last membership meeting
*Annual Meeting agenda
*Financial report
*Board list/Acknowledgements
*Conference evaluation
NYAC, day by day:
Wednesday:
Wednesday is Workshop day. There
are half and full day workshops. Workshops are not included in the conference
fee, and must be paid for separately. This is because some people can only
attend one full day or one half day workshop, and not necessarily the whole
conference, but we still want to allow them to participate!
Thursday:
Thursday is a full day of sessions. The day usually starts around 8:30am with a plenary, which gives attendees something to think about while they attend the conference. Following the plenary is the NYAC business meeting. At the business meeting, the NYAC board will go over various items, such as how much money is in the budget, and introducing the professional development grant winners to all the attendees. As an attendee of NYAC you are a voting member, so any votes that come up during this meeting (approving minutes, or reports, or confirming a slate of board members) you can participate in. During this meeting there are also important announcements for conference attendees to know, such as any changes in room locations.
Thursday is a full day of sessions. The day usually starts around 8:30am with a plenary, which gives attendees something to think about while they attend the conference. Following the plenary is the NYAC business meeting. At the business meeting, the NYAC board will go over various items, such as how much money is in the budget, and introducing the professional development grant winners to all the attendees. As an attendee of NYAC you are a voting member, so any votes that come up during this meeting (approving minutes, or reports, or confirming a slate of board members) you can participate in. During this meeting there are also important announcements for conference attendees to know, such as any changes in room locations.
Following the
business meeting, sessions start. Two or
three sessions run concurrently, with each session running for an hour and a
half. After the first group of sessions,
attendees are given anywhere from an hour to two hours for lunch on their own.
This is a great chance to sample some of the local eateries! Enough time is
given so you don’t have to stick to just campus. A list of food locations is
provided in the folder you receive upon arrival.
After lunch is another group of two or three concurrent sessions. This is followed by the Poster Session. At this time, the creators of accepted posters will be available to answer questions and discuss the topics of their poster. Immediately after the poster session is when Roundtables take place. This is an opportunity for NYAC attendees to be a greater part of the discussion, ask questions of their peers, share their own knowledge, and learn from each other.
After lunch is another group of two or three concurrent sessions. This is followed by the Poster Session. At this time, the creators of accepted posters will be available to answer questions and discuss the topics of their poster. Immediately after the poster session is when Roundtables take place. This is an opportunity for NYAC attendees to be a greater part of the discussion, ask questions of their peers, share their own knowledge, and learn from each other.
Thursday usually ends
with a reception. There are light refreshments and drinks, and this gives
attendees a chance to mingle and network in a less formal setting.
Some years, we have special events after the reception. Be sure to check the conference program to make sure you don’t miss anything!
Some years, we have special events after the reception. Be sure to check the conference program to make sure you don’t miss anything!
Friday
Friday
has two sets of concurrent sessions, and is then followed by an optional
luncheon. The luncheon is paid for
separately from the conference fee, and has a speaker, usually talking about a
specific project or experience. We also
present grant winners with their grant money, and introduce them to attendees
one more time.
Make sure to fill out your Conference Evaluation form and hand it back to us before you leave NYAC. This helps us determine what topics we should cover in the following year's NYAC meeting, as well as letting the board know what worked, and what didn't work at the current conference.
~~~~
There you have it! A basic break down of what typically happens at NYAC each year.
If we didn’t address something in this
guide that you want to know, feel free to comment with your questions below.
