I am not the most outgoing person and speaking at a conference is not something I would be particularly comfortable with. However, when it comes to teaching, as I know what I am talking about I am confident and talking to a group of people does not phase me.
One way I have found of becoming more involved in events is to offer to write about them for the official publication. By doing this, I found that I had to focus on everyone and what they were saying more than if I was simply listening. I also had to pay more attention to the questions asked and I feel that this helped me to engage more fully with the whole event. By writing the official report, I mixed with more people during the breaks, to get an overall impression of what other people felt.
I would like to think that as my knowledge and experience grows, I would consider speaking at an event. I have expressed an interest in joining various committees as this feels like a more comfortable way of interacting in a group setting compared to offering to formally talk on one particular topic.
I feel very strongly about several issues, such as promoting the value of libraries and the work librarians do as well as the importance of teaching information literacy skills. I am sure we all cringe at the comments that all librarians do is "shush" people and stamp books.
I enjoy attending events, but there are certain issues which mean I can't attend all, such as the cost, the inconvenience to the rest of the team at work if I am not there etc. However, they are valuable and we can learn so much from attending them. What we take away from these events makes up for any temporary inconvenience and cost which arises from us going in the first place.
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