I’m a new academic librarian, and have yet to write an article or present at a conference. There are so many areas of interest, and so many people contributing, that it’s hard for me to know where to begin. For one thing, I don’t have faculty status (and I’m OK with that), so I’m not required to “publish or perish.” And most of the time, I’m too busy with my day to day “librarianating” to look ahead and actually, you know, plan stuff.
Also, it’s difficult for me to believe that I have something fresh and worthwhile to offer, especially when I look at conference programs and think,
“Wow, how cool!”
or
“I’ve never even *heard* of that”
or
“How did they find the time to do all of that research?”
Surely I can’t be the only one who feels this way. I cast out some feelers on this topic to librarians on Google Plus and got the following advice:
—”You have information worth sharing. That’s a very general statement, but everyone has something they are The Expert in. The trick is to figure out what your topic/field is. Once you’ve decided, you’d look for conferences geared towards that topic.”
—”Identify what you know, and what interests you. What unique/interesting slant can you give it? Then find a conference. Check out previous presentations, hopefully online ones. Talk to the organisers and offer to do a freebie, or a small workshop type event to get your name known and tweeted. Repeat until you get asked.” 
—”Figure out what you love and what you want to share and then go for it. Remember that you’ll be sharing your knowledge with a great community, too! Don’t feel apprehensive about it. I think the best thing about presenting is the people that I meet through it all – that’s where I’ve learned the most.”
—”Come up with an idea you want to present, find people to present with you because it is easier/more fun with a panel, plus it might help your nerves if you present with someone who has presented before, submit a proposal when there is call for conference proposals at a conference you’ll be at anyway. At least in my state, I think selection committees to make room for everyone who wants to present. I hope this helps.”
