Just agreeing that the online option shouldn't be overlooked. The
realtime conversation in Slack combined with watching the conference has,
for me, been really great the last couple years when I couldn't get myself
to travel.

As far as picking based on content, it's really tough to compare content
over the course of a year, I commit to c4l at the beginning of the year
which takes other conferences off the table for me, it's just reality. For
me though when other conferences come out, I've never felt regretful. The
percent of c4l content that is appealing to me is almost always higher than
others (note that I don't have a repository or digital library position
which I can see would make things more difficult for others!)

jenn

On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 4:49 PM Cary Gordon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I think that it is important to consider that Code4lib is not a formal
> organization. It does not have membership, a governing board, officers, or
> dues. Each year, we put out a call for proposals in the hope that some
> institution or group will volunteer to organize the next conference, with
> the minimum requirement that they furnish a venue and enough volunteers to
> form a local organizing committee. We are very fortunate that we have
> received, at least one proposal every year since the conference started. I
> think that in our top year, we got three proposals, but that was a one off.
> If we have multiple proposals, the group, meaning whoever is around, votes
> to pick one.
>
> Years back, there was a movement to organize the group, but the consensus
> was that we should just leave things the way they were, although we did add
> CLIR as our fiscal agency in order to have continuity.
>
> To get to the point, we and our hosting partners tend to be risk averse.
> This view was proven out by our experience during COVID, where we lost some
> of our very thin cushion. Consequently, recent conferences have been in
> venues, which generally hold between 150 and 300 attendees. In our early
> days, the conferences would always sell out quickly, and it seems that we
> are back to that profile again.
>
> It is almost inevitable, that some, or perhaps many, folks will be
> disappointed. Consequently, we have also made it a tradition to provide
> video access to the conference at no charge.
>
> Personally, I know that I always learn something at our conferences, which
> is one of the benefits of having a single track. Now that I have retired
> and pay everything myself, Code4lib is the only conference I attend.
>
> Cary Gordon
> lechienlunatique.com
>