A Poster Session
Pedagogy
Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith
ACRL-LA President-Elect
Reference and Instructional Librarian
Nicholls State University
985-448-4626
Melissa.goldsmith@nicholls.edu
Tony Fonseca
ACRL-LA President
Serials Librarian
Nicholls State University
985-448-4675
Tony.fonseca@nicholls.edu
What Are Poster Sessions?
As mentioned by the Colorado State University Writing Center, a poster
session informs an audience about your research. Unlike a conference
presentation, poster sessions are brief—consisting at most of a short
presentation (roughly 3 to 5 minutes)—and rely primarily on the visual
aspects of your research. Unlike what you may recall from a science fair,
poster sessions usually require some kind of explanation from the author(s)
and the entire poster presentation must be directly relevant to its main
point.
Why Do Them?
Poster sessions offer opportunities for gaining quick feedback about the
project, networking, acquiring ideas about how to take one’s research to the
next step (e.g., conference presentation or article), and possibly earning
awards. In the competitive job market for academic library positions, having
a line on your CV that shows your interest in scholarly endeavors will help
you to stand out among other candidates. Know now that it is very likely not
enough to succeed at SLIS or in a graduate/work position only. A common
interview question asks about your scholarly interests (also known as
potential publications). A poster session experience will help you prepare for
these kinds of questions.
Possible Formats
Today’s poster sessions are not your childhood’s science fair.
Possible formats range from fixing work to a poster board backdrop
to Power Point presentation including streaming video. There are
advantages and disadvantages to all formats. For example, on one
hand, the old fashioned poster presentation is often low tech;
however, its appearance may be more impressive to the eye than
someone standing next to just a laptop.
Tables and pictures sometimes work better on poster board than on
a limited sized screen, especially with large audiences. On the other
hand, technological savvy poster sessions that lend themselves well
to interaction between the author and the audience may better
demonstrate dynamic aspects of research better than the old
fashioned poster. At times they give the impression of more
preparation time invested in the poster, too.
Common
Criteria for
Poster Sessions
Poster sessions were introduced to the American Library Association at its 1982
Annual Conference in Philadelphia. They are an effective forum for the exchange
of information and a means to communicate ideas, research, and programs.
Poster sessions may present any of the following:
* a description of an innovative library program
* an analysis of a practical problem-solving effort
* a report of a research study
Poster sessions are not for product advertisements or vendor displays.
Poster session participants place materials such as pictures, data, graphs,
diagrams and narrative text on boards that are usually 4' x 8' (dimensions vary
slightly by Convention Center).
During their assigned time periods, participants informally discuss their
presentations with conference attendees.
Jody Condit Fagan, Chair, ALA Poster Sessions, American Library Association, 2010
Here are some places to start in order to
address common criteria for evaluating your
poster presentation:
Clear, well-thought, statement of the problem the research addresses. On a poster
board, you can place a number next to the thesis statement to help indicate to
audience where to begin. Keep it simple. Your goals should follow the thesis statement.
Goals should be in brief sentences, but should read like a narrative. Be careful not to
overdo it with listing goals or by getting too wordy. Strike a healthy balance between
both. Also, as with any kind of presentation or document, avoid going bullet crazy on
any aspect of the poster presentation.
All pictorial materials should be labeled and numbered clearly. Be sure to include a
short description of each picture. Avoid anything that seems merely decorative.
Everything in the poster presentation should suggest obvious connections for audience
members who may have very little background about your topic. In most situations
your audience may have never studied your topic.
Most of your poster session should be about your research findings and conclusions.
Without relying on simple lists, explain your results and discuss them within some kind
of context. Here are a few examples: How do they serve as contrast to previous
research? Did they meet your expectations? If not, then why? What kinds of
applications do your findings have to the topic, to academic librarianship, to a particular
scholarly field. How is your research useful to others? What about new avenues for
research? What kind(s) of follow-up would be necessary?
Use a font and text size that are big enough to read for an audience of 5 or more. Do
not assume they can or will come up close to your presentation to see text or numbers.
Times New Roman, with a size 16 text is often a good place to start. Consider double
spacing, perhaps triple spacing, as much as possible.
Posters should have a good visual and narrative flow. As much as possible, avoid
having too much blank space or too much clutter. To avoid clutter, consider creating a
chart or diagram that stands as being self-explanatory. It may be able to do the work of
many words effectively.
Always include some kind of bibliography or works cited list. This is after all research.
If you use sources, make a works cited list or a selective bibliography. If you are doing
research on something entirely new, be sure to include a bibliography of related
sources to your research. You may also want to suggest further reading.
Examples of
Potential Venues
and Where to
Find CFPs
Here are just some ideas you can check out for your poster sessions.
If allowed (read the CFP carefully), you may do the same poster
session for more than one event. A couple events take place right
here on the LSU campus, so you have no excuse to put off that
poster session:
LSU, Graduate School, Intellectual Gumbo (usually at the Union)
an event offered every once in a while on campus that has three poster session
categories: sciences, social sciences, and humanities. If interested, contact Marie
Hamilton at the Graduate School. The event usually included a few prizes for sciences
as well as one for social sciences and one for humanities.
LOUIS Users Conference (an ACRL-LA event)
held on the LSU campus, during LUC, ACRL-LA will hold its first poster sessions event
this fall. Awards will be offered in categories like best visual and best oral presentation.
Continue checking the ACRL-LA website for more details as fall approaches:
http://www.acrlla.org.
NDLTD: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations International
Symposium
every year, NDLTD sponsors an international symposium on electronic theses and
dissertations, a topic that lends itself well to numerous library and information science
issues. About every other year the conference meets in the U.S. This is an international
level, competitive conference that invites poster session papers. Find the symposium
link: http://www.ndltd.org.
Music Library Association
MLA includes poster sessions at most of its national annual conferences. It may be
tricky to find their CFP, but you can contact the roundtable chairs or the President for
information. The focus of these posters must be on music librarianship or on technology
and other skills that may be of use to music librarians:
http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org.
American Library Association
Some years ALA offers poster sessions that are relevant to academic libraries and
librarianship at its national annual meeting: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/ala.
American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)
their CFPS for their national annual meetings always include poster sessions. Though
the focus is on information science and technology, their emphasis has always been
about multiple perspectives from various disciplines:
http://www.asis.org/conferences.html.

American Libraries Association Poster
Session Page
 28th
Annual ALA (2009) Poster Session
Abstracts
 27th
Annual ALA (2008) Poster Session
Abstracts

Colorado State University Writing Center
Helpful Websites
Examples:
Poster Session
Posters
(Academic
Libraries)
In each of these examples of a poster
session, strengths and weaknesses of each
presentation, as identified by Dr. Alma
Dawson's Spring 2010 Academic Libraries
class, will be listed after each image.
Strengths and Weaknesses




Strengths
Clarity
Not bulleted to
death
Attractive
Contains
bibliography
Weaknesses
Goal is Unclear
Better Use of space
Too much blank space
Information not
numbered/doesn't
lead readers
Use better eye catching
central image
E Books in Your Academic Library
Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
Photos clearly
labeled
Weaknesses
Function of photos isn't
clear
Too much dead space
oo exhibity
Storefront look
Subtitle would be helpful
Title badly justified /
placed (not centered)
Authorship not clear
The Carnegie Libraries of Ohio
Strengths and Weaknesses





Strengths
Clearly numbered
Well organized
Has a clear
purpose
Colors
Hanging indents
used nicely
Weaknesses
A bit too busy
#3 unclear (lack of
narrative)
Middle images are
unclear in how they
relate
Backing colors show
through the paper
Color consistency would
be nice
Recruiting Student Workers with Facebook
Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
Title is clear
Weaknesses
Could "pop" a little
better
Boaders would be nice
No captions on photos
Too powerpointy
Title should be reversed
Lack of artistry
Rutgers University Libraries
Strengths and Weaknesses




Strengths
Clear title
Authored clearly
Sign up list
Sign up list a good
touch
Weaknesses
Too much small text
Enhancing Pedagogy
Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
Invites lengthy
interaction
Weaknesses
A little too busy
Maybe one-third of
the information
No center
Better tape should
be used
From the Rockies to the Vulga
Strengths and Weaknesses
In conjunction with LUC 2010, ACRL-LA will be
holding its first annual poster session contest for
SLIS students as part of its annual workshop on
Friday, Oct. 22nd, at LSU.
First place prize: $100.00
All participants get a certificate for their records
Possible Topic Ideas: Copyright, Open Access
(OAJs, ETDs, digitization, marketing), and
Electronic Dissemination Issues
Workshop Speaker: Jud Copeland, Department of
Teaching, Learning & Technology, Central Arkansas
ACRL-LA Poster Session
Contest, Oct. 22, 2010
Poster Sessions:
A Selective Bibliography
Arnold, Jennifer, Lisa Nickel, and Lisa Williams. “Creating the Next
Generation of Library Leaders.” New Library World 109.9/10 (2008): 444-56.
chronicles how this article actually began as a poster session presented at ALA.
Gordon , Rachel Singer. The Nextgen Librarian’s Survival Guide. Medford, NJ:
Information Today, 2006. xiv, 208 p.
recommends poster sessions as a way of joining the professional dialogue of your
discipline.
Hazard, Brendal. “Poster Session Alphabet Soup.” College & Research Libraries
News 67.7 (2006): 423-24.
lists tips in creating a successful poster session, including knowledge of submission
guidelines, possession of business cards, addition of three-dimensionality, professional
attire, and engagement with the audience.
Shontz , Priscilla K. The Librarian’s Career Guidebook. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
Press, 2004. xix, 565 p.
discusses poster sessions as a method of making oneself visible and as a springboard
for professional development activities.
Poster Sessions:
A Selective Bibliography
Smallwood, Carol. Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook. Chicago:
American Library Association, 2010. xi, 189 p.
discusses poster sessions as a method of beginning an article.
Snowman, Anne, and Sonia Keiper. “Poster Presentations 101.” Pennsylvania
Library Association Bulletin 62.7 (2007): 22.
presents suggestions for preparing a poster presentation, including paying attention to
specifications, developing the outline into a publication draft, keeping it short and
simple yet making it visually appealing using photographs, flowchart presentations, and
handouts.
Tucker, Cory, and Reeta Sinha. New Librarian, New Job: Practical Advice for
Managing the Transition. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. vii, 236 p.
notes the usefulness of poster sessions to SLIS students.
“Virtual Conference Attracts Librarians Unable to Travel.” Public Libraries
47.2 (2008): 4.
briefly mentions an online poster session, part of a virtual PLA conference.
A Poster Session
Pedagogy
Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith
ACRL-LA President-Elect
Reference and Instructional Librarian
Nicholls State University
985-448-4626
Melissa.goldsmith@nicholls.edu
Tony Fonseca
ACRL-LA President
Serials Librarian
Nicholls State University
985-448-4675
Tony.fonseca@nicholls.edu