[Koha] koha-US General Meeting Minutes - July 13, 2022

[Hernandez, Heather H]

Hi!

Thank you so much for taking and distributing the minutes--I wasn't able to attend the meeting and read them avidly, and found the section about in-person vs. virtual conferencing particularly interesting, and thought I might just chime in a little about this.

I would love to attend an in-person Koha conference and although my employer is willing, my employer just can't cover all the costs.  I have been told, often, by colleagues in the library world who have the means to personally pay costs, that paying the rest of the costs personally is considered a worthwhile career investment.  Sure.  But one has to be affluent enough to actually have the extra money to cover these costs.  Also, one has to be physically and mentally healthy enough to do the travel, and one's household has to be economically, physically, and mentally healthy enough to support a member leaving and traveling.

Traveling to in person conferences is mostly the realm of the affluent and able.

So I would very much urge the continued support of virtual conference attendance and participation.  I have been fortunate to attend some in person conferences in the past, and, yes, they were all everyone says they are--so much more than virtual attendance.  But I can't travel to an in person conference, and no many people that can't and that don't feel comfortable discussing why​ they can't attend--they are not comfortable outing themselves and exposing themselves to potential poverty-shaming, and/or disability (physical and/or mental) discrimination.

So, please, conference planners--please continue virtual conferences of some sort.  It's very important for the inclusivity of all.  And, yes, encourage in person attendance, but please realize that any free, virtual attendance makes participation more possible for those without the economic, physical, and/or mental means to attend in person.

And thank you all for the inclusive and supportive community that makes me comfortable saying all this!  Cheerio!!
--h2

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Ms. Heather Hernandez (she, her, hers)
Technical Services Librarian
Library catalog:  https://keys.bywatersolutions.com/<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkeys.bywatersolutions.com%2F&data=05%7C01%7CHeather_Hernandez%40nps.gov%7C950a4b896c6840abbf2708da5a0692c2%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637921281518907037%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KDx6voZToIrZN2QYqe18e9S16%2B44bJ99OzKqi608gvQ%3D&reserved=0>
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research Center
2 Marina Blvd., Bldg. E, 3rd floor, San Francisco, CA  94123-1284
415-561-7032 (office generally Tu-W & F, telecommuting M&Th)
heather_hernandez at nps.gov<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwebmail.lmi.net%2Fsrc%2Fcompose.php%3Fsend_to%3Dheather_hernandez%2540nps.gov&data=05%7C01%7CHeather_Hernandez%40nps.gov%7C950a4b896c6840abbf2708da5a0692c2%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637921281518907037%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xRq2sXM4t7jF7lA1WvRZ7q0ff4hgben1igzi2FlLBu4%3D&reserved=0>