code for lib 2019 San José, California 19-22 February 2019

code4lib is everything to me. In the community I feel like my work and knowledge is appreciated, so I feel very comfortable and motivated to volunteer, give talks, teach workshops, participate in conferences, host events. It's a great support network, I've never felt as comfortable as I do in this library group!

The confluence of technology and libraries drew me to Code4Lib when I was a young librarian straddling the areas of library metadata and technology. After eleven years in the community I am still amazed and humbled by the people I meet in the community and the work they do. There isn't another space that seamlessly combines libraries, technology, and the human aspect quite like Code4Lib in the library world.

I came away from Code4lib wanting to invite most of the people I met into my office and ask all of the questions about what everyone is doing and how they’re doing it and how can I do those things and what would they change about their tools; what's better is many of them would gladly help. 7 years on I keep coming back for more because over the years technical excellence isn't the only metric used in this community's continued growth. I have made friends in the Code4lib community.

Code4Lib offers the space to be self-aware, outwardly conscious, and vastly creative. The community seems to be expanding and learning without ego, and I feel lucky to have been welcomed into the group with open arms. The conference is a place where one can look holistically at technology alongside thoughtful practitioners, while building lasting friendships.

Code4Lib has been transformative for me. When I first learned of Code4Lib, I was considering leaving libraryland. Attending the first Code4Lib conference opened my eyes to the community I never knew I had. Code4Lib continues to humble, to inspire, and to anchor; our collective work is grounded in the cultural heritage mission and in the value of working inclusively in the open for the collective good. Here's to another twelve years, Code4Lib---and then some!

I attended Code4Lib 2018 on a diversity scholarship and I will always be grateful for that opportunity. It was free of buzzwords, full of welcoming people, and the sessions were interesting and accessible even though I don't work closely with technology or coding. I'm more motivated to explore new areas of technology and librarianship, I've started volunteering with the web committee, and I'm looking forward to attending the conference again!

Attending my first Code4Lib allowed me to explore the potential of technology, while upholding the importance of empathy and community-building. The connections I made at Code4Lib have continued to deepen over the last year, and it has been fantastic to see how we have implemented ideas that were shaped by conversations there. Code4Lib has modeled accountability and care, including publicly standing up against harassment and organizing support for our community.

Code4Lib has been a great conference for me as a metadata person interested in gaining computer science skills and insights. Presentations and topics are selected by the community. As such, I find a greater portion of presentations at this conference to be interesting, relevant, and educational than at other conferences in which presentations are jury selected. They also offer generous scholarships to underrepresented folks in the Code4Lib community. Yay!.

At Code4Lib, you really get the sense that people are there to share with and learn from one another — to advance their work individually and collectively — and have fun while they’re at it. I left the conference reminded of the widespread passion for libraries as critical features of our society, the passion that draws interesting, creative people to library work, and found I had a renewed sense of purpose in my job.