Justin the Librarian was the coordinator behind last evening’s New Jersey Librarians TweetUp.  This was my first TweetUp I’ve attended.  He pulled it together by “word of mouth” via Twitter.  After he locked down a location.  Interested participants were invited to mark their availability in a Doodle Poll he had created.  Once a date was determined by the poll’s data, the pertinent Tweetup information was easily found via Twitter hashtag, #njtweetup.

The event not only allowed me see the people behind the tweets I’d been reading, but it gave me the opportunity to meet additional people in the New Jersey library world — from all types of organizations.  Media specialists, public librarians, and academic librarians all attended the NJ TweetUp.

CC Image courtesy of tsand on Flickr

My current job situation doesn’t allow me a great deal of formal professional development opportunities, (i.e., attending conferences, etc.), so to be able to just sit and talk with other professionals (from other organizations) in my field was such an inspiration.  It was great to hear about what other libraries are doing, what kinds of projects people are involved with, as well as just what others’ thoughts were on library trends.  I left the TweetUp feeling rejuvenated, which is what conferences used to do for me.

From what Justin the Librarian said, it wasn’t difficult to organize the TweetUp, so if you have a chance to coordinate one — or even attend one.  Do it.  It’s worth it.