Networking. This word has been the source of great angst for me. In a conference setting, networking means introducing myself to a stranger in a room full of strangers. The introvert in me would rather hide in the corner or melt into a puddle on the floor than do something so brash.

In the weeks leading up to the SAA Annual Meeting in Chicago, I read articles about networking, visited the career counselor for a refresher course, and tried to make a list of things to say to the strangers I would encounter at SAA. Even with all of this preparation, I did not feel fully prepared to begin making professional contacts.

On the first evening of the conference, SAA hosted a ?New Member/ First-Timer Orientation.? Outgoing SAA President Helen Tibbo was in attendance, as were SAA Council members, and representatives from the Membership Committee. After saying a few words, Helen Tibbo sat down. The agenda for the evening was not a crash-course on conference survival. Instead, we were meant to talk to each other, to mingle. My group of friends and I clustered around a table ? the first and last time we would huddle together at the conference. An SAA Council Member who is a university archivist in Montana sat at our table. A few minutes later, one of my friends asked if she had any advice about the conference. ?Talk to people,? she said. ?Talk to as many people as you can.? She continued, ?People are here to talk, and they will be interested in talking to you. If you find someone who does not want to talk, just move on to the next person. It is not a reflection on you.? As she spoke about the people she has met throughout the years, some of whom have become good friends, others whose expertise she has called upon for professional questions, I began to realize something. The archivists at SAA are not strangers; they are colleagues. They have been (or are) students or new archivists. They are seasoned professionals, they are mentors. Regardless of the differences that separate us, or even the similarities that unite us, we all have one thing in common: the archival profession.

With this new perspective, I was able to quell the fears of my doubting introvert. I did not hide in the corner or melt into a puddle on the floor. I did not seek refuge in a large group of friends. Instead, I did the unthinkable: I spoke with many strangers colleagues. While the sessions I attended were thought-provoking, my most rewarding moments at the conference were found in informal conversations. I came away with a list of people to e-mail and a host of new ideas. Even better, I can count on seeing familiar faces at next year?s conference. The archival profession is small, and it is a community. Archivists are not strangers; they are colleagues you have not yet met.