Arranging the meeting rooms

Meeting Rooms

Conference Handbook - Arranging the Meeting Rooms

The following meeting rooms are needed for ACL meetings:

• 1 room seating at least 750 people for plenary sessions, for the conference days
• ACL has parallel sessions. Thus 2-3 additional rooms are needed for the main conference days, each seating approximately 250 people.
• 3—4 smaller rooms (between 15 and 40) for the day of the tutorials (usually prior to main conference)
• approximately 10-12 smaller rooms for workshops, on the day before the tutorials and/or the day(s) after the conference. Although most workshop rooms need only accommodate 40-60 people, a few will need to be much larger (approximately 100+ people).
• 1 or 2 smaller rooms (about 15 people, with a boardroom style table) for the ACL Exec and other (breakout) meetings, on the day before and during the conference
• registration space outside main conference rooms, with a phone line, a printer, and internet access if possible; locakable or close to a lockable space
• 1 large exhibit space with power, lockable, if possible with one or more internet lines

Exact space requirements and uses should be discussed with the General and Program Chairs.

AV

• Projection equipment should not distort display
• Screen should not be too narrow, too high, or too low
• Appropriate pointers (laser pointers for very big screens) are needed
• Backup equipment should be available
• Technicians knowledgeable about equipment should be available
• Microphones, for the speaker and for questioners, should be provided
• For computer projectors, some easy means of switching from one speaker to the next
• Time cards in each meeting room for session chairs; checked at the start of every day
• The person responsible for AV should confirm projection needs with each the General Chair, the Program Chair, the Tutorials Chair, the Student Chair, the Workshop Chair, and the systems demonstrators.

Signage and Bulletin Boards

• Signs direction attendees to all important locations (registration, email room, meeting rooms, exhibit halls, buses, dorms, etc.) should be posted as appropriate
• Signs should be made for each session of the main conference, and for each workshop and tutorial. These signs should be displayed prominently outside the appropriate rooms.
• Sets of time cards showing 10, 5, 2 and STOP in large letters should be made and placed at the front of each meeting room and each workshop room. The presence of these signs should be checked every morning before sessions start.
• If desired, one or more large banners naming the conference can be made and placed in prominent places in the main auditorium and near registration. These banners may contain also the logos of the principal funders.
• A bulletin board for attendee messages, with sufficient paper and writing and posting materials, must be provided near the registration area.
• A notice board for official announcements (workshops, birds of a feather meetings, etc.) must also be provided near registration.
• A board where job advertisements can be posted should also be provided.

Exhibit Space

• The exhibit space must be locakable. It should be close to the conference meeting rooms and refreshment area.
• The Exhibits Chair will work with the Local Arrangements Committee to coordinate the setup (with pipe and drape stands, etc.), the influx of exhibitors (with demo needs, internet and phone access, signage, etc., and the teardown.

System Demo Space

If system demos are held, the Local Organizers should coordinate display needs with the demo-ers well in advance. Having two projectors per room would facilitate handover from one demo to the next.

Email Room

An email room should be provided, and it should be close to the main conference and be clearly signposted. Instructions for reaching a room monitor or someone in charge should be prominently displayed. It is important to make sure that the internet provider allows access to SSH, VPN, etc. in addition to HTTP.