No convention that has more than a handful of people should miss the opportunity to provide information to its attendees. This should be done in the form of a program book and/or program booklet. Written. A print item that attendees can refer to easily, quickly, simply so that they don't have to ask. Information should be readily available, easy to read and be posted AND handed out, even if that's redundant.

Program information should be in a program book, yes. Have a Table of Contents. Sounds obvious, I know but really honest? Trust me? That program book should contain a list of committee members and the jobs they did. It is not enough to write a thank you only. It is not enough to use first names only. Everyone who worked on the convention should be listed in the program book. There are times where that can be the only "thank you" a person receives. There are times when the job someone did took place in early days and no one will be aware of their contribution at the convention. If you don't use name tags that designate committee (which you should because attendees should always be able to spot someone with acess to information) then no one will know how that person is. As conventions are all-volunteer run, it's impolite at the very least not to give credit where credit is due. Further, as conventions have history and we are for the most part our own historians, it seems appropriate to provide this information for the archives, for the future people who want to know "who did this?"

Major conventions should include in the program book the history of the event. For this, Bouchercon and Worldcon should at least offer the basics: where it was, who chaired it, who were the honored guests, how many attended? This should matter to people. If it doesn't, maybe it might, later on, when we all get home and are skimming the program book which we never had time to read at the convention. Oh, we'll note, this has been going on for years! Or maybe someone will realize that those awards were not give until the 1980s, or that so and so was a guest of honor way back in the beginning. You don't care? Don't read it, but these annual events are cultural phenomena and if you do want to know, you should find it easy to learn.

Another important point about the "Big" program book (the one you almost never read until you're back in your hotel room at night, or you're back home a few days after the convention is over and you've gotten over that case of "convention crud" that we all passed around. Sniff, hork...

The articles and items in the program book should be relevant to the event. Articles about or by the honored guests are relevant. An article about the city in which the convention is located, and it's fannish past? Yep. Letters declaring it a special day sent by the major governor or city council? Silly but relevant (and easy to obtain, btw.) A message from the chair? Yes. A well-research necrology - the "who we lost this year" is most definitely relevant (and if you can, ask Marv Lachman to write it. He's gracious as heck and he's really knowledgeable.) Other than that, your program book should contain lists. Lists of your dealers and how to reach them and where they are and what they sell (for after the convention when you've changed your mind about that item.) Lists of attendees. SHORT consistent (as in same font, same style) bios of all program participants. Not to be referred to as author bios and not to be author bios. And solicited with a letter that begs your folks please not to provide a list of book titles. book titles are not a bio. They are boring. Most of us won't read that. We can find your titles elsewhere, but where else will we find out that you have an advanced degree in Arcane Subject, or lived in Exotic Burg while you were in the Peace Corps, or an exchange student? In 2010, I read each and every bio sent to Bouchercon (my official title was "program bio wrangler" but it got complicated) and was at times, bored silly. Because I really wanted to know the stuff I didn't know, and what i got was "list of titles, list of nominations, list of organizations" (and when many organizations offer membership simply if you pay dues? That's not a sign of anything but you paid your dues to that organization. And so?) I know you can only do so much, but it does not hurt to ask "please don't send us a list of titles of your short stories." Give some guidance. It can't hurt.

Random bios of people, random photos without identifiers, bios where some titles are ALL CAPS and others are in italics are hard to read and confusing. Program books are about the program - what it is and who's on it. Ads are welcome to a point, as they can help with the printing costs. Oh yeah, those ads "congratulating nominees"? That's another one; if your con gives awards, pages should be used to list the nominees for the awards. If possible, the previous winners should be listed. Even the criteria if they're not hugely long.This is a program book about an event. Telling you what is happening at the event is the first priority of the program book. We are the gatekeepers, the historians, even if you don't think we are. Conventions matter. There are archives out there and museums which save and which refer to old program books, that offer fans and scholars information on what as going on back when. Some day we will be the "back when".

Quick thought: Some ads which offer discounts will not be seen until folks get home. Consider suggesting coupons instead, which might go into the bookbags/on the freebie table.

The last comment here is possibly the most important thing I'll have to say in this whole series of "sounding off about conventions." Ready? You need a true pocket program. Don't go cheap. Don't shrug it off. For the past fifteen plus years, the single most common comment I have heard, as a member of a past con committee, and an attendee at numerous conventions, is about the pocket program. If you have to skip something else, and get this out, then do it. Your attendees will praise you to the skies for what you did. You provided something hugely helpful, hugely valuable to your convention attendees. A pocket program.

Having a pocket program means you don't have to schlep around the heavy bound thing every day when all you want is the grid so you remember where that panel was and was it at 11 or 12? You're also carrying a bag, you've already been to the dealer's room, you're already heading over to the autograph room with stuff. Pocketprograms are essential to finding your way around.

Pocket programs should have program grids. They should also have cross-reference indexes which show where folks will be; e.g. "Shechter, Andi- 9, 23" should mean I'm on page 9 and 23 or on program item numbers 9 and 23.

Pocket programs, if possible, should have decent maps of the facility which show where things are. Not just a copy of the hotel map with "the Saskatchewan Room" and the "Newfoundland room" but a legend that helps you find a program without needing a friendly guide. We need maps and signs. All of us. Okay, even if you don't, the rest of us do, okay? Unless your convention is a one-room event (or two, one for hospitality and one for program) then you need a map. With both official and convention designations. If the program is too small, or the layout too complicated which would make the type too small, then easels all OVER the place with large maps. Posted on walls not just where you think folks will look but anywhere they might stop. In hospitality. Outside the dealer's room. NOT just at registration (where no one plans to go once they've registered.) In the cluster of rooms where most of your program is. Look, I worked on a walkathon for several years. Thousands of people participated. You could not miss the route, I mean come on! And yet, dozens and dozens of people came by asking for a map of the route. And the year they decided to post one map on a table, taped down? Bad bad bad move. People want information. They want to plan their route.Don't decide that's dumb. Maybe it is. Give your attendees what they want. What's the harm?

Finally, your pocket program is a huge opportunity to make your convention not just great but really really great. A restaurant guide (ok, if you have to do that separately do it) which is a true guide, not just a list of local places you can walk to, is very welcome and helpful. Many (ok in my circles, most) attendees do not want not want eat in the hotel more than once, if there are other options and do wish to sample what the convention city has to offer. We tend not to want to know where the closest chain restaurant is. A reason we attend conventions is to go on vacation to a new place. A few places close by and even a few places worth driving/taking transit/grabbing a cab to. This is so useful. And how about you provide a quick list of nearby necessities - ATMs, drug stores, groceries, copying places.

For the '94 Bouchercon, Steve Berry and Stu Shiffman (yes, that Stu Shiffman) (actually yes there are two, but mine's the real one, dontcha know?) were the guys who did the programs. They still hear about the pocket program they did. (As Stu still hears about the logo for Bcon 25 which might just have been the best ever; the Space Needle Dagger design). We did a lot of things well. We made some huge mistakes. The pocket program still stands out as one of the smartest things we did. We borrowed the idea from some of the s.f. conventions we'd attended and people were really nice about it (they liked the program questionnaire I sent too but this got way more votes). That has to tell you something, doesn't it? After all this time?

Thanks for reading. See you next year at LCC?