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Code of Conduct

Please review our DLF Code of Conduct prior to joining us at the Forum. On site, DLF staff will be identifiable by their name badges and white lanyards.

For First-Time Attendees

We hope our first-time attendees will feel empowered and comfortable when they attend our events. The DLF Community Committee typically plans social and newcomers’ events – check the Wellness and Activities page for more information. 

Before the Events: 

  • When you register, consider signing up for the DLF mentorship program. 
  • We encourage you to select or enter your pronouns to appear on your conference badge when you register and create your user account on our conference management system. This is an entirely optional field, and we welcome everyone to make a selection.
  • There’s no strict dress code at the Forum, but attendees tend to gravitate towards business casual attire. See photos from previous years (2022; 2021 and earlier) for a better idea. Additionally, meeting rooms can be chilly, so consider keeping a sweater or jacket on hand just in case. 


During the Events: 

  • All sessions at the Forum are open to anyone—Working Group meetings (aka DLF Working Sessions) included. Please feel free to join these whether you’re interested in joining group activities or just learning more about them.
  • We are completely aware of how hard conferencing can be, and want you to have a good experience. Know it’s ok to leave a session if it’s not what you were expecting, or to miss one entirely because you’re otherwise occupied or just need a break. There will be a designated Quiet Room onsite for anyone who wants to recharge or get some work done.
  • Every session has a shared notes doc if you want to catch up on something you missed (or contribute for others), and presenters will be encouraged to upload slides to DLF’s OSF repository. Links are available on the shared notes and slides page.
  • Have a question for organizers during the events? Let us know by stopping by the registration desk, stopping anyone with a white lanyard (which indicates staff), or emailing us at forum@diglib.org. 

Active Bystander Orientation

Have you ever witnessed bullying, harassment, or an uncomfortable encounter in a professional context and wished you knew how to intervene? It can be challenging to know what to say or do on the spot. The DLF Code of Conduct invites participants to be Active Bystanders, but what does that really mean?

DLF’s Committee for Equity and Inclusion hosted an Active Bystander Orientation on October 24, 2023, ahead of the 2023 DLF Forum and affiliated events. This presentation provides an introduction to bystander intervention and an overview of strategies.

View the recording here.

Slides are here.

Suggested readings and resources are here.

Transportation - Getting to St. Louis

Getting to St. Louis

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is about 15 miles or a 20 minute drive to the conference hotel. The hotel does not provide shuttle services to this airport.

Taxis are available from both terminals at the airport and may cost as much as $60-$80 one way. ADA accessible taxis from the airport are available through the following companies: 

  • Airport On-Call Taxicabs (see Taxi Booth for information) 
  • Metro West Transport (call to reserve ADA taxicab at (636) 272-TAXI or visit http://www.metrowesttaxi.net)


Additional information about ground transport from the airport can be found on the airport’s website.

Public transportation is available from the airport via Light Rail (MetroLink). 


Amtrak serves the city via the St. Louis, Missouri Gateway Station. The station is located half a mile, or a 10 minute walk / 2 minute drive, from the conference hotel.

Emergency and Local Care Information

Should an emergency or otherwise unexpected serious disruption occur, please phone emergency services at 911 immediately. We encourage all attendees to review the hotel’s Emergency Procedures Information and Map prior to your arrival in St. Louis.

DLF staff (who will be clearly designated for the duration of the Forum with name badges and white lanyards) will be onsite to assist by contacting hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, providing escorts, or otherwise helping address the situation in the swiftest, most calm and organized way possible. 

You can also reach CLIR/DLF staff at our emergency/Code of Conduct number at (732) 737-7328 (732-RESPECT) between 7am and 9pm local time. Outside of those hours, please contact the hotel or dial 911 for any after-hours emergencies.

Hospitals near the St. Louis Union Station Hotel


Urgent care centers near the St. Louis Union Station Hotel

Please call or visit their websites to learn more about their limited hours. 


Reproductive healthcare clinics and centers

Centers identified by Missouri Family Health Council, who “​​champions access for every individual to culturally sensitive, quality, sexual and reproductive health education and services.”

For Families

Childcare

DLF is proud to offer childcare for parents and caregivers bringing little ones to all 2023 CLIR Events. Childcare will be available from Sunday, November 12, to Thursday, November 16.

Anyone attending our events is welcome to use our childcare services. We simply require $200 payment per day per child, which you may pay when registering for our events.

Express interest when registering or by emailing us at forum@diglib.org by October 1 to help us with a headcount.

Nursing Room

We will provide a nursing room onsite for those who prefer a quiet, private place to breastfeed their baby or pump. However, please feed your baby whenever and wherever you like. We strive to be a friendly environment for families.

Please ask for the key to the nursing room at the conference registration desk. This room is accessible to one family at a time and is located in a private hotel room away from the conference spaces. The room has comfortable spaces (bed, sofa, chairs), a full bathroom, and a refrigerator.

Please note, the hotel is unfortunately unable to freeze or keep breastmilk in the back of house for attendees, however all sleeping rooms have refrigerators. If you have concerns about this, please reach out to us at forum@diglib.org.

Floor Plans

View the floor plan of the conference area of the hotel below and additional meeting room details on the St. Louis Union Station Hotel’s website. Learn more about the venue on the Conference Venue and Hotel page.

Emergency procedures map (PDF)

Meeting Rooms


Restrooms

  • Restrooms on the lowest floor of the hotel nearest the conference meeting rooms will be designated all-gender and are wheelchair accessible. 
  • All-gender restrooms are located immediately adjacent to the Regency and Grand Ballrooms, by the elevator, off of Foyer A.
  • Each all-gender restroom has one ADA stall; neither has a changing table.
  • A baby changing station is available in both restrooms off of the Terminal Atrium on the hotel’s first floor.


Outdoor Space

The St. Louis Union Station Hotel has copious outdoor space, balconies, and courtyards where attendees can take a break and get some fresh air. The space is large and airy with high ceilings, and we expect plenty of space for the number of attendees at our events.


Quiet Room 

The Quiet Room is intended to provide a quiet, calm space where conference attendees can spend time away from noise, lights, and other stimuli of conference spaces. It is not available for conversations or meetings. The Quiet Room will be located in Missouri Pacific on the second floor of the hotel, one floor up from the meeting rooms. Restrooms near the Quiet Room will be single gender.


Main Entrance, Lobby, and Reception Desk Area

The main lobby of the hotel is a very large barrel-vaulted space. It can be noisy and at times dimly lit. Every hour on the hour in the evenings from 5pm-11pm there is a light show that ranges from 5-12 minutes in duration. It is possible that if someone requests an additional light show that one may take place outside of those scheduled hours. The light shows involve dimmed lights, flashing lights, music and loud sounds.

Watch navigation videos from the accessibility site audit at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.


Smoking and Smoke-Free Areas

The hotel is entirely smoke-free, and smoking is only allowed about 10 feet away from the building in designated areas only. If you’d like to know more about fragrance at the conference hotel, see the section below, Fragrance at the Forum.


Air Circulation and Filtration

The hotel uses MERV 8 rated pleated filters that are changed every 90 days. They are designed to capture common airborne contaminants between 3-10 microns in size. Air circulation is 24/7.

Photography

When you register for our events, you will have the option to tell us whether or not you would like to be photographed. We ask our attendees to not photograph, video, or audio record anyone without their express permission. Attendees will have differentiated badge lanyards showing their preference for photography.

Black lanyards: Photographs are okay
Yellow lanyards: Please don’t take my photograph

Accessibility

Accessible Presentations
We ask that all presenters review our Creating Accessible Presentations webinar and submit their presentations in our conference repository on Open Science Framework (OSF). We recommend that presenters submit their presentations before or during the conference for attendees to access them. OSF links are organized by conference and will be available on the shared notes and slides page.

Listening Systems
The hotel has 4 ALS systems, 2 of which offer telecoil for cochlear implants If you’d like to request accommodations, please let us know at forum@diglib.org.

Microphones
Microphones will be used for all speakers during the opening and closing plenary sessions as well as the breakout sessions. Attendees with questions will be required to use a microphone so that their question is more easily heard both at the keynote and in breakout sessions.

Livestreaming and Recording
We will livestream the DLF Forum and NDSA’s Digital Preservation 2023 plenaries as well as provide partial or full recordings on our Featured Speakers page.

Accessing the Hotel
The main hotel entrance is the Market Street entrance, which features a driveway for drop off and pick up. Bellhops are on duty 24 hours a day to assist guests. 

Please note, at the time of this publishing, the hotel does not have functioning automatic door openers. A bellhop is posted at the entrance to open doors and help guests navigate to the elevator to the main lobby.

Once one exits the elevator on the floor of the main lobby, there is a door without an assisted door button that we intend to have but cannot guarantee will be propped open. It may be advisable to have a hotel staff person assist with navigation all the way to the registration desk.

The hotel also has an entrance from 20th Street, which is unlocked during daylight hours only and requires a key card to enter. We do not recommend attempting to enter the hotel for the first time through this entrance, as it is located quite far from the reception area.

If you are accessing the hotel from the Metrolink, you’ll take the elevator to the ground level and walk around outside to the front of the hotel to check in. Once you have your key card, you can enter the hotel from the Metrolink side (but only once you have your key card).

Mobility 
The venue is fully wheelchair-accessible, however it does not have wheelchairs available for borrowing. When you register, please let us know if there are any mobility assistance needs you may have during the Forum, and we’ll be in contact to help address them as well as we can. If you need to rent a wheelchair while you are with us, we are happy to help you coordinate that. The hotel has provided this list of local companies from which mobility devices can be rented. Note that the list dates from November of 2014 so may be out of date. If you have any questions, please email us at forum@diglib.org. 

Hotel Accommodations
If you require an ADA compliant or accessible hotel room and plan to stay at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, please let the hotel know directly during your room reservation process. This includes needs like an accessible restroom, a bathtub, room located close to elevators, a fragrance-free room, etc.

Parking
You can self-park at the West Parking Lot located directly next to the hotel across 20th Street. The lot is accessible from 20th Street and Market Street. Please ensure you check into your room before attempting to park. Parking at the hotel is $35 per day for self parking and $45 per day for valet.

The parking lot is across 20th street from the hotel. There is a crosswalk and a light, but take care crossing the street as drivers can be aggressive in this area. There are several handicap parking spots available in the portion of the parking lot closest to the hotel. Enter the hotel from this entrance using your key card and use the callbox to the left if you encounter any issues.

Fragrance at the Forum
All scent diffusers in public spaces at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel will be turned off for the duration of our events. Cleaning products used in hotel restrooms do not have a fragrance, but may have a cleaning product smell which may linger in the restrooms. Sleeping rooms may be cleaned with supplies that carry a fragrance; if you need fragrance-free supplies used your sleeping rooms, be sure to communicate this when booking with the hotel.

For the comfort and safety of those with chemical sensitivities, the DLF Forum is a fragrance-free event. Please refrain from wearing products such as perfumes/colognes, scented lotions, and clothing with strong detergent scents while attending. Thank you for your consideration for all members of our community.

More information on being fragrance-free can be found here:
– Accessible Spaces: A Fragrance-Free Toolkit
– Think Before You Stink

Dining

Local Dining Options

Our Community Committee will be developing a guide to local dining and entertainment options. Find it on our Local Guide page later this year.

Dietary Requirements at Our Events
We strive to meet all dietary requirements. The conference will provide lunches and basic continental breakfasts as well as hors d’oeuvres at the Monday reception. We will work with the hotel to ensure dishes are clearly labeled. Please let us know your dietary requirements when you register, and contact us at forum@diglib.org for more detailed information.

Reception
With registration to the DLF Forum, we will provide one complimentary beverage ticket (included in your welcome packet) to be redeemed at the Monday night opening reception. We will offer creative spirit-free cocktails, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages.

Toiletry Drive

CLIR/DLF will support Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG) this year as the beneficiary of our toiletry drive. MTUG is a St. Louis-based nonprofit whose mission is to bring together the community of trans, genderqueer, androgynous, and intersex people and our allies in the St. Louis Metro Area through community visibility, advocacy, and education.

Be sure to save your unused hotel toiletries or bring your own to the registration desk between Nov. 12 and Nov. 16.

Learn more about MTUG and ways to support.

Other Resources

  • Provident Behavioral Health – If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate assistance, call their Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • DLF’s emergency/Code of Conduct number at (732) 737-7328 (732-RESPECT). This number will be continuously monitored by CLIR/DLF staff during our in-person events between the hours of 7am and 9pm in the time zone of the events.

Is Something Missing From this List? 

Please let us know if we have not included something you need, something that would improve your experience, or something that would make your attendance possible.

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