Practicalities
If you've chosen to drive to campus or to rent a car, and prefer to park on campus, then you might choose the Union Garage or the Neil Avenue Garage. Both charge a maximum of $7.50 or so a day, and both are fairly close to the S.E.L. The Arps Garage is the closest of all, but is restricted to university permits during the week.
Click here for a campus parking map in PDF format.
Evening Events and Receptions
Unfortunately, due to restrictions in space and funding, the evening events during the conference are restricted to presenters, invited guests, and members of the OSU community with tickets. Tickets are free, but there is a limited number of them. Please contact Ryan Judkins (judkins.7@osu.edu) to request them. (Update: 02/25/08: There are no tickets remaining for the banquet, while there are a couple left for the Faculty Reception, with performance of medieval music.)
Hotels
If you have not yet booked a room, please do so immediately! The weekend of the conference is a busy one in Columbus, and so we've reserved a suite of rooms at the University Plaza Hotel, though they are going fast. Moreover, the hotel will be giving away any rooms not booked by Feb. 6. Each of the rooms is a double, in case you would like to share with another attendee. Since you might not be familiar with others attending, Ryan Judkins (judkins.7@osu.edu) is arranging a roommate list. The hotel is an excellent deal for the campus area (and we have arranged a discount for attendees) and is within relatively reasonable walking distance. We have also worked out arrangements for mass transport to and from the hotel in the morning and evening for attendees, while there is also a shuttle service to and from the airport. If you are booking with them, please make arrangements for their shuttle to pick you up at the airport individually.
If you are not staying at the University Plaza Hotel, there are other options. We recommend the Varsity Inn, which is also close to campus, as well as the Blackwell, which is actually on campus. For cheaper, but more distant, lodgings, you might try the Red Roof Inn, at 441 Ackerman Rd, Columbus (614.267.9941).
Keys to a Good Presentation
All papers should be kept to a maximum of twenty minutes. Papers will be given in panels of (usually) three papers, and while extra time has been allotted to the end of each session for questions, using up more than twenty minutes seriously restricts (and irritates) presenters following you, and doing so may eliminate the question period entirely.
If you would like some basic advice about delivering a paper, please click here: A Few Basic Tips.
Technology
If you intend to use electronic aids during your presentation, please contact us to make sure that the appropriate equipment will be available. More important, however, is that you bring several versions of your document to your presentation. We recommend that you e-mail it to yourself, bring it on a portable disk drive (zip/thumb drive), and perhaps bring a hard copy for emergency photocopies if necessary.
Contact Information
If you have questions, please contact Ryan Judkins (judkins.7@osu.edu) or Elizabeth Zimmerman (zimmerman.243@osu.edu); you may also contact the OSU Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies directly at 614.292.7495 or fax the office at 614.292.1599.